What does 'hail mary' mean?

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It makes me happy that you want to learn more about Mary.

It was our Blessed Virgin Mother who led me into the Catholic Church.

There are some good responses for you in this thread. You could also read Behold Your Mother written by Tim Staples.
 
anendlesswaltz said:
Which is why i ask…what does it mean to ‘hail’ Mary? Does it mean to call to her?
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Yes. As in “hailing a cab” or, if you’ve ever read older edition of the Tales of Robin Hood, “Hail, fellow, well met!”
 
Hail in the ancient world was a greeting that was given only to very important people, Kings, Queens, Emperors.
In the Roman Culture the Emperor was saluted “Hail Cesar”.
The greeting of the Angel Gabriel is very peculiar he says: “Hail, Full of Grace”. Notice he did not say “Hail Mary, Full of Grace” which we would have expected.
So “Full of Grace” is the name the Angel identifies Mary as.
Also by using the hail salute to her he gave her royal status.
Is it a coincidence that in the Catholic Church we call Mary “Queen of Angels”?
Sincerely hope this helps you in your quest.
Peace!
 
Yes it does, thank you so much!! I never learned about any of this in the Baptist church I grew up in. Mary was treated as a normal person, a normal virgin, who God just happened to choose to bear Jesus. I wonder if this is why some non Catholics from other denominations have trouble accepting the prayers to Mary and such. We - at least I wasn’t - taught these things.
 
The book that brought me back to the Catholic Church is Home Sweet Rome, by Scott and Kimberley Hahn. It is the story of their discovery of the truth of Catholicism, and the story of their conversion. It explains a lot of the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism in an easily understood way.

Also, I have not been been easy with the CCC, it seems very mystical to me. I prefer either a Baltimore Catechism or Fr Hardon’s Catholic Catechism (do not confuse with another one with a different author). Also, Radio Replies.

The Baltimore Catechism and Radio Repliea are online, if you need links, let me know.

Also, the app iPieta has a lot if not all of the writings of the Early Chirch Fathers and much more, including prayers, the Bible, commentaries, Church calendar, … well worth the price which used to be $5. A Catholic library that fits in your pocket!
 
anendlesswaltz said:
I wonder if this is why some non Catholics from other denominations have trouble accepting the prayers to Mary and such. We - at least I wasn’t - taught these things.
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Some do have a problem for the reasons you say. Others for whatever reason don’t.

My dad was a converted Baptist/ Methodist. He converted at age 37 to get married to my mom. He never had a problem with Mary and prayed rosary every day. When he died we put a rosary on his tombstone because he prayed it all the time. It comes easy to some and more challenging for others.
 
Thank you so so much!!! I’ll look them up after work and I will download that app rn. This helps a lot
 
I see. I think. Is that I have learned these things I would like to order a rosary and learn to pray the rosary. It makes so much sense to me and I’m drawn to it. I want to at least try it
 
I am a person who tends to be very academic and I love all that stuff. But I have found that it can distract me, and that I need to prioritize prayer and learning about saints.

What is the center around which everything else revolves is love. The simplest person who knows nothing of St Thomas Aquinas or the CCC, who simply loves God and neighbor is a better Catholic than I am, because I tend to go off into the mental sphere too much!

So, enjoy, but remember to pray!
 
Me too!! I have so many questions and curiousities and so many things I want to read about. I need to remember to do what the Lord wants me to, like to focus on prayer. He’s only been patiently putting it on my heart since before coronavirus started.
 
Annie said:
The book that brought me back to the Catholic Church is Home Sweet Rome, by Scott and Kimberley Hahn.
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The one that started me on the path to Rome was “Catholicism and Fundamentalism”, by Karl Keating. It spoke perfectly to my vigorously anti-Catholic upbringing.
 
Yes it is in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is a dogma of the church. Mary is the Immaculate Conception. Jesus could not take on flesh of a fallen nature.
Another concept is that Jesus’ saving power is timeless! Which means Mary was saved by Jesus just like the rest of us.
 
anendlesswaltz said:
Which is why i ask…what does it mean to ‘hail’ Mary?
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It’s usually a play from desperation (4th and long situations where the game is almost over) where all eligible receivers run to either the in-zone or the maximum throwing distance of the quarterback - whichever is closer - and the quarterback then lobs the ball up in the air in the hopes that one of the his receivers will catch the ball, continuing the offensive drive.
 
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Of course, Jesus was without sin by nature and could not sin, due to also being God.

Mary was preserved from original sin by the grace of God and the salvation won by Jesus on the cross (but applied to His mother ahead of time). It was likewise God’s grace that kept her from actual sin, just as in theory any Christian could respond to the promptings of God’s grace every single time and never sin after justification.
 
Wow! This thread makes me so glad there is a CA forum.

@(name removed by moderator) the aids you posted here are great - thank you.
 
Oh wow I didn’t know that last bit! That Jesus saving power is timeless. I’ve read even on here that nobody could go to heaven or be saved until Jesus died on the cross.
 
Well, that is partly correct: no one could enter Heaven until Christ opened the gates by His death on the cross.

Remember He then descended to the dead? It was to those who had “been saved” (not really catholic phraseology) but had had to wait to enter Heaven like Moses and Abraham.
 
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