“Blessed are you among women…” (Luke 1:42)How many times have we said those words? Thousands of times, maybe not even thinking about what we’re saying. As you might know, I grew up in Latin America, where there is a huge cultural devotion to Mary. (I wrote some more about Marian traditions in Latin America in Deacon-structing Mary - Part 5: Mary in the Americas.) For that reason, I didn’t grow up with a great devotion to Mary. It seemed a little superstitious, and didn’t make much sense. I thought, "why should I go to Mary, why should I pray to Mary, when I can just go straight to Jesus?" I thought that we called Mary blessed – blessed are you among women – because she’s a saint. All the saints are blessed. I mean she is the saint of all saints; she was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God, but I still thought she’s blessed because she’s a saint. Why does Elizabeth greet her and say that she is blessed? “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb…Blessed are you who believed that the promise that was spoken to you would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:42, 45). Mary herself, in the Magnificat – the prayer that she prays as a response to Elizabeth’s greeting – then says, “from this day all generations will call me blessed” (v. 48).
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. Amen.Learn more about Mary. Read Deacon-structing: Part 1: Full of Grace Part 2: The Assumption Part 3: The Rosary Part 4: Apparitions Part 5: Mary in the Americas
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