I love the Hail Mary in French the language of my ancestors. As you probably know the French word for full is 'plein'. Plein is also the word for pregnant. Pregnant with grace, how truly beautiful is that, giving flesh to the source and summit of all grace, to God Himself, the Baby Jesus. Full of Grace indeed. What a lovely name.
I see the archangels address to Mary as her name even before Mary gives her Fiat. Her Pregnancy with the Word of God is after Gabriel’s salutation. And once Mary gives her fiat the word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us! Mary was Full of grace from her conception. The Immaculate Conception. She was and is the aqueduct of all grace and God has honoured her and made her the mediator of all grace. And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, [27] To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin' s name was Mary. [28] And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. [29] Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. [30] And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. [31] Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. [32] He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. [33] And of his kingdom there shall be no end. [34] And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? [35] And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. [36] And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: [37] Because no word shall be impossible with God. [38] And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
One of my patients had been unable to become pregnant because of various health problems having tried for a long time. On my return from Garabandal I gave her a relic medal and told her Our Lady had promised that her Son would work prodigies for those who wore objects kissed by Her at Garabandal. Within a very short time she was expecting. She gave birth to a beautiful daughter who she named Grace.
Hi Josephite It's a cold winter night with clear starry skies here in the North Island of New Zealand. The South Island had minus 20c today. I popped across the road and opened the church early so I could put on the heater before our little group arrived at 7 to say the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows. There were only three of us and one was late. She couldn't find her rosaries. Before the third one arrived I told Barbara, who has 10 children and leads a very full life but never too busy to help, about Mary's heavenly name. She loved it and this revelation gave a new focus to our prayers. A real inspiration for us Kiwis
Hi Joe, I live across the ditch in Australia. Not as cold here though, in fact I think here in the Northern rivers area of NSW we've only had 2 small frosts so far, but it never really gets too cold. However I have a son living in Lithgow and it's been very chilly for months now, I think the frosts there, last all day, as its a lot further south and its in a basin surrounded by mountains and the wind chill keeps everyone inside. One of my ambitions in life is to live next door or across the road from a church, how wonderful! It's beautiful that we are privledged to know Our Blessed Mothers heavenly name and I feel the same as you, honoured, and I'm happy your prayer group like this too. Please pray for me. God bless
Hi neighbour, good to have you near. I lived in Oz in the 70s and 80s. I grew to love that sunburnt country and was heart broken to leave. Never mind it has all worked out well. I think Ozzies are the salt of the earth. I posted a couple of photos of my church on aviso news. keep posting Joe
You are very kind. I'm not sure many would consider Ozzies to be the salt of the earth, these days. I look forward to all your posts. God bless Carolyn
