Bishop Anthony writes:

The first part of the Hail Mary is the Angelic Salutation - it was addressed to Our Lady Herself by the Archangel Gabriel who brought it to Mary from Heaven. The Angelic Salutation is a most concise and accurate summary of everything that Catholic theology teaches about the Blessed Virgin. Divided into two parts, firstly of praise, then of petition, the Hail Mary, in its first petition: "Hail Mary, Full of Grace! The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women!" reveals to us Mary's greatness and sublime urity. St. Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharius, and Our Lady's cousin, completes this first part when Our Lady visits her, pregnant with the Child of the Holy Ghost. St. Elizabeth cries, echoing the words of the Archangel Gabriel, and inspired, as the Scriptures relate, by the Holy Ghost: "Blessed art thou among women!" And she goes on to say: "And blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!" The second part of the Ave Maria was given to us by Holy Church herself, again under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, in 430 AD, when, at the Council of Ephesus, the Church condemned the Nestorian heresy and defined that Mary is most truly the Mother of GOD - by virtue of Christ's Divinity. From 430 the Church ordered us to pray to Our Lady under the glorious title: "Holy Mary, MOTHER OF GOD, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death."

The greatest event in the whole history of the world was the Incarnation of the Eternal Word by Whom the world was redeemed and peace restored between God and sinful man. Our Lady was chosen as his instrument for this tremendous event, and it was put into effect when she was greeted with the Angelic Salutation. Holy Church teaches us that the Archangel Gabriel, one of the leading princes of the courts of heaven, was chosen as GOD's Ambassador to deliver these glad tidings. Above all else, it was the Holy Trinity Itself which revealed to us the Hail Mary - this most sweet and powerful of all prayers.

Every time we say the Hail Mary, let us remember that by the Angelic Salutation GOD became man and a virgin became the Mother of GOD. "Hail Mary, full of Grace!" ushered in the New Law by which the souls of just men are delivered from Limbo and, as St. Louis de Montfort puts it: "the empty thrones in Heaven are filled." Above all, because the Incarnation led to the Cross, we may say that the message of Gabriel brings us the forgiveness of sins and the return of Grace to all people who accept Christ. Mary said to Gabriel: "Be it unto me according to Thy word" and by this the exiled human race was brought home, the displeasure of The Most Holy Trinity (because of our sins) was appeased and all people were afforded the possiblity, by accepting JESUS as Redeemer of the world, to obtain Eternal Life.

So, the Ave Maria is the Hymn of the New Law. Every Hail Mary and every decade of the Rosary (with its 10 Hail Marys) speeds us on our journey towards the living GOD. This devotion praises GOD THE FATHER Who so loved the world that He gave us His only son as our Saviour. The Hail Mary blesses the SON because he deigned to leave Heaven, WAS MADE MAN and redeemed us. And it glorifies the HOLY GHOST because it was He Who formed Our Lord's pure Body in Our Lady's Womb: the Body Which was to become the pure Victim of all our countless sins. And the Hail Mary greatly glorifies the MOST HOLY TRINITY because any and every homage that we pay to Our Lady returns inevitably to GOD Who is the Cause of all Mary's virtues and perfections.

Even when St. Elizabeth praised her cousin Mary on account of her elevated dignity as Mother of GOD, we know that Mary immediately returned these praises to GOD by her beautiful Magnificat. (Luke 1)

AVE: GOD's infinite power preserves Mary from sin and breaks the bondage of the first woman, Eve.

MARIA: Means 'Lady of Light' because GOD filled her with wisdom and light.

FULL OF GRACE: To instruct mankind that the Holy Ghost begat JESUS in her Womb and Mary is herself able to give us Graces in abundance when we ask her to pray for us.

THE LORD IS WITH THEE: Let us recall Mary's unspeakable joy when the Eternal Word became a man in her Womb and she, a Creature, though preserved from sin, co-operates in Christ' Saving Work.

BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN: Mary praises GOD's mercy which raised her so very high!

BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB, JESUS: The whole of Heaven rejoices with Mary to see her Divine Son, JESUS CHRIST, adored and glorified for having saved mankind.