Alter Christus - My "Hail Mary"

We recite this prayer so often - but how mechanically, perhaps! The remedy lies in meditating occasionally on its meaning - and its special meaning for priests - so as to make it the sincere expression of our personal attitude towards her who is our Queen and our Mother.

MATER ADMIRABILIS
Hail Mary - As the angel saw Mary and greeted her, as Bernadette gazed in rapture at the "beautiful Lady" and conversed with her: so I, too, now. My Mother is here: I see her and salute her... And this, over and over again every day. - Then, is my priestly life a lonely one? Yes, in a way (at least it ought to be : " in the world, but not of the world"); and yet how could it be lonely with the com­panionship of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, with the sweet presence of my Mother remembered every time I say "Hail Mary"?

Full of Grace - Beauty unfathomable! From the very moment of her Immaculate Conception to the last hour of her earthly life, God's gifts of grace were proportioned to her divine Motherhood and incessantly growing by her most perfect co-operation. - The mere remembrance of that incomparable splendour, always an uplift for my soul, renews my confidence in God's graces, proportioned also to my priesthood, and my longing to correspond faithfully, with the help of the "Mater Divinae Gratiae".

The Lord is with Thee - Even before the Incarnation, the all-encompassing love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost for the future Mother of God; then, the Word made flesh in the womb of the Virgin; and, after the Nativity, the ever-growing union of love between Son and Mother! - May the Lord be ever with me too, His unworthy servant, since I must ever give Him to others; may my "Dominus Vobis­cum" be a true communication of what is the very life of my priestly soul... "Dominus sit in corde meo et in labiis meis."

Blessed art Thou amongst Women - How far superior to all her prototypes of the Old Testament through whom salvation had come to God's people: by her vocation, the Mother of God; by her mission, Co-redemptrix of the world; by her gifts and graces, "fecit mihi magna qui potens est". - Ever-abiding joy of her children at those blessings lavished on their Mother, and union of heart with her in the feelings of her "Magnificat"... Nothing can take away that purest, truly filial joy from us, even in this vale of tears.

And Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb Jesus - The chief title of Mary to our gratitude: she has given us Jesus our salvation, sanctification, joy and riches! And she ever goes on giving Jesus to all longing and pure hearts; she has no greater desire than to share "the fruit of her womb" with her other children by helping them to reproduce the virtues of her first-born. - I am to be in spirit and in truth "another Christ": I must never cease imploring Mary to imprint upon my heart the feelings of the Heart of her divine Son.

AUXILIUM CHRISTIANORUM
Holy Mary - What more inspiring words can I use to address her, at this stage of my prayer when I lift up my wistful eyes and suppliant voice to make my petitions to her? It is her holiness that makes her a most perfect model for her children, and all my petitions to Mary are centered round the holiness I want for myself and for all souls entrusted to me. - Let me dwell often and lovingly on the holiness of Mary: for my own inspiration, in prayer and meditation; for the exhortation of others, in catechism and sermons.

Mother of God - Higher still soars my trust and confidence: how could there be any limit to it, when my Mother is the very Mother of God? All the gifts of divine grace merited for me by Christ are at the disposal of His Mother: there is no limit to her power with God as there is none to her love for me. - In her then will I place all my hope, finding strength and joy and sweetness in the remembrance that she is "Mater Dei et Mater mea".

Pray for Us - This urgent, humble, trusting invocation has gone up to heaven unceasingly, for centuries, from every corner of the world; and has ever found an echo in Mary's Heart. She never ceases on high the pleading she began at the foot of the Cross, offering the merits of her Son's immolation for the salvation of the world. - My turn has come: let me eagerly take my place at the feet of Mary, the "Omnipotentia Supplex", and urge the same eagerness upon my Christians, that by our unwearying appeals to her we may secure an ever greater share in her intercession.

Sinners - Sins and sinfulness: man's greatest misery, and therefore his special title to the compassionate love of his Mother. His shame may overwhelm him, his fear tend to despair; but if he goes to Mary he will find a sure haven in that "Refugium peccatorum". - When I recite these words of the "Hail Mary", I will remember the hardened sinners of my flock and commend them to Mary; I will, in all humility, think of my own sins and shortcomings, and turn with filial confidence to the Mother of Mercy. She has suffered so) much for our salvation. . .

Now - Any day, any hour, pressing needs weigh heavy on us in body or soul, on those around us, on holy Church, on the sorely tried world: Mary knows them all, she can remedy all and she will - in answer to our prayers - when and how it is best for us. "In periculis, in angustiis, in rebus dubiis, Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca."

And at the Hour of Our Death - The hour of my supreme need! When eternity is to begin, with the judgment of God at hand. All regret and sorrow, all fear and trembling will vanish, at the remembrance of my life-long appeal to Mary to pray for me at the hour of my death. . .When on my death-bed the rosary beads are entwined round my cold fingers, may this symbolize the loving devotion with which I have recited my Hail Marys every day of my life.

Amen - Yes, every time I recite this prayer, I want to say it with full sincerity and confidence.
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Adapted from Alter Christus, Meditations for Priests by F.X. L'Hoir, S.J. (1958)
Meditation 17.

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Please pray for our priests and pray for vocations to the priesthood.