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Adrienne Nardone

Mr. Campbell

Honors Religion 4

16 October 2018

1st Quarter Essay: Mariology

Mariology is the study or a doctrine relating to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mariology). The

Bible only states three significant facts about the Blessed Virgin in the Book of Luke: her name

is Mary, who is a virgin and betrothed to Joseph from the House of David. Mary understood that

she was going to conceive a child as a virgin and committed to lifelong virginity after the

Annunciation. Living chaste lives was not uncommon, however her decision was climatic

because Mary was betrothed to Joseph. The next step in their relationship was the Taking Home,

which officially consummated the marriage. Although Joseph initially seemed inconsequential

for the mission given to Mary from the Angel Gabriel, he was a crucial part of the Holy Family.

Prior to the Annunciation, royal promises and messianic hopes surrounded the House of David.

Therefore, Joseph enabled Jesus to be a descendant from the House of David.

Theologians specializing in Mariology study the life of the Blessed Virgin herself along

with the Hail Mary prayer. The prayer merely began as the “Salutation of the Blessed Virgin”

circa 1050 (Hail Mary - Encyclopedia Volume - Catholic Encyclopedia). Angel Gabriel used the

first two parts of the greeting “Chaire Kecharitomene” in Luke 1:28 at the Annunciation. Luke

writes the salutation in Greek rather than the Jewish language to emphasize its importance.

“Chaire” is an imperative command to hail or rejoice. “Kecharitomene” is a perfect passive

participle, which represents past completed actions that result in a present state of being.
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Grammatically, “kecharitomene” means Mary has been graced before the Annunciation and will

continue to be graced afterwards. As a result, “chaire kecharitomene” roughly translates to “Hail,

Full of Grace”. Christians may ask why the Angel Gabriel did not call Mary by her name, which

also contains deeper meaning. Throughout the Bible, God signifies a new mission by renaming

the specific disciple. For example, God renamed Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah when

they had Isaac. Angel Gabriel signifies that Mary is given a new mission by calling her

“kecharitomene” rather than Mary. The final part of the greeting is the reason why Mary should

rejoice according to the previous words. Part of the new mission of Mary is to help fulfill the

protoevangelium on the open battlefield between human-kind and evil. Angel Gabriel finishes

his greeting with “The Lord is With You”, assuring Mary that God is here throughout her battle

to kill the enemy king. Any woman in the Bible who has fulfilled the protoevangelium is called

“blessed are you amongst women”. Besides Mary, two other women named Ja’el and Judith have

fulfilled the protoevangelium. Both women directly killed evil men, or struck at the head of the

enemy king. Mary and Jesus fulfill the protoevangelium together. Without Mary agreeing to

conceive Jesus, human-kind would not have been saved. As a result, the translation of Genesis

3:15 states that Mary and Jesus strike at the head of the serpent simultaneously while the serpent

strikes at their heels. Because Jesus fulfilled the protoevangelium to its fullest potential, “blessed

is the fruit of [Mary’s] womb” (Hail Mary - Encyclopedia Volume - Catholic Encyclopedia). St.

Ildephonsus of Toledo is regarded as the apocryphal to first use the full introduction in a

somewhat modern era. An apocryphal is someone or a story of “doubtful authenticity”

(Mariology). He is said to have entered his Church and miraculously saw the Blessed Virgin

Mary surrounded by a choir of angels. While continuously genuflecting, St. Ildephonsus repeated

the greeting “Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women,
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and blessed is the fruit of thy womb”. Before 1050, the words “Ave Maria” and “benedicta tu in

mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui”, which translates to the Hail Mary introduction, were

seen together often, but it was not assumed to be a formula for a prayer (Hail Mary -

Encyclopedia Volume - Catholic Encyclopedia). Around 1196, the “Salutation of the Blessed

Virgin” was as well-known as the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.

The Hail Mary was not regarded as a prayer until after the 12th century because it

contained no petitions. By the 13th century, repetition of the Hail Mary salutation was practiced

as a penitential exercise. Those participating in the penitential exercise regularly created their

own endings as petitions. The most popular yet incorrect ending is attributed to Dante: “Oh

Blessed Virgin, pray to God for us always, that he may pardon us and give us grace, so to live

here below that He may reward us with paradise at our death” (Hail Mary - Encyclopedia

Volume - Catholic Encyclopedia). In the 15th century, all languages ended the Hail Mary

regarding humans as sinners and Mary helping people in their last hour before death. Christians

recognized their place as poor sinners who needed mercy and maternal care from Mary. Around

1493, the French added “Holy Mary moder of God praye for us synners. Amen” from the

translation of Pynson (Hail Mary - Encyclopedia Volume - Catholic Encyclopedia). The first full

Hail Mary was seen by the Camaldolese monks in the Order de Mecede circa 1514. The official

Hail Mary spoken today was recognized at the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and then given

in the Roman Breviary of 1568.

Mariology allows Christians to understand the importance of Mary and the Hail Mary in

the Catholic faith. The Blessed Virgin guides the prayers of Christians to Jesus Christ. In each of

the five Mysteries of the Rosary, Mary exhibits different virtues and calls every Christian to

“imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae 35). As a
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result of becoming virtuous, disciples of God earn eternal bliss in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Without the intercession of Mary in prayers and the Rosary, Christians would be lost when

attempting to find God. Jesus is the way of our prayer, [and] Mary shows us the directions to the

Way (Rosarium Virginis Mariae 16).


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Works Cited

“Hail Mary - Encyclopedia Volume - Catholic Encyclopedia.” Catholic Online,

www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=5489.

“Mariology.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/Mariology.

Paul, John. “Rosarium Virginis Mariae.” Received by Bishops, Clergy, and faithful on the Most

Holy Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2002.

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