"Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you." I will never forget the first time I ever really "heard" those words. I was outside the doors of St. Mary's of the Lakes about to go to my first Mass. They sounded like a cultic chant; some type of Christian prater. Was this really where God was calling me? I opened the door and peered in and then closed it quickly afraid of what might happen as if their words might cast some spell. "Breathe", I told myself as I paced outside the parish doors, now perspiring as I waited for my friend Dominic to arrive.
Why would I have such a reaction to these words, especially hearing them in prayer?
Why would I have both an intellectual and visceral reaction that was so negative?
What is the Angelic Salutation?
The beginning of the "Hail Mary" is taken right out of the Angel Gabriel's mouth. We know that angels are messengers for God. Therefore, we know the words in Gabriel's mouth were straight from God's mouth. Why does he send the message and what does it perform?
St. Paul reminds us that God "sent" His son "in the fullness of time" (Gal 4:4). How did he do this sending? It was done by none other than Gabriel and through Mary's fiat ("be it unto me, according to your word") that salvation came into the world. So, there are two hinges to the door of salvation opening to humanity: (1) the word of the Lord and (2) Mary's free response to it.
The Angelic Salutation, St. Louis de Montfort instructs us, "is so heavenly and so beyond us in its depth of meaning that...no mere creature could ever possibly understand it, and that only Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary can really explain it" (The Secret of the Rosary). What this great saint and millions of others (including those praying in St. Mary's of the Lakes that morning) find in these words is the entire Gospel, the entire Good News. What is this news? It is that God has sent his Son and that mankind can accept the gift and be saved. This hope is found concomitantly in the Annunciation (Gabriel's message) and the Incarnation (Mary's fiat). When Gabriel announced salvation to the world, creation stood still awaiting humanity's response. Would salvation come to men?
IIn very much the same way that the serpent's offer to Eve awaited her response and so fell mankind, God's message through Gabriel awaited Mary's response. What would men say? Would this woman make the wrong choice again?And creation rejoiced! She was The Woman who had been promised in Genesis. Salvation has come to men! In the Angelic Salutation we find the true inbreaking of God's salvation. It is what, since the beginning, has been anticipated. In this moment, the door to the Tree of Life is being granted access again. What the Angel in Genesis guarded against our entry, now the Angel was offering for our salvation. In Mary's fiat, the door was swung wide open! Come, all you who are weary and heavy laden. Come the poor, sinner, broken, and sick. Come and be refreshed. You banished children of Eve, as children of the New Eve, salvation has come to your house. The Virgin predestined about from the beginning has come and she is bearing a "seed" that will crush Satan, death, hell, and the grave.
Be not Afraid
How could it be that the very words that bring me salvation made me pace in fear? Who else do these words make tremble? As I reflect upon this, I can clearly see that the serpent, the one who was anticipating this moment of failure, this moment of defeat, hates to hear those words, hates to see Christians praying those words especially with Mary. Why with Mary? Because, it is with Mary that Satan cannot question the fruit of the Angel's words. Mary is the instrument of God who "watches over" His word to perform it (Jer 1:12). Could Satan be the father of lies that makes men so hardened to the "Hail Mary" since it is such his enemy?
Yes, he is the father of lies. Yes, the fact that I was so afraid of those words that morning shows that somehow I had bought a lie. But there is hope.
Although you may find the words "Hail Mary" troubling, you are in good company. At first, Mary was also disconcerted by what the Angel said. However, Gabriel continued, "Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God."
I walked into the parish that morning. Somehow, the Angel's words reached my ears. When you hear the words "Hail Mary", do not be afraid as well. The door to the Tree of Life has been opened, salvation has come to men!
