The
Hail
Mary
Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.
Amen.
"Beginning with
Mary's unique cooperation with the working of the Holy Spirit, the
Churches developed their prayer to the holy Mother of God, centering it
on the Person of Christ manifested in His mysteries. In countless hymns
and antiphons expressing this prayer, two movements usually alternate
with one another: the first "magnifies" the Lord for the "great things"
He did for His lowly servant and through her for all human beings. The
second entrusts the supplications and praises of the children of God to
the Mother of Jesus, because she now knows the humanity which, in her,
the Son of God espoused."
- from the
Catechism of the Catholic Church; 2675.