Jesus, appealed to Christians as the great witness to his life, death and resurrection. Its earliest form was the greeting of the angel Gabriel at Nazareth, according to St.Luke’s gospel:

Hail Mary,
full of grace,
the Lord is with you.

By those words of the angel God announced a divine favor. God would be with Mary. She would bring Jesus Christ into the world. Over time the greeting given to Mary by her cousin Elizabeth, recorded in St. Luke, was added:

Blessed are you among women 
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

Finally by the 15th century, the remainder of the prayer appeared:

Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death.

The prayer calls upon Mary, who is full of grace and close to her Son, to intercede for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. With the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted her on Calvary when he said: “Behold your mother,” we share her as mother.

Mary will always bring Christ into our life. From the beginning she knew him; she witnessed his life, death and resurrection; will she not help us to know him and the mysteries of his life? We trust her to care for us as she cared for the newly married couple at Cana in Galilee. We can trust her with our needs.

By the end of the 16th century the practice of saying 150 Hail Marys in series or decades of 10 became popular among many ordinary Christian people. During these prayers the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection were remembered. That practice of praying is known now as the Rosary.

Mary has always been a model of faith and a companion for Christian believers. When the angel Gabriel came to her, she believed the words he spoke and she maintained her belief without hesitation even to the dark test of Calvary. She accompanies us too who are the brothers and sisters of her Son, as we journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties.

Through the centuries many ordinary Christians have found that Hail Mary and the Rosary a source of spiritual blessing. A prayer like the rosary is both simple and profound. Not beyond anyone’s reach, its repeated words bring peace to
the soul.

And the mysteries of joy, sorrow and glory recalled from Jesus’ life are meant to be repeated in our own.