cover-Word by Word Slowing Down with the Hail Mary

Updated and enhanced versions of these reflections are available in the new book, Word by Word: Slowing Down with the 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.

When I started this endeavor of Looking Closer at the Hail Mary, I really had no idea how it would turn out. The plan was to have one word from the Hail Mary, (a total of 42 words), posted twice a week over 6 months, with reflections from 40 contributors.

It seemed both easy and impossible. It had the possibility to inspire, but the chance to bomb.

I asked a bunch of people, certain I would get a lot of negative responses. I didn’t. I was overwhelmed, in fact, with the positive responses of people with a lot already on their plates agreeing to the extra work.

I braced myself, expecting people to fail on me at the last minute, asking for an out. As it turned out, only one person had to decline, and then with plenty of notice.

Over the course of the last few months, as we’ve gone through my favorite prayer word by word, I’ve learned a lot.

I’ve learned that the Catholic blogosphere is as amazing as ever, that the Catholic writers I’ve gotten to know are as generous as ever, and that I’m not the only one who loves this little prayer.

I’ve learned that this prayer means different things to me every time I pray it. I’ve learned to slow down a bit, in prayer and in life, and examine things more closely.

In case you want to go back and revisit it, I’ve included the links above to each word. I’ll also list them below, organized first by word and then by author.

NOW AVAILABLE IN BOOK FORM!

cover-Word by Word Slowing Down with the Hail Mary

If you enjoy these reflections, be sure to check out Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary, which includes most of these reflections, edited and enhanced with prayer prompts to help you grow closer to Mary and her Son through the Hail Mary.

Blog Reflections Organized by Word:

Hail | Mary | full | of | grace
the | Lord | is | with | thee
Blessed | art | thou | among | women
and | blessed | is (2)| the (2) | fruit | of (2) | thy | womb | Jesus
Holy | Mary | Mother | of (3) | God
pray | for | us | sinners
now | and (2) | at | the (3) | hour | of (4) | our | death
Amen.

Blog Reflections Organized by Author:

cover-Word by Word Slowing Down with the Hail Mary

If you enjoy these reflections, be sure to check out Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary, a compilation of most of these reflections, edited and enhanced with prayer prompts to help you grow closer to Mary and her Son through the Hail Mary.