Hail Mary
The Hail Mary, also commonly called the Ave Maria (Latin), is a traditional Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Roman Catholicism, the prayer forms the basis of the Rosary. In the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, a similar prayer is used in formal liturgies, both in Greek and in translations. It is also used by many other groups within the catholic tradition of Christianity including Anglicans, Independent Catholics, and Old Catholics.
Largely based on the Gospel of Luke, the prayer takes different forms in various traditions. The prayer incorporates two greetings to Mary: "Hail, the Lord is with thee.” and "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."
In mid-13th-century Western Europe the prayer consisted only of these words with the single addition of the name "Mary" after the word "Hail".
This is the version in use today:
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst 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.
Here is a link to a video clip showing how to use the rosary and pray this Mantra:
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