Hail Mary Prayer
 
This is a beautiful image of Our Lady and her importance as the Mother of God. 
 
As Pope Leo the 14th recently said, "Mary is united to Christ in a unique way by her motherhood and by being full of grace. This is hinted at in the angel’s greeting (cf. Lk 1:28), which uses a word (kecharitōmenē) that is found only here and nowhere else in the Bible. She, who received in her womb the power of the Holy Spirit and became the Mother of God, by that same Spirit, becomes Mother of the Church.[91]
 
Because of this singular union in motherhood and in grace, her prayer for us has a value and an efficacy that cannot be compared to any other intercession. Saint John Paul II connected the title “Mediatrix” with this role of maternal intercession, noting that Mary “puts herself ‘in the middle,’ that is to say, she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother. She knows that, as such, she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind.”[92]
 
Image Explanation
 
When the Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary by the Father, he greeted her, “Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28).
 
When Mary visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaimed, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:41-42). So here we have the first part of the Hail Mary. St. Bernardine added the name of Jesus, clarifying who the fruit of her womb is.
 
The second part is in response to the first, asking Mary to pray for us and addressing her as the Mother of God. Of course, Elizabeth addressed her in much the same way: “Why should I be honored with a visit from the Mother of my Lord?” (Luke 1:43).
 
Since Gabriel’s words were at the request of God, those words were actually God’s words. So we are honored to repeat them.