HEAVEN OPENED by the practice of THE THREE HAIL MARYS
One of the greatest means of salvation, and one of the surest signs of predestination, is, unquestionably, the devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin. All the holy doctors of the Church are unanimous in saying with St. Alphonsus of Liguori: "A devout servant of Mary shall never perish."
The chief thing is to persevere faithfully till death in this devotion.
Can there be an easier or a more adaptable practice for all than the recitation each day of three Hail Marys in honor of the privileges conferred by the Adorable Trinity on the Blessed Virgin?
One of the first to say the three Hail Marys and to recommend them to others was the illustrious St. Anthony of Padua. His special aim in this practice was to honor the spotless Virginity of Mary and to preserve a perfect purity of mind, heart and body in the midst of the dangers of the world. Many, like him, have felt its salutary effects.
Later on, St. Leonard of Port-Maurice, the celebrated missionary, had the three Hail Marys recited morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sins during the day or night; moreover, he promised in a special manner eternal salvation to all those who proved constantly faithful to this practice.
After the example of those two great Franciscan Saints, St. Alphonsus of Liguori adopted this pious practice and gave it his most ardent and powerful support. He counseled its use and even imposed it as a penance on those who had not adopted this good habit.
The holy Doctor exhorts, in particular, parents and confessors to watch carefully that children be faithful in reciting each day their three Hail Marys, morning and evening. Or rather, like St. Leonard of Port-Maurice, he earnestly recommends it to all, "to the devout and to sinners, to the young and old."
Even persons consecrated to God will derive from this practice much precious and salutary fruit. Numerous examples may show how agreeable the three Hail Marys are to the Divine Mother and what special graces they draw, during life and at the hour of death, on those who never omit them for a single day.
This practice has been revealed to St. Melchtilde (13th Century) with the promise of a good death, if she was faithful to it, every day.
It is written, also, in St. Gertrudes revelations: "While this Saint sang the Hail Mary, at the matins of the Annunciation, she suddenly saw spring out from the Heart of the Father and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, three bright flames which penetrated the Heart of the Holy Virgin." Then she heard the following words: "After the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son and the merciful Tenderness of the Holy Spirit, nothing approaches the Power, the Wisdom and the merciful Tenderness of Mary."
His Holiness Benedict XV has raised the Confraternity of the Three Hail Marys to an Archconfraternity by according it precious indulgences with the power to aggregate to itself all Confraternities of the same kind, and to communicate them its own indulgences.
Practice: Recite, morning and evening, three Hail Marys in honor of the three great privileges, with this invocation at the end: for the morning: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this day," for the evening: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this night."
(Indulgences of 200 days granted by Leo XIII, 300 days for the members of the Archconfraternity of the Three Hail Marys by Benedict XV, and Apostolic Benediction by Pius X.)
ACT OF CONSECRATION
TO OUR LADY OF THE BLESSED TRINITY
With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, Daughter of the Eternal Father, and I consecrate to Thee my soul with all its faculties. -- Hail Mary...*
With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Mother of the Son of God. I consecrate to Thee my body with all its senses. -- Hail Mary...*
With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Spouse of the Holy Ghost, I consecrate to Thee my heart, with all its affections and beseech Thee to obtain for me from the Most Holy Trinity all the graces necessary for salvation. -- 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
A little gift from Heaven
In times of danger, we must turn to the Blessed Virgin for help. We must persevere faithfully in our devotion to Her. St. Alphonsus de Liguori tells us: A devout servant of Mary shall never perish.
You know that Our Lady asks us to pray the Holy Rosary daily. The devotion of the Three Hail Marys is not intended to replace the Rosary, but to be used in addition to it.
Especially for children, but also many others, practice of saying three Hail Marys in the morning and evening, as described in the leaflet, can be a first step leading to the practice of the daily praying of the Most Holy Rosary.
Dont underestimate the power of this devotion!
You may think that this devotion is a small thing, even insignificant, but please dont underestimate it.
I recently received a letter from a Brother Priest who told a story he had heard from a visiting bishop which testifies to the power of this little devotion. Let me share a bit of it with you:
The bishop said that when he was selected to be a bishop a week before he was raised to that position, he went on retreat.
While driving down a deserted highway in the desert at night, he came upon a one-car accident. He stopped to help and discovered the sole person in the car was a man who was dying.
The man was a Catholic, so the priest heard his confession and gave him the last rites. Just before the man died, the priest asked him what he had done to deserve such a grace as to have a Catholic priest come along on a deserted highway just in time to hear his confession and prepare him for death.
The man answered, No matter how drunk or debauched a life I was leading, I always said the Three Hail Marys. When I was away from the Faith, the only thing I ever did was pray the Three Hail Marys, usually when I wanted a favor, but pray them I did and quite often. That was all I prayed.
What a beautiful tribute to Our Lady, and to the subtle power of this small devotion of the Three Hail Marys!
Thanks!
