There is something that I’ve never got and that I thought you guys might help me understand. When we Catholics pray (rosary or just normally) we sometimes (not always) tend to say Hail Mary several times but Our Father only once? What is the reason? Why is it not the other way around? Protestants often criticize us for that and I’m not sure what to say.
Your help will be appreciated.
Pax!
Most Protestants hear the words ‘Hail Mary’ and immediately discard any thought of actually examining the prayer. It is a sound prayer theologically.
The first half of the Hail Mary is entirely scriptural - simply a repetition of the Angel’s and Elizabeth’s greetings to Mary. No-one should have problems with this.
The second half firstly invokes her title of Mother of God.
This is a valid title for Our Lady, based on a proper understanding of the nature of Christ as a unified individual, both human and divine, of whom she was the mother.
Not his mother in the sense that she created his divinity, which he got from God the Father. Simply that she was the mother of the whole person, who was God made flesh. Just as your mother is mother of your whole person even though some of your characteristics come from your father.
The remainder of the prayer is asking Mary to pray for us - just as you would ask your biological mother to do if you had some problem.
Yes, many Protestants do have lots of problems with praying to the deceased. These are nonsense, since we believe in a God who is God of the living not the dead. All the righteous are alive spiritually, even if their physical bodies aren’t.
We also believe in a unified body of Christ. Those who have gone before us are equally still living members of the body and connected to us through Christ who is the head. So our concerns are still their concerns, being Christ’s concerns.
There’s more stuff on prayers to Mary and the Saints available in the library here - just click on the word ‘library’ at the top of the page.
