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True Accounts About Special Graces and Favors Granted Through the Practice of the Three Hail Marys

Recently a woman called in to the Volunteer Department at the Fatima Center and told this story:

Her husband died when her children were quite young and she raised them by herself. The oldest, her son, seemed to be drifting further and further away from her as he got older. After high school, he seemed to be staying out later and later, sleeping all day, and so on. The mother was afraid that he was using drugs and certainly knew that he had a drinking problem, and he wouldn't even look for a job.

As things looked bleaker and bleaker, she read a story about the power of the practice of the Three Hail Marys and started to follow it. In a very short time her son came to her and confessed that he had drug and alcohol problems and realized that he had to do something to get help. Almost immediately he went into rehab, and as soon as they said he could, he found employment.

Now, after many months, he has turned his life around and his grateful mother gives credit to the practice of the Three Hail Marys and the Intercession of Our Blessed Mother.

Second week - Act of Sorrow - invoke the Holy Spirit - one Our Father - three Hail Marys

We received this in a letter to the Fatima Center:

When I was 8 years old, the Sister who was my teacher at the time told us that whenever we wanted anything special, we should pray three Hail Marys in honor of the Blessed Mother, in honor of Her Wisdom, Power and Goodness.

I practiced my Catholic Faith up until about the time I entered college, and then began to slip away. Because I had turned my back on God, I began to lead the life of one who no longer recognizes the difference between right and wrong.

Eventually, after many mistakes in my life, and as I came to a point where I didn't particularly care for myself, God used what I thought was going to be the worst event in my life and made it the best, for it started the slow process back to Him.

I began praying the Rosary, going to Confession and Mass again. At some point, Our Lady let me know that it was through Her intercession that I was allowed the grace to come back to the Faith. One day I realized the reason for Her intercession on my behalf. For the many, many years I was away from the Faith, the only thing I ever did was pray the Three Hail Marys, usually when I wanted a favor, but pray them I did and quite often. That was all I prayed.

In fact, when I started coming back I had to relearn many prayers, for it had been so long since I had prayed them that I forgot the words. It was the Three Hail Marys that Our Lady used to dispense this grace. I am forever grateful to Her for Her intercession and for the gift of the Three Hail Marys.

Recently received was a letter from a priest who told a story he had heard from a visiting bishop: The bishop said that when he was selected to be a bishop - a week before he was raised to that position, he went on a retreat.

While driving down a deserted highway in the desert at night, he came upon a one-car accident. He stopped to help and discovered the sole person in the car was a man who was dying.

The man was a Catholic, so the priest heard his confession and gave him the last rites. Just before the man died, the priest asked him what he had done to deserve such a grace as to have a Catholic priest come along on a deserted highway just in time to hear his confession and prepare him for death.

The man answered, "No matter how drunk or debauched a life I was leading, I always said the Three Hail Marys."

Third week - Act of Sorrow - invoke the Holy Spirit - one Our Father - three Hail Marys

The event recorded below is from Father Segneri, esteemed preacher and writer of XVIIth Century Italy:

A young man of great promise, but laden with sin and several vicious habits went to Confession to a noted Roman Confessor. Received with great charity and compassion, the lad was assured that sincere devotion to Our Lady could deliver him from sin and vice, especially those to which he was addicted. To help the lad, Father Nicholas gave him the penance to say the Hail Mary every morning and evening until his next Confession. At the same time he should offer his eyes, hands, ears, and his whole body to Her, kissing the ground three times in humble and contrite repentance.

At first there was only a slight improvement in the young man's spiritual condition, but Father encouraged him to never abandon this simple devotion to Mary Most Holy. Due to circumstances beyond his control the young man had to leave Rome and had to travel a great deal. On his return home he sought his old Confessor and friend who rejoiced to find his young penitent completely changed. Free of his old ways, the young man was a model of virtue and goodness. When asked how this transformation happened, he answered that Our Lady had obtained this great grace for him because he had been faithful to the Hail Marys.

But Our Lady was not yet finished claiming souls for Her Son. When Father Nicholas recounted the story of his young penitent in a sermon during a Mission, an Army Captain was moved and determined to do the same, as he was living with a woman without benefit of marriage. He wished to break the bonds of his slavery to sin and the devil, for he knew hell was his final end if he did not.

