It is difficult, if not impossible, to prepare for the coming of Christ during Advent and to celebrate Christmas without a true devotion to Mary. The Liturgy of the Catholic Church offers two opportunities during December to honor our Blessed Mother, that is, the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe. And the first day of the year will honor her as Mother of God. The liturgical texts before Christmas point to Mary in expectation and ready to give us her Son. Often, we come across the wonderful quote of St Augustine who reminds us that Mary conceived first in her heart and then in her womb.
Praying the angelic salutation, the Hail Mary, with devotion is of great help. St Thomas Aquinas says that the Hail Mary has three parts: the words of the Archangel Gabriel, the words of St Elizabeth and what the Church added: her name, Mary since the Angel called her with the divine name full of grace.
“Hail”
What takes place in the first part is unusual. In the Old Testament, people were used to honoring angels when they appeared, but here is the Archangel who honors a creature: “To show that she excelled the Angels in these, the Angel desired to show her reverence, and so he said: “Ave (Hail),” Thomas says.
“Full of Grace”
“The Blessed Virgin was superior to any of the Angels in the fullness of grace, and as an indication of this, the Angel showed reverence to her by saying: “Full of grace.” This is as if he said: “I show you reverence because you dost excel me in the fullness of grace” … Mary is full of grace, exceeding the Angels in this fullness and very fittingly is she called “Mary” which means “in herself enlightened”: “The Lord will fill your soul with brightness” [Is 48:11]. And she will illumine others throughout the world for which reason she is compared to the sun and to the moon.
“The Lord is With You”
The Blessed Virgin excels the Angels in her closeness to God. The Angel Gabriel indicated this when he said: “The Lord is with you”—as if to say: “I reverence you because you art nearer to God than I, because the Lord is with you.” God the Son was in her womb: “Rejoice and praise, O you habitation of Sion; for great is He that is in the midst of you, the Holy One of Israel” [Is 12:6].
“Blessed Art You Among Women”
The Blessed Virgin exceeds the Angels in purity. She is not only pure, but she obtains purity for others. She is purity itself, wholly lacking in every guilt of sin, for she never incurred either mortal or venial sin. So, too, she was free from the penalties of sin.”
“Blessed is the Fruit of your Womb”
“The Blessed Virgin… and all Christians found in the Fruit of her womb, Him whereby we are all united to God and are made like to Him: “When He shall appear, we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is” [1 Jn 3:2].”
Dear All: I hope this synthesis of Aquinas’ explanation on the Hail Mary will be useful for your last days of preparation for Christmas. May our Blessed Mother always guide you to her Son who was born to save us. Merry Christmas!
1 See THE ANGELIC SALUTATION by Thomas Aquinas translated by Joseph B. Collins New York, 1939 – Edited and Html-formatted by Joseph Kenny, O.P. 2 From https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/este-es-el-significado-de-la-imagen-de-la-virgen-de-guadalupe-74417, accessed on December 18, 2022.
