The Hail Mary is the prayer Catholics say most often to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. It begins with the angel Gabriel’s greeting and Elizabeth’s words from Luke’s Gospel, then asks Mary to pray for us. It’s the prayer of the Rosary, and short enough for a three-year-old to learn.
Pray it with Clara
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.
Luke 1:28 and 1:42, with the Church’s prayer “Holy Mary, Mother of God”.
Pray it with Clara at bedtime, in the Little Prayer Stories app.Get the app →You say the first half; your child answers from “Holy Mary”. That’s how families pray it together in the Rosary.
Add a line each night. By the end of the week, most children can say their half on their own.
After the story, before the light goes out. The routine does half the teaching.
The first half comes from Luke’s Gospel: the angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary (Luke 1:28) and her cousin Elizabeth’s words (Luke 1:42). The second half, “Holy Mary, Mother of God…”, is the Church’s prayer asking Mary to pray for us.
Many three- and four-year-olds can say the second half when a parent says the first. Saying it together every night matters more than getting every word right.
Ten in each decade: fifty in the five decades, plus three at the beginning, so fifty-three in all.