He began the devotion to Our Lady with the Hail Mary and changed his life. After six months of conversion, he decided to visit his former mistress to see if she too had converted. But he relied too much on his own strength and would have fallen again, but as he approached the door of her house he suddenly found himself, moved by an invisible power, standing before his own house on the other side of town. He realized, then, the folly of his intentions and that the power of Our Blessed Mother not only withdraws us from sin but also keeps us from relapsing so long as we are true to our purpose and desire for conversion.

How different these lives and eternity would have been if it weren't for the simple devotion of the Three Hail Marys.

Fourth week - Act of Sorrow - invoke the Holy Spirit - one Our Father - three Hail Marys

A story from St. Alphonsus de Liguori, published in The Glories of Mary:

In the year 1604, in a city of Belgium, there were two young men, students, but who, instead of attending to their studies, gave themselves up to a life of debauchery. One night they were both in the house with an evil companion, when one of them, named Richard, returned home, leaving his companion there.

After he had reached home, and had begun to undress, he remembered he had not that day said some "Hail Marys," that he was in the habit of reciting. Feeling very sleepy he was loth to say them; he did himself violence, and repeated them, though without devotion, and half asleep.

He then lay down, and had fallen into a sound slumber, when he was suddenly roused by a violent knocking at the door, and without its opening he saw his companion, deformed and hideous, standing before him. "Who art thou?" he cried out. "What! dost thou not know me?" "Ah, yes! but how thou art changed; thou seemest to me a devil." "Truly," he exclaimed, "poor unfortunate creature that I am, I am damned; and how?"

"When I was leaving that wicked house, a devil came and strangled me; my body is in the street, and my soul in hell; and thou must know," added he, "that the same fate awaited thee, had not the Blessed Virgin preserved thee in consideration of that little act of homage of the 'Hail Mary.' Fortunate art thou if only thou knowest how to take advantage of this warning sent thee by the Mother of God." With these words he opened his mantle, and, showing the flames and serpents by which he was tormented, he disappeared.

Richard immediately burst into sobs and tears, and, casting himself prostrate on the ground, he returned thanks to Mary, his protectress; and, whilst thinking how to change his life, he heard the bell of the Franciscan monastery ringing for matins. "Ah! it is there," says he, "that God calls me to do penance."

He went immediately to the friary, and implored the Fathers to admit him. But they were hardly willing to do so, knowing his wicked life; but he, sobbing bitterly, told all that had taken place; and two Fathers being sent to the street, and having found the strangled body, which was as black as a coal, they admitted him.

From that time forward Richard led a most exemplary life, and at last went to preach the Gospel in the Indies, and thence to Japan, where he had the happiness of giving his life for Jesus Christ, being burnt alive for the faith.

(In the church of Ham-sur-Heure, in Hainault, there is a picture of the martyrdom of Father Richard of Saint Anne with the following inscription: "The Blessed Father Richard of Saint Anne, born at Ham-sur-Heure in 1589, made his religious profession as a Recollect at Nivelles, April 13, 1605, and having been ordained Priest in the Philippine Isles, was martyred at Nagasaki, September 10, 1622, being put to death by a slow fire." He was beatified in 1867. See Annals of the Franciscan Missions, May, 1867. -ED.)

HEAVEN OPENED
by the practice of THE THREE HAIL MARYS

One of the greatest means of salvation, and one of the surest signs of predestination, is, unquestionably, the devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin. All the holy doctors of the Church are unanimous in saying with St. Alphonsus de Liguori: "A devout servant of Mary shall never perish."

The chief thing is to persevere faithfully till death in this devotion. Can there be an easier or more adaptable practice for all than the recitation each day of Three Hail Marys in honor of the privileges conferred by the Adorable Trinity on the Blessed Virgin?

One of the first to say the Three Hail Marys and to recommend them to others was the illustrious St. Anthony of Padua. His special aim in this practice was to honor the spotless Virginity of Mary and to preserve a perfect purity of mind, heart and body in the midst of the dangers of the world. Many, like him, have felt its salutary effects. Later on, St. Leonard of Port-Maurice, the celebrated missionary, had the Three Hail Marys recited morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sins during the day or night; moreover, he promised in a special manner eternal salvation to all those who proved constantly faithful to this practice.

After the example of those two great Franciscan Saints, St. Alphonsus de Liguori adopted this pious practice and gave it his most ardent and powerful support. He counselled its use and even imposed it as penance on those who had not adopted this good habit.

