Yes, the first and most foundational prayer among all our devotions to Our Lady—the Hail Mary—is indeed biblical!
When we begin the Hail Mary, we are, in fact, quoting the Archangel Gabriel, who greeted Mary at the Annunciation with these words:
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”
The Annunciation by Fra Angelico
We continue the prayer with the words of St. Elizabeth, who said to her cousin at the Visitation:
“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!”
Both of these passages are from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. We are directly quoting Scripture every time we pray the Hail Mary!
One of the occasions where we pray the Hail Mary frequently is the Holy Rosary. Dive deeper into its beautiful imagery with The Art of the Holy Rosary: Illustrated Mysteries for Meditation. This book of beautiful artwork and quotations from the Bible and the saints is designed to help us meditate on the life of Our Lord and Our Lady, as presented to us through the Holy Rosary. Prayer is the lifting of our hearts to God and we hope that this stunning book will assist you in that work. Available today at The Catholic Company!
