This feature shows how international and widespread Mary's name and devotion have
become
over time. There are more than 150 known language versions of the Hail Mary. Thanks
to the efforts of David G. Landsnes, M.D., indefatigable researcher of the angel's
salutation, the Marian Library is able to offer many examples of the languages in which
this most popular of all Marian prayers is said. At the heart of Christian prayer is the
name of Jesus. There is no liturgical prayer that does not conclude with a reference to
Our Lord. The Hail Mary reaches its high point in the words "blessed is the
fruit of your/thy womb, Jesus." We detect two movements in this prayer which
alternate with one another. The first part magnifies in fact the Lord for the great things
he did for his "lowly servant," whereas the second part entrusts the
supplications and praises of the children of God to the Mother of Jesus. The new
Catechism
of the Catholic Church has a wonderful page on the meaning of the Hail Mary
(see CCC 2676-2677). Mary is the perfect figure of prayer (Orans). "When we pray to
her--says the Catechism--we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who
sends his Son to save all men" (CCC 2679). A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
Return to Resources
Return to The Mary Page
This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute,
Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by was last modified
Wednesday, 13-Nov-2002 11:50:06 EST by Michael P. Duricy. Please send any comments to Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.
You are visitor
# 
URL for this page is http://www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/flhm.html
What's New
/ Search /
Resources /Academe /
Library /
Gallery / Research
Publications
/ Outreach / Questions /
Prayers / Meditations