What are the origins in Sacred Scripture of the Hail Mary and some reasons for praying it?

Answer 1

I. Origin in Scripture

The essence of this prayer can be found in the Gospel of Luke at the annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to Mary, and Mary's visit to Elizabeth.

Haile thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women. (Luke 1:28, 1611 KJV)

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruite of thy wombe." (Luke 1:42, 1611 KJV)

A. Holy Mary, mother of God

This segment of the prayer is very fitting when one continues reading Luke and reflects on Elizabeth's words:

And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to mee? (Luke 1:43, 1611 KJV)

Just as Elizabeth greeted Mary as the mother of my Lord, those who pray the Hail Mary follow Elizabeth's lead and greet Mary in a similar way, namely as mother of God.

B. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death

Asking someone to pray for oneself is very common in the Christian community. Many examples of Christians praying for each other can be found. For example, pray one for another, that yee may be healed: the effectuall fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16, 1611 KJV)

Indeed, the Old Testament is replete with many examples of righteous women whose fervent prayers were answered, such as Sarah, Rachel, Leah, Deborah, Esther, etc. Theologians have frequently explained how the righteousness of these women were foreshadowings of righteousness that would be found in Mary who, through her prayer life and perfect cooperation with God the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35) participated in a most unique way in salvation history (cf. Jn 1:14)

II. Fittingness of the Prayer

A. Fulfillment of Scripture

In a very basic sense, when Christians pray the Hail Mary, they are making real what Scripture already foretold in Mary's own words:

for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. (Luke 1:48, 1611 KJV)

Thus by meditating and contemplating the meaning of Gabriel and Elizabeth's words to Mary, Blessed art thou among women, Mary's prophecy in Scripture is fulfilled. Moreover, the contemplative who enters into the prayer of the Hail Mary also comes to a more balanced perspective of understanding her role in salvation history.

B. Honor Thy Mother

Perhaps one of the best ways we can follow the Commandment of honoring our mothers and fathers is by asking them to pray for us. A Christian may ask, in what sense is Mary my mother? Why would I ask her to pray for me like I would ask my blood mother? Indeed, when the Christian places himself or herself at the foot of the Cross, as it were, he or she receives a gentle, intimate, and personal invitation from Jesus to hear His words deep within his or her heart: Behold, thy mother. (John 19:27, 1611 KJV)

Over the millenia, theologians have pointed out that just as these words were spoken to the beloved disciple John, so too does Jesus speak these words to beloved disciple, every Christian - Behold, thy mother.

Thus, because Jesus commended Mary to every Christian as his or her mother, every Christian has recourse to her motherly love and motherly prayers.

C. Greete Marie, who bestowed much labour on us

In his small book The Secret of the Rosary, St. Louis de Montfort encourages little children to pray the Rosary in a section entitled A Rosebud. Because each Hail Mary begins with a greeting to Mary, he concludes by reminding the reader of St. Paul's words to the Romans:

Greete Marie, who bestowed much labour on us. (Romans 16:6, 1611 KJV)

Here there are two possibilities: either St. Paul is exhorting a greeting to Mary, the mother of God, or he is exhorting a greeting to another Mary. However, it may be pointed out that if the labors of another Mary merit a greeting, then how much more soshould the labors of the Virgin Mary merit a greeting? She whose labors gave birth to the Savior of the world (cf. Lk 2:1-14), she whose labors included perfect conformity to Christ's will (cf. Jn 2:5), and she whose labors included suffering united to her Son's in a most intense and unique way (cf. Lk 2:35).

REFERENCES

The Bible Museum. The Bible: 1611 King James Version: 1st Edition, 1st Printing, (GoodYear, AZ: The Bible Museum, 2006).

Barbour, M. trans. The Secret of the Rosary by Saint Louis De Montfort, (Bay Shore, N.Y.: Montfort Publications, 1954).