From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. “Full of grace”, Mary is “the most excellent fruit of redemption” (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life.
Mary is truly “Mother of God” since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.
Mary “remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin” (St. Augustine, Serm. 186, 1: PL 38, 999): with her whole being she is “the handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38).
The Virgin Mary “cooperated through free faith and obedience in human salvation” (LG 56). She uttered her yes “in the name of all human nature” (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 30, 1). By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living.
The practice of the Prayer:
‘Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst 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 our death.
Amen.‘
- Pray silently for 5 minutes;
- Focus your mind on your physical heart, then place your mind in your heart and, as if with your heart, recite the same prayer for 5 minutes;
- Each subsequent day, pray to God the Father for 5 minutes longer;
- If you can maintain the prayer for an hour, it would mean that the prayer has succeeded. In addition to the aforementioned practice, you can pray while walking down the street or doing mechanical work.
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