Saying The Hail Mary

[Mickey's_Girl]

I was curious: when along your journey into the Church did you start feeling comfortable with or actually praying the Hail Mary? Or the rosary? I ask because I was reading the "perpetual Hail Mary" thread on Open Mic, and I thought about adding something (which is weird, in and of itself! I can't believe I even considered it! But I wasn't even fazed!). But I didn't know if that was one of those things you couldn't do till you were actually part of the church, or what.

Thanks!

MG

[Aloysius]

Mary is the mother of all Christians... it's just usually mainly only us Catholics (and the Orthodox) that recognize it. by all means pray the Hail Mary!

Bro Adam had an awesome conversion involving the Rosary before he even decided to become Catholic.

[Ellenita]

I started praying it fairly early on before I joined the church. I had been given a set of small rosary beads by my Nan many years ago who I was very close to when she was alive, so when I found a 'how to pray the rosary' guide, it kind of felt like it would be a good thing to do. Sadly the beads broke - I don't think that set was really designed for everyday use! I still have them though - they mean too much to throw away!

I was very nervous about praying it at first though and I had to read the specific bible passages for the mysteries, rather than meditating on them, to reassure myself that this was all about Jesus, that the focus was on Him. It took me quite a while of praying it on my own before I was able to pray it out loud with other people.

I have to say I find now find it a most beautiful form of prayer and if there is a day when I don't pray it for some reason I really miss it. I try to pray it everyday. It has without doubt made me more disciplined in my prayer life and deepened my knowledge, understanding and love of Jesus. I wasn't aware that there are promises made for people who pray it either when I first started, but I can honestly say that I have seen the evidence of some of the promises in my life...and this of course without looking for them or expecting them!

One of the most amazing experiences I've had praying the rosary has been at Fatima where it is prayed before the candle light procession at night. It was incredible to hear people from all round the world praying it in their own language, lifting their voices together to God - I thought it must have been something like the experience of Pentecost.


There are some very good explanations here at Phatmass about the prayers used in the rosary and how they are completely biblical - you might find it useful to read them. I also found the guide in 'Catholicism for Dummies' really helpful when I first started.

[homeschoolmom]

I wasn't at all comfortable with "the whole Mary thing" right up until Holy Week. My grandma was dying and I felt compelled to pray for her (to the best of my knowledge, she was an agnostic). I prayed my first rosery Tuesday of that week. She died the next day.

[Crusader_4]

I have to admit i asked about the rosary to my sponsor ( a Jesuit Priest) before i even knew it involved the Hail Mary...and my sponsor who is an awesome guy! went out and bought me a rosary as a present. So he was telling me how to pray it even photocopied advice, mysteries, and a how to guide for me. I had always been great with the intercession of the Saints but when i heard the word Hail Mary ten times in a decade i felt...well uh oh how can this be about Christ? But i started prarying it first focussing really on the words (didnt quite get the mystery part at first) as a protestant backgound i think i was focussing mostly on the words and externals rather then internals...then one night out of nowhere i found a site called i think not sure www.virtualrosary.com off phatmass (i think) and it helped me out tons i talked to some priests as well and WOW. I started big into the meditations and what an impact it has brought me soooo much closer to Christ and it as far as i am concered is the best praryer. But i was hesistant at first but now its so beautiful it is undescrbibale the effect the rosary has when prayed right and it bring soo much order to my prayer life it is no longer caotic i use the rosary in thanksgiving and supplication and soo much its soo beatufilu rosary is the best!! AMDG!

[Fides_et_Ratio]

I have a few Protestant friends who don't have a problem reciting the "Hail, Mary" after I showed them where the majority of the verses were found in the Bible (though some still aren't sure on the last part about asking Mary to pray for them)

Luk 1:28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: [b]Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women[/b]

Luk 1:42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed art thou among women [b]and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. [/b] (Jesus)

and then the rest, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen." doesn't usually get on their nerves since they'll all admit they are sinners in need of prayer... and I've managed to convince some of them there is a great possibility that those in Heaven can be aware of the happenings on earth.

So if any of them decide to convert, they'll have been praying it before they even considered converting!

[homeschoolmom]

I have a cd of the rosary. It was very helpful so I didn't have to keep stopping to look up what was next. It helped with the mysteries, too. Now I can pray it without the cd, but I still listen to the CD when I'm getting ready in the morning or whatever.

[Sojourner]

I prayed it before the actual Easter Vigil service, but not before deciding to convert. And it didn't really click with me until after Easter Vigil. Now I love it.

[FaustinaVianney]

I started praying the rosary a few months after starting RCIA. I had no idea what the rosary was nor did I have one, but the Blessed Mother was leading me to do so. I found a small booklet that someone had given me recently recited the prayers in it and used my fingers to number off the 'Hail Mary's.' Mary only leads us closer to her Son. Who knows a Son better than His own mother?? If you feel any inclination to pray a Hail Mary or the entire Rosary I would do so. Mary it just trying to bring you closer to the good Lord.

[PedroX]

MG,

The Marian doctrines and devotion were/are the hardest for me. It strange because the concept of saints and "praying" to them wasn't, but it was something about Mary. So, I began praying the Hail Mary to grow my love for Mary. Again, it was after I decided to convert, but it was really helpful. I still don't pray the "formal" rosary often, but I say the Hail Mary a lot.

God bless you in your search. It has been such a joy to see you on this board and get snippets of your journey. Its like an old friend coming home. Oh, wait that is exactly what it is!

peace...

[Mickey's_Girl]

[quote]God bless you in your search. It has been such a joy to see you on this board and get snippets of your journey. Its like an old friend coming home. Oh, wait that is exactly what it is!  [/quote]

Hee hee. PedroX, you are not subtle, there.

But I appreciate your encouragement and prayers. I need both!

MG

[Pyrite]

I still am Pre-Conversion - I couldn't really pray the Rosary until I got past a (what I call) Mary Complex. I was raised to believe ghastly lies about the Church, so I took it upon myself to figure out the truth about what I was told growing up. It took me from about December '03 to April of this year to really get past the Mary Complex. Now that I have, I find it easier and more willing to pray the Rosary. I'm now working on my attention span so that I can say it without wandering off mentally, or falling asleep. I think I've maybe said three complete Rosaries where I didn't fall asleep in the middle of it. I felt somewhat bad, then I realized that when I do fall asleep praying, the last thought in my head was about Christ. Good to know if I were to die in my sleep or something.

Nevertheless, I think the main reason why I started to do it on my own (not in RCIA or anything) is that I was forbidden from it and all Catholic Church doctrines when growing up. There's something about exploring something 'forbidden' that made me want to do it all that more. Now that it's not forbidden to me, I do it because I want to grow closer to Christ and develop more love for Mary. I also say some Hail Marys when I'm feeling anxious or scared or alone.

[akamarymag]

I probaly started praying the rosary less than a month before the vigal. I actully had a rosary before i even considerd joining the church but waited until then to pray it.

[P3chrmd]

Its so strange because when I was an evangelical baptist one would have thought that Marian devotion would be the hardest thing for me to except about coming into the church! NOT THE CASE AT ALL! Mary is the one who ultimately led me to the Catholic Church and to the full truth of her son! Thats why ever since becoming a Catholic..I have always had a special devotion to Our Lady! HOW AWSOME IS OUR MOTHER!

[immaculata]

I know a priest who's mom is Luthern, but she started praying 15 decades of the rosary every day. (she does the full 20 on feast days )