REV. DANIEL M. DOUGHERTY T H E P A U L I S T P R E S S New York, N. Y. THE "HAIL MARY 1 for CHILDREN By REV. DANIEL M. DOUGHERTY New York THE PAULIST PRESS 401 Watt 59th S tmt Nihil Obstat: A R T H U R J . SCANLAN, S . T . D . , Censor Librorum. Imprimatur: * PATRICK CARDINAL H A Y E S , Archbishop of New York. New York, September 15, 1935. Copyright, 1935, by The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle in the State of New York. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED I N T H E U . S . A. BY T H E PAULIST PRESS; N E W YORK, N . Y . DeseWfffed 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 Page Three To the Girls and Boys Who Use This Book: Suppose you wanted to make up a prayer. You would think hard, first. You would think of the best thoughts you could have. Then, you would pick out the best words you could. Maybe, you would say, "I cannot make a good prayer by myself." "I shall ask someone to help me. "I shall ask my mother or my father. "I shall ask my teacher." Page Five You have heard of the "Hail Mary," of course. It is very-beautiful. Who made it up? An angel made part of it. The angel said to Mary, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." A saint made part of it. Saint Elizabeth said to Mary, "Blessed art thou among women, Blessed is the fruit of thy womb." The Church added the words, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sin- ners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen." > J Page Six The "Hail Mary" is the next best prayer to the "Our Father." This little book will give you some thoughts about the "Hail Mary." It will help you to say it well. It will keep you near Mary. Then, Mary will keep you near Jesus. Jesus will keep you near His Father. Then, you will be happy here and here- after. Page Seven "HAIL" is a word like "HELLO." It is a word I use to greet people. When I say, "HAIL MARY," I greet my mother Mary. She is not far away. She is very near. She wants me to greet her often. To say, "HAIL MARY," is like wav- ing my hand to her. It tells Mary I believe she is my Mother. It tells her I remember I am her child. I will think often to say, "HAIL MARY." Then, I shall never go far from Jesus. Because Jesus is always with His Mother. Page Nine Mary Next to the holy Name of Jesus, Mary is the best name. But it has a sad meaning. It means, "BITTER." You can guess why Our Lady has this name. She had to suffer with Jesus. She had to suffer with Jesus because of sin. Page Ten When Jesus was only a baby, Mary took Him to the temple. A holy, old man was there. He took Jesus into his arms. He knew "that Jesus would one day die for sins. He told Mary about that. Then, he said to Mary, "A sword will pierce your soul." He told her she would suffer with Jesus for sins. "MARY" means "BITTER." If I remember this, I will keep from sin. Sin made Mary suffer bitterly. Page Eleven Grace is the name of God's greatest gift. It is the gift that makes the soul like God. It is the gift of LIFE. The angel said to Mary, "FULL OF GRACE." He meant that her soul was full of LIFE. Sin makes the soul die. Mary never had sin on her soul. She always did what God wanted. Sh* said to the angel, "BE IT DONE TO ME AS GOD WANTS." Page Thirteen Mary was not selfish. Mary was holy. Mary had a soul full of grace. I am bad, sometimes. I am selfish, too. At times, sin makes my soul sick. Sin puts it in danger of dying. I must pray to Mary, full of grace. She will get me grace from God. She will help my soul to keep from sin. HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE. Page Fourteen LORD is another word for KING. It means "One who rules." God the Father sent Jesus to rule the world. People were waiting many, - many years for Jesus. They wanted Jesus to save them from their sins. They often prayed, "Come, Lord, come." Many women wished to hear, "The Lord is with thee." But only Mary heard it. Jesus began to rule first in Mary's heart. His coming was a big secret. God wanted to hide a while. Jesus began to live in me at Baptism. He came to rule my heart. Page Sixteen He did not come to hide in me. He wants everybody to know that the Lord is with me. He wants me to act in the right way. He wants me to speak in the right way. He wants me to think in the right way. Mary will help me to remember that I have the Lord. I must pray to her with all my heart, "HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH THEE." Page Seventeen Saint Elizabeth was Mary's cousin. Mary went to visit Elizabeth. She had to go a long way to visit her. But she loved to go. Elizabeth was so glad to see her. She hurried out of the house. She said to Mary, "BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN." God had told Elizabeth the secret. Elizabeth knew that Mary was the Mother of Jesus. Elizabeth knew that the Lord was with Mary. She knew that Mary was the greatest woman in the world. When I say this part of the "HAIL MARY," I honor Mary very much. "HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH THEE, BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN." Page Nineteen And Blessed Is the Fruit of Thy Womb Elizabeth knew that Jesus was with Mary. Jesus Who is God made Mary great. Jesus is God. Jesus is Mary's Son. Page Twenty God the Father sent Jesus to Mary. Mary will give Jesus to the world. Jesus will save His people from their sins. Blessed is Jesus. Say to Mary with your whole heart, "BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB, JESUS." Jesus Pagre Twenty-one Holy Mary ï - i ' i " WÊ, Page Twenty-seven To be holy means to do your best. Our Lady always did her best. She knew that God had made her. She knew that God had given her gifts. ; She knew that God had chosen her for His Mother. God gave many things to Mary. Mary wanted to give God the best. She prayed as well as she could. Page Twenty-three She worked for Jesus and Joseph as hard as she could. She helped other people as much as she could. Nothing was too good for God. God wants me to be holy, too. God wants me to do my best. It is so easy to be lazy. It is so easy not to try hard. It is hard to do your best. I need help to be holy. I will think of this when I say, "HOLY MARY." Page Twenty-four Mary is the Mother of God. How wonderful this is! It is wonderful to be a creature of God. God is so good to make me from nothing. It is wonderful to be a child of God. God is so good to make me His child by making Jesus my Brother. It is wonderful to be a friend of God. Jesus was so good to say, "You are My friends." But, most wonderful it is to be God's Mother. Only one could be that. Only one out of millions. Mary is God's Mother. How lovely Mary is! God chose Mary for His Mother. "HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF GOD.': Page Twenty-six Pray for Us Sinners / Page Twenty-seven Mary is my Mother. She loves me and wants me to go to Heaven. She knows I am a sinner. She knows I need help to be good. I must ask Mary to pray for me. I need her prayers all the time. I need her prayers NOW. I must ask her to pray for me when I am dying. Then Jesus will come to judge me. Mary will ask Him to be kind to me. But I must not pray just for myself. I do not pray, "Pray for ME, a sinner." Page Twenty-eight Now and at the Hour of Our Death Page Twenty-seven I say, "Pray for US sinners." Everyday, very many people die. Sometimes, they have no chance to pray. Sometimes, they have no priest near them. Mary will pray for them. Mary will pray for me. "HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF GOD, PRAY FOR US SINNERS, NOW AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH. AMEN." Page Thirty DEAR BOYS AND GIRLS: Pray the "Hail Mary" often. Get used to talking to Mary. Sometimes, you feel like doing some- thing wrong. Pray, then, to Mary. Sometimes, you feel lazy. You do not feel like doing a good thing. Pray, then, to Mary: Mary is always listening. She is your Mother. She will pray for you, NOW, and at the hour of your death. Page Thirty-two 6 1