There is something simple everyone can do each day to remember Our Blessed Mother. The blessings are immeasurable! The Rosary is of course of the utmost importance, because Our Lady of Fatima requested that we pray the Rosary EVERY DAY for the conversion of sinners and for peace. The Fifteen Promises to those who pray the Rosary are truly magnificent and we should all be promoting it. You can read about them at this link: http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/prayer/15promise.htm Our Lady promises to aid us in all of our needs if we pray the Rosary and promote it. St. Padre Pio called the Rosary THE WEAPON. One day he was being troubled by the devil and called to his brother monks to get him his weapon. They looked at each other wondering what he meant, and he said, “My rosary, my rosary, my weapon is my rosary!”
Another saint-recommended practice is that of The Three Hail Marys. According to Tradition, in an apparition, Our Blessed Mother revealed her promise to St. Gertrude to those who pray the Three Hail Marys. “To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys, I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor of beauty so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with heavenly consolation.” St. Leonard preached the devotion of the Three Hail Marys to be prayed morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sin day and night. He assured his listeners: “Those who remain faithful to this pious practice will most certainly receive the grace of eternal salvation.” * The information I am including in my blog on this topic is being taken from one of my favorite books, “Prayers and Heavenly Promises” by Joan Carroll Cruz.*
Saint Alphonsus Liguori suggested that the Three Hail Marys be prayed while kneeling and that after each Hail Mary we should pray this wonderful gem: “By thy pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.” * Take the advice of the Saints and start praying! They had to know something if they became saints, right?
The devotion was also promoted by Fr. John Baptist of Blois, who founded “The Confraternity of the Three Hail Marys.” Pope Leo XIII (the pope famous for the Saint Michael Prayer that he received after a vision at the beginning of the 20th Century), granted an indulgence to those who practiced the devotion and then Pope Benedict the XV raised the Confraternity to the rank of an Archconfraternity. * This devotion then, is significant!
Imagine the graces that come from even ONE Hail Mary prayed with devotion! It is the Angel Gabriel’s Salutation to Mary at the Annunciation. It is music to Our Lady’s ears to hear from her beloved children the words of the Angel reminding her continuously of the greatness of the moment when she was to become the Mother of the Messiah, the SON of GOD!
There is MORE! These are three more Promises of Our Blessed Lady to those who pray the Three Hail Marys in honor of the Blessed Trinity. This is how I pray them with the promises themselves as part of the prayer before each Hail Mary:
“I offer these Three Hail Marys in honor of the Blessed Trinity and to give thanks for all the graces and privileges granted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and for those given to us through her intercession. I pray for the grace to avoid mortal sin this day (and night) and for the grace to become a saint.
The first Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Father, whose omnipotence raised Your soul dear mother so high above every other creature that after God you have the greatest power in Heaven and on earth. In the hour of my death, you will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power far from me…Hail Mary..by Thy Pure and Immaculate Conception O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.
The second Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Son, who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to you, Dear Mother..in the hour of my death you will fill my soul with the light of that wisdom so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled…Hail Mary…By Thy Pure and Immaculate Conception O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.
The Third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Spirit, who filled your soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy..in my last hour you will then change the bitterness of death into divine sweetness and delight..Hail Mary…By Thy Pure and Immaculate Conception O Mary, make my body pure and my soul Holy.”
Another way to pray the Three Hail Marys and information relating to the devotion: http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/three.htm
I share the great news of this devotion because I want us all to be “gluttons” for graces! Also be sure to pray the Three Hail Marys slowly and with great devotion, preferably in front of an image of Our Lady so you will be able to focus on the meaning of the words, and they will fill your heart with love and gratefulness at the magnificence of her promises!
One last thing that I just remembered..another prayer is one I pray just before praying the Three Hail Marys..as a greeting to Our Lady and to get my spiritual “cogs” turning. “Hail White Lily of the Glorious and Always Serene Trinity. Hail Brilliant Rose of the Garden of Heavenly Delights. O You by Whom God wanted to be born and by whose milk the King of Heaven wanted to be nourished. Nourish our souls with effusions of Divine Grace.” I then go into the Three Hail Marys. This prayer also has a promise attached to it: “I will appear at the hour of death to those who salute me thus, in such glory that they will anticipate the very joys of Heaven.”
It all comes down to gratitude to Our Lady. When we are grateful for all the graces she gives us, because she IS the Mediatrix of all Graces, and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, we will obtain great graces for such sacrifices and remembrances of her that are filled with love. You can be sure that she will not be outdone in generosity!
Our Lady of all Graces, pray for us, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ thy Son!
Amen.
Your Friendly Neighborhood
Catholic Blogger,
Jackie Stutmann