The holy Doctor exhorts, in particular, parents and confessors to watch carefully that children be faithful in reciting each day their Three Hail Marys, morning and evening. Or rather, like St. Leonard of Port-Maurice, he earnestly recommends it to all, "to the devout and to sinners, to the young and old."

Even persons consecrated to God will derive from this practice much precious and salutary fruit. Numerous examples may show how agreeable the Three Hail Marys are to the Divine Mother and what special graces they draw, during life and at the hour of death, on those who never omit them for a single day.

This practice has been revealed to St. Melchtilde (13th Century) with the promise of a good death, if she was faithful to it, every day.

It is written, also, in St. Gertrude's revelations: "While this Saint sang the Hail Mary, at the matins of the Annunciation, she suddenly saw spring out from the Heart of the Father and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, three bright flames which penetrated the Heart of the Holy Virgin." Then she heard the following words: "After the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son and the merciful Tenderness of the Holy Spirit, nothing approaches the Power, the Wisdom and the merciful Tenderness of Mary."

His Holiness Benedict XV has raised the Confraternity of the Three Hail Marys to an Archconfraternity by according it precious indulgences with the power to aggregate to itself all Confraternities of the same kind, and to communicate them to its own indulgences.

Practice: Recite, morning and evening, Three Hail Marys in honor of the three great privileges, with this invocation at the end: for the morning: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this day;" for the evening: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this night."

(Indulgences of 200 days granted by Leo XIII, 300 days for the members of the Archconfraternity of the Three Hail Marys by Benedict XV, and Apostolic Benediction by Saint Pius X.)

With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, Daughter of the Eternal Father, and I consecrate to Thee my soul with all its faculties. Hail Mary...*

With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Mother of the Son of God. I consecrate to Thee my body with all its senses. Hail Mary...*

With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Spouse of the Holy Ghost, I consecrate to Thee my heart, with all its affections and beseech Thee to obtain for me the Most Holy Trinity all the graces necessary for salvation. Hail Mary...*

Imprimatur: February 7, 1963
Francis Cardinal Spellman
Archbishop of New York
St. John of the Cross
Pathway to Interior Life

The beginning commentary on the song of my Beloved Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom.

In the Holy Bible it says: "The soul at the beginning has grown aware of her obligation and understands that life is short." (Job. 14:5) How long have we lived in this world? Life goes by very fast; we are approaching death at every moment of our life.

Most people don't want to think about death so they put it off. We live for an instant in God's eyes. How much time do we have left? Many thousands upon thousands die daily. One of these hours our number will come upon us and away we go to eternity. Jesus says, "The path leading to eternal life is constricted." (Mat. 7:14) Jesus explains, "Enter through the narrow gate. The gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction and those that enter are many." How narrow the gate and rough, the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Mat. 7:13-14)

What does this tell us? The early Fathers and the early saints tell us that the majority of adult Christian people are lost. Christ in the Gospels says the same thing. St. Peter tells us, "The just are scarcely saved." (1Pt. 4:18)

Let us put our life in order and realize that Hell exists. In the Gospels hell is mentioned about thirty-two times. We are all fighting for Heaven and Hell. Let us confess our sins and go regularly to confession. If you stay away for more than a month from the sacrament of confession your will becomes weak while the enemy grows strong. This is when you will fall into serious sins. "The things of the world are vain and deceitful." (Ecc. 1:2)

Daily the devil tries to deceive us as he works on our imagination and leads us into appealing temptations. We change from one moment to another. We deceive ourselves thinking we are pious and holy. Our pride is so deep down in us that we forget about it. Either we give ourselves to God, or enter into perdition. Eternity will be our home for ever, Heaven or Hell.

We can tame a lion better than we can tame ourselves. We live in the world full of pride. How many die while in the act of sin? We must struggle with ourselves all day and all night. At night we cannot wait until morning, and in the day we cannot wait for the night, as the flesh is never satisfied because of original sin.

"That all comes to an end and fails like falling water." (2 Sam. 14:14) The Book of Revelation says, "Behold I am coming soon bringing the recompense [for the work done]. (Rev. 22:12)

Jesus will not only judge what we did but also the good we could have done but didn't do. God calls each one for a mission. The devil deceives us. Sometimes we think a mission is from God but it isn't. This is why we need someone to guide us, like a spiritual director or a holy confessor. Do we love our neighbor as we love ourselves? The Book of Revelation says, "And if any one's name was not written in the Book of Life, he is thrown into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:15)

Reflection

St. Therese of Lisieux says, "With ingenious simplicity, take on the ideal to live, not only to live in love but, to live in an act of love." In order that her acts of charity might be perfect, she desired to live not only in love, not only perfect love, but in a single act of perfect love. She desired to live this single act. To live in this unique act of perfect love, she offered herself as a Victim to Merciful Love.

