Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

A reflection on the word “SINNERS”

By Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle

“Sinners”—now there’s a powerful word. When we pray the Hail Mary prayer we beseech our Mother in heaven to not merely remember us SINNERS, but to pray for us too. It’s a prayer of humility—we admit that we are SINNERS and we beg for prayers. And, this we ask not just from anyone—but from the MOTHER OF GOD! We can’t get any better than that except for asking God Himself!

We know that we can’t get to heaven on our own merits and prayers. We absolutely need the intercession of the Mother of God. If we were more earnest about praying our Hail Mary’s and pondered them in our hearts as we prayed, we’d be enlightened to many graces and profound mysteries.

At what particular time are we begging in advance for Mary’s powerful assistance? We specifically ask Mother Mary’s prayers for now and at the hour of our death. We certainly need her prayers now while we’re right in the thick of it, working out our salvation through the nitty-gritty details of daily life. Sometimes that now is rolling along peachy and many times that now is arduous and even painful. We absolutely need Mary, our Mother in heaven to see us through—to actually lead us through the muck and grant us the graces we need to avoid the temptations and bombardments from our ungodly culture. We need Mary now more than ever.

We also need Mary at the hour of our death because we will be tempted by the devil to despair and we will be weak and tired, and, perhaps will be suffering immensely too. Mary will help us to lift our eyes and hearts to heaven. She, being so powerful over evil, will protect us SINNERS from the devil at the times we need protection most—now and at the hour of our death.

Let’s not wait until the hour of our death to beseech our Mother Mary or just hope that she will run in to rescue us from the pits of hell at that time. Let’s nurture a special friendship with her now so she can assist us in life and guide us safely to heaven.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta whom I knew personally for about ten years had a very close relationship with Mary and taught me a simple yet profound prayer which I pray often, “Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a Mother to me now.” Mother Teresa stressed that Mother Mary wants to Mother us and wants us to call upon her often. She wants to be our Mother.

Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a Mother to me now!

Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is a wife and mother of five on earth and three in heaven. She is a catechist, EWTN TV Host, and author of numerous Catholic books including Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship, Embracing Motherhood and Rooted in Love: Our Calling as Catholic Women. Learn more at her website.

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