This post is contributed by Ted Clarkson. Before we let you read his wonderful post we wanted to let you know that we are taking the holidays off and will be back with the blog in January. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Hail Mary!
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.
Advent is one of the richest seasons of the Church calendar. We remember all that God did for His people in advance of the Incarnation; we re-experience Jesus’ entrance into the world to establish the Kingdom of God; and we prepare ourselves for Christ’s ultimate return in triumph and great glory. We light candles to track our progress towards the Feast of the Nativity. We also remember those in Holy Scripture who heralded the coming of Emmanuel: the Archangel Gabriel, John the Baptist, Elizabeth and Zachariah, Joseph and Mary.
And we remember Mary in particular.
Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir.
To us, she is the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Heaven’s Queen, and Theotokos (Greek for God-bearer). Mary was responsible for giving human nature, our nature, to Jesus so that he could be both fully human and fully divine. The extent of Mary’s grace can (in my opinion) be summed up by hearing her immediate response to Gabriel’s words at the Annunciation, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.” It is awe inspiring to think of a young girl with that much courage, conviction and faith. If you want to dive more into what an incredible woman she was, you will have to listen to a recording of Mother Amy’s sermon for Advent IV.
Holy Women, Holy Men has this to say about Mary:
Later devotion has claimed many things for Mary which cannot be proved from Holy Scripture. What we can believe is that one who stood in so intimate a relationship with the incarnate Son of God on earth must, of all the human race, have the place of highest honor in the eternal life of God.
Hymns and prayers to Mary are some of the earliest forms of Christian devotion. The “Hail Mary” prayer, (“Ave Maria” in Latin) has been used in one form or another since the sixth century. The first two lines are based on verses from St. Luke’s Gospel:
- “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28, NRSV) is the Archangel Gabriel’s salutation at the Annunciation.
- “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1:42, NRSV) is part of Elizabeth’s greeting at the Visitation before Mary gives us her great canticle, the Magnificat.
The last part of the prayer is a petition for Mary to pray on our behalf, much in the same way we would ask a friend or parishioner to pray for us when we’re going through hard times. The “Hail Mary” is used in several larger forms of devotion such as the Rosary and the Angelus. If you were at the 11:15 service this Sunday, you were able to pray the Angelus with the whole congregation.
But wait… Latin prayers, Rosary beads, praying to Mary? Doesn’t this all sound a little too Roman Catholic for us Episcopalians? Actually the “Hail Mary” is used regularly by Episcopalians here at Transfiguration, other Anglicans around the world, many members of Eastern Orthodox Churches, and some Lutherans in addition to the world’s Roman Catholic Christians. That’s about 1.5 billion of the world’s 2.2 billion Christians.
Over the centuries, countless composers have been inspired by Marian prayers and poems. The most well known of them is probably Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria” which is performed at weddings, funerals, and Sunday services across all denominations. In The Hymnal 1982, there are several hymns dedicated to Mary such as “Sing of Mary, pure and lowly” (277) and “Sing we of the blessed Mother” (278).
In our own choral library, there are several favorite anthems that are about the BVM such as Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” and Benjamin Britten’s “Hymn to the Virgin.” The most recent Marian addition to the choral library was sung at Lessons and Carols and will be sung again on Christmas Eve by The Transfiguration Choir at the 8:00 and 10:30 services. It is from the “All-Night Vigil” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, commonly called the Rachmaninoff Vespers. The text is similar to the “Hail Mary” and will be sung in Old Church Slavonic, similar to Russian.
Theotokos Virgin, rejoice! Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
for thou hast borne the Savior of our souls.
As we prepare for Christmas Day, let us remember that the story of Jesus’ life and ministry on Earth began when a young girl named Mary agreed to bear the savior of the world. Ave!