St. Therese is saying that everything we do in thought, word or deed must all be done out of love. This means we must put ourselves in the presence of God from morning until we go to sleep. Then we will give to Jesus through Mary as an act of love all our thoughts, words, and deeds, all done in the presence of God out of love. This will help the soul please God in what ever we do.

Colloquy

When you are so in love with a person you will think of them all day long. My mind is always on Jesus Crucified and the Blessed Virgin. I find no difficulty to set my mind on them because I love them more than my life or anything else. If your mind is not on Jesus and Mary, then your love for them is weak.

One day you will have disappeared into the flames of the infinite, nothingness. Have you understood? You will live in the unique act of the One Who is Charity?

In Scripture we read as the wise man says, "We do not know if we are worthy of love or abhorrence (hate) before God." (Eccl. 9:1) Song of Songs says, "Show me where you rest at midday she (the soul) to pasture when He is so that she can be with Him." (Sg. 1:17) You must remember that the Bridegroom which is Jesus Christ gave His love to the bride, but then He left her alone. In this stage the soul feels dryness and abandonment. She is not able to pray or meditate as when He toxicated her with the sweet spice wine (this is the state of contemplation). But now she is able to do nothing but search for her beloved Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remember in the Bible man or woman is called she, for the Church is the bride of Christ.

Spiritual Teachings of St. Therese
The Little Flower
(Doctor of the Church)

The fourth characteristic of St. Therese's Little Way is Love of God. She said the entire spiritual life is reduced to two elements, love of God and detachment from ourselves. We need to love God with our heart, soul and entire being and to renounce all selfish desires. We must fill our lives with acts of love in order for our souls to rise to full perfection. All of Therese's virtuous acts were motivated by love. She once told her sister Celine, "Merit does not consist in doing or giving much. It consists in loving much."

Therese did her best to please Jesus in all her actions and was careful to never offend Him by any sin. She said "If you wish to be a Saint, aim only at pleasing Jesus and uniting yourself intimately with Him in all circumstances." Therese achieved this through the perfection of her smallest actions, her love and acceptance of all sufferings, her ardent zeal for souls and her constant recollection on the love of Jesus.

Therese directed her love exclusively to Jesus. On the day of her profession to religious life, she prayed, "O Jesus, may I never seek nor find anyone but you alone. May creatures mean nothing to me and may I mean nothing to them, but may you Jesus, be everything."

Therese once wrote that to love means giving everything, including ourselves. At the end of her life she testified that since the age of three she had never refused anything to God. Therese lived her life in union with God's will. She loved to say that her only desire, her only joy on earth, was to do God's will. Perfection, she declared, consists in doing the will of God, in being what He wants us to be, not what we want us to be.

Therese said that very small actions and works can have very great value depending on the love with which they are done. God craves our love not the greatness of our actions. However, she said all work that is undertaken for God should be done with special care and attention.

During the Apostolic process for her canonization, her fellow sisters affirmed that they never heard her take part in useless conversations or waste a minute of her time. They never noticed in her one moment of bad humor or a lack of charity.

The desire of pleasing God was so deeply anchored in Therese's soul that she no longer desired anything for herself. The only thing that satisfies me, she said, is doing the will of God. We owe an immense debt of love to God for He loved us first and from all eternity and He suffered and died for our sins. May we henceforth apply ourselves to the task of rendering to God, love for love. On the eve of her death Therese said, "It is love alone that counts."

Between now and the next issue, let us do our best to love God with all our mind, heart and soul by reacting to every inspiration to do good that He sends us.

In our next issue, we will discuss the fifth characteristic of the Little Way of St. Therese, Love of Neighbor.

Thomas R. Oswald, M.I.

Any questions contact -
Rocco Colontuono, O. C. D. S.
Disciples of Jesus & Mary
Box 183, Peapack, NJ 07977
908-234-0488

Spiritual Director
Rev. Anthony Alvarez

Director
Mary Clare Windisch

Spiritual Exercises of Mary:
Lesson 13
Lesson 12
Lesson 11
Lesson 10
Lesson 9
Lesson 8
Lesson 7
Lesson 6
Lesson 3
Lesson 2
Lesson 1