Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Next in beauty to the Lord's Prayer comes this prayer. It is made up of
three parts:

"Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst
women" was composed by the angel Gabriel, for these are the words he
used when he came to tell the Blessed Virgin that she was selected to be
the Mother of God (Luke 1:28). All her people knew that the Redeemer
promised from the time of Eve down to the time of the Blessed Virgin was
now to be born, and many good women were anxious to be His mother, and
they believed the one who would be selected the most blessed and happy
of all women.

"The Lord is with thee" by His grace and favor, since you are the one He
loves best. He is with all His creatures, but He is with you in a very
special manner.

After the visit of the angel, the Blessed Virgin went a good distance to
visit her cousin, St. Elizabeth, who was the mother of St. John the
Baptist (Luke 1:39). When St. Elizabeth saw her, she, without being told
by the Blessed Virgin what the angel had done, knew by the inspiration
of the Holy Ghost what had taken place, and said to the Blessed Virgin:
"Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."
That is "blessed" because, of all the women that have ever lived or ever
shall live, you are the one selected by God to be the mother of His Son
and Our Redeemer, and blessed is that Son Himself. This is the second
part of the prayer. The third part, from "Holy Mary" to the end, was
composed by the Church.