I've heard it argued from some people, and encountered it in my life, where people say praying the Hail Mary is "demonic" or "unbiblical". I have prepared a short paper, proving the veracity and orthodoxy of the Hail Mary prayer. I appreciate any input or feedback, thank you and may God bless us all.
Hail Mary, a Bible-based prayer
It is my contention, and also that of the worlds 1.5 billion plus Catholic and Orthodox Christians, that Mary is the Theotokos, the God-bearer / Mother of God, who continually intercedes for humanity since the incarnation of Christ in her blessed virginal womb. I seek to prove this, not through Holy Tradition, though there is an abundance of evidence therein, but through Sacred Scripture, which, although being a part of Holy Tradition, is regarded by some 750 million Christians as the sole source of revelation to be adhered to. Thank you for your time, and may God bless us all richly with His Spirit and His Truth.
Part A: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Part B: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death,
Amen.
Scriptural support for Part A
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Luke 1:28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. This verse along with verse 30 give verbatim Biblical support for the first part of Part A of the Hail Mary. Not all translations word it such, but notable and trustworthy translations such as the Douay-Rheims, the Confraternity and the Knox all translate it such, and even Protestant translations such as the KJV and NIV could be used and shown to lend Biblical support to the Hail Mary. So as we can see, it is righteous and Godly to pray thus: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women!
Luke 1:30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
Luke 1:42 And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Who besides a non-Christian would contend with the statement: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, JESUS?
Luke 1:31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
Luke 11:27 And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck.
Scriptural support for Part B
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Luke 1:34 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?
Luke 1:35 And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
This verse and the one previously, along with common sense, prove that it is right and just to call Mary, Holy Mary. Mary had to be Holy to carry the Son of God in her virginal womb.
John 19:26-27 When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.
Jesus points out in these two verses that from that moment on, Mary becomes the mother of all His Disciples, and all His Disciples are to look at Mary as their blessed Mother in the faith.
Luke 1:43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Elizabeth recognizes what we now know in the first century A.D. - that is, Jesus Christ is Lord and God, and Mary is His Mother, therefore it is true and righteous to call her the Mother of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:25 Brethren, pray for us.
This verse proves what every Christian already knows, we are to pray for each other. So Mary, as our blessed Mother in the faith, rightfully and righteously prays for us.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God.
1 Timothy 1:15 A faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. This verse and the previous one from Romans prove we are all sinners, so it is right to ask Mary to "pray for us sinners".
James 5:16 Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much. - Continual prayer for one another is what we are called to do, so we should all pray for one another, now and when we are dying, and obviously Mary, as our Mother, prays for us now and always, now and at the hour of our death.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
Revelation 3:14 And to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God.
I don't think many would argue that using Amen as an affirmation is correct in the context of prayer, so the final word of the Hail Mary, like the rest of the prayer, is 100% Biblical, Godly, Righteous and True. Amen.
Therefore, as you can see, the Hail Mary prayer is, word for word, taken directly from the Scriptures. Every single word and phrase of the Haily Mary is found in the New Testament. Therefore, it is my contention, if you have an issue with the Hail Mary prayer, your issue is not with the Catholic Church or Catholics, but your issue is with God and His Word. Again, thank you for your time, and God bless.
