This is a excerpt from a letter I sent to someone who requested my scriptural rosaries (Just email redneckwomandesigns AT ya hoo dot com if you’d like them too.) 

I jumped up and down and swore I would NEVER, EVER say the rosary. [grin] The Lord probably isn’t going to slap you upside the head with it like He did me but you never know……
 

As for the Hail Mary…..I KNOW (truly) where you are coming from. I am not trying to change your mind but if I may just give you some Catholic perspective on the significance of that prayer. First….it is mostly scripture.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. (Luke 1:28)  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. (Luke 1:42)  Holy Mary, Mother of God (an affirmation of the deity of Christ not ascribing anything special to Mary other than she was the willing vessel of the Lord)  Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. (This is not only a request for prayer but also an affirmation that we are sinners and that we are going to die some day.)   It is also significant that this prayer is tied to closely from scripture to the Annunciation. In Catholic thought, the Annunciation is far more significant than is commonly thought of in Protestant thought….or at least in my experience as a Protestant. Just as Eve acted for all of mankind in the Garden and thus we all bear the scar of sin on our souls, Mary acted for all mankind in willingly accepting God’s grace for restoring the damage caused in the Garden of Eden. Her reply to the angel….”I am the Lord’s servant.” is the prototype for what our response should be to the working of God in our life. The only command she ever gives in scripture is “Do whatever He tells you.” It also calls to mind the Visitation and for me especially Luke 1:45 “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.” Now I will freely admit that there are lots of people who say the words to the Hail Mary and never think about them. Of course, how many hollow, lifeless “Praise the Lord’s” have you heard? Or “God is good’s”….unfortunately, empty recitation of phrases is a hallmark of humans in general that doesn’t mean there is something wrong with the phrase. For me, the Hail Mary recalls to mind all that I have said.

In that prayer my soul asks God to work in me as He did in Mary at the Annunciation and I claim the blessings of the Visitation. I am reminded that I am not alone in this world that there are those who pray for me that I can see and those that I can’t and that Jesus will send to me help always. Now and when I need it most.