How one family found joyful consistency in prayer with the time-honoured Three Hail Mary Devotion.
Starting small
While the practice of praying a daily rosary is still a work in progress for my young family, one prayer we have been able to commit to our daily prayer time is the Three Hail Mary Devotion.
As the name suggests, this simple devotion consists of praying the Hail Mary three times a day. In doing so, we honour the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity: the Omnipotence of God the Father, the Wisdom of God the Son, and the Goodness of God the Holy Ghost.
As the Hail Mary prayer contains the very words spoken to the Virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel when the Son of God became man (Luke 1:26-45), reciting this prayer brings the joyful message of salvation into our home each day. When we meditate upon the Incarnation and consider all the “praiseworthy deeds and wonders of the Lord” (Psalm 78:4), we are able to live each day joyfully (despite what’s going on), with the reassurance that “God is with us.” Starting each morning with prayer influences the entire day and all the emotions it may hold.
The History
Originating in the thirteenth century, the Three Hail Mary devotion was first revealed to St Mechtilde of Hackeborn (1241-1298) by the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary promised special privileges to those who would faithfully recite three Hail Marys each day. Many great Saints have been faithful devotees of this practice, including St Alphonsus Liguori, St Gertrude the Great, and St Leonard of Port Maurice.
A family affair
Following their example, my husband and I have committed to praying three Hail Marys with our children every day for the last six years. There are also other types of prayer we incorporate into our family prayer, but we begin and end each day with the Three Hail Mary Devotion because we know of its great efficacy and power.
Whilst it can be offered up for any intention, our family prays this prayer for the grace of purity (body, mind and heart), and to avoid all mortal sin. We also conclude each Hail Mary with the following invocation: O my dearest Mother, please preserve me this day/night from all mortal sin.
With four young children aged between 0-6, we don’t always pray perfectly! However, our faithfulness to this daily prayer has seen many fruits for our family. Instead of resenting prayer, our children happily participate in this practice because it is not overly burdensome and something they can easily recite. Many times our children will also ask to say extra prayers, which they often request to put to song. Though their vocal styling isn’t quite up to Andrea Bocelli’s level just yet, it is such a joyful listening experience!
The Transformative Power of Prayer
Faithfulness to prayer also has a way of transforming our hearts to be more attuned to the needs of others. Just the other day, my son asked me if we could pray our three Hail Marys for “the grumpy lady with the dog” we had walked past earlier that day. When I asked him why he would like to pray for her he responded, “she must have been having a bad day because she ignored us when we smiled and said hello.” Though I must admit I wasn’t feeling much inspiration to pray for her (still feeling disgruntled by her impoliteness), my heart was moved by the compassion my son showed towards this total stranger.
Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of Himself.
If you’re looking for something to incorporate into your daily prayer with your children and don’t know where to start, this devotion is perfect for May – the month of Our Lady. From my experience, it will be the best three minutes you can give to your family.
Holly is a trained secondary teacher and mother of four. She has a Master’s degree in Theology and is passionate about sharing her faith and encouraging women in their journey of motherhood. Holly is married to Philip and lives in Melbourne with their young children.
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