The Power of The Hail Mary

On October 2, 2015, I was invited by Father Nguyen Huu Quang, of the Don Bosco Order, to preach at a 3-day retreat for the Brunswick parish, in Melbourne, Victoria. As the Catholic Church dedicates the month of October to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I shared with the Vietnamese parishioners the MEANING AND ORIGIN of the Rosary, woven with the Hail Mary. When we meditate on the essential mysteries in Jesus' life, from his conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary to his birth, then into adulthood when he goes forth and preaches the Good News of salvation so that all those who hear and believe may receive salvation, we are contemplating the mysteries of the Rosary. Here is my reflection on the Holy Rosary and the power of the Hail Mary.

​​Jesus' public preaching and life of ministry was tragically and lamentably ended on the cross - the Five Sorrowful Mysteries. He was suspended between two thieves. The Most Holy One, the only begotten Son of God, was now counted among the thieves, reviled and mocked, despised and ridiculed. “If you were truly the Son of God, come down from the Cross. He saved others; raising the dead; causing the lame to walk, the dumb to speak, the blind to see… so save yourself.” Faced with arrogant and obscene words, utterly challenging his power, Jesus kept silent; he did not get angry and punish the blasphemer who dared to profane God. That is also a valuable lesson for us. Jesus once said, “Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Mt 11:28-30) Then, in the rosary, we too are invited to meditate on the five Glorious Mysteries. This is our hope because Jesus has conquered death. Death and sin from now on will forever have no power over Him, for Christ was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. Death has been abolished by God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The powers of the devil will not be able to do anything to us, if we know how to unite ourselves with the resurrected Jesus Christ, if we know how to give up our old self to put on a new self and live according to the spirit of Jesus Christ. ​ Christ, “the firstborn from among those raised from the dead” (Cl 1,18), is the principle of our resurrection: right now. He justifies our souls (Rom 6:4) and later raises our bodies (Rom 8:11) (CCC 658). Therefore, the rosary helps us to meditate deeply on the main mysteries taught by the Catholic faith – the Incarnation (the five joyful mysteries), the mystery of the passion (the five sorrowful mysteries) and finally the mystery of the resurrection (the five glorious mysteries) - and it is through this sincere meditation that we draw from God’s fountain of grace, reviving our religious life, making it active and holy. I would like to quote the affirmation of the late Pope St John Paul II who said: “The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it, I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort. Twenty-four years ago, on 29 October 1978, scarcely two weeks after my election to the See of Peter, I frankly admitted: the Rosary is my favourite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth ... The simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life.” (Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter on the Rosary) As a child, I was not fortunate enough to have others, especially those older than me, teach me about the meaning of graces of praying the rosary. I remember very well, when I was about 9 years old, I accidentally picked up an old black plastic rosary; its cross was broken by a third. But even though this rosary looked a little ugly and not very attractive, I still liked to wear it around my neck. When I wore it around my neck, I felt that it was my “protective amulet.” In the locality of Duc My, where I grew up and attended Tien Duc Catholic Primary School, there were no street lights in 1969; early in the morning, it was still pitch black. That's why, when I went to the 5am Mass, I was very scared every time I had to go past the Temple that the elite soldiers told me and my friends were haunted. They described the ghosts as wearing white clothes, with hair covering their shoulders, hovering above the ground… Those images haunted my naive young mind, making me extremely scared. However, I would feel guilty if, out of fear, I didn't dare to go to Mass. I really wanted to attend the early morning mass daily, before I went to school, and the rosary was a way to solve my problems. I believed that every time I had the rosary on me, the devil would not dare to appear and scare me. Although at that time I did not fully understand the power of the Hail Mary, I believed that if I wore the rosary round my neck, I could safely go to the early morning service without fearing the ghosts anymore. However, every time I passed by the Temple, I had to close my eyes and run as fast as I could to reach the gate of the church. This was why I really liked this rosary; I always wore it around my neck and thus few people could see it. One day my mother gave me a bath, and in Vietnam, perhaps many of you here would know, that in my childhood time, there was no private bathroom like in Australia. Most of the children would bathe naked in public, if they had not reached puberty. ​ At that time, I was only 9 years old, so my mother put me in a large aluminum basin, and poured water over me with a ladle. Of course, when taking a bath like that, my mother made me take off all my clothes, so I was fully naked, and then I stood in the basin for my mother to wash me. My mother rubbed the dirt from my skin. When I was young, I was very active. I liked playing with the children in the neighborhood, so I was a bit dirty, and my body was full of dirt, especially around the neck. My mother forced me to take off the rosary, so that she could clean properly around my neck. I was determined not to let my mother take it off, so she got angry and slapped my butt a few times. The sharp pain made me cry… but I still steadfastly refused to let her take it off. In the end my mother gave up. Perhaps at the time, my mother had no idea why I didn't let her take off the rosary because I never told anyone about this secret. This is the first time that I have had the opportunity to put it in writing and share it with you here. Now that my mother is in heaven, I believe she has known this secret. Since I was only 9 years old, I still did not know how to pray the rosary and meditate on the mysteries of Jesus' life. I only knew how to say the Hail Mary. As to meditating on the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries, I did not learn them by heart and did not know how to recite them either. However, I was convinced that the rosary had some invisible power and I believed that the devil would fear it, and dared not disturb me if I wore it. As I grew up, especially the times after I entered the seminary in Vietnam to become a priest, and when I joined the Redemptorist Congregation in Australia in 1983, I gradually developed a devotion to Mother Mary, and I slowly discovered my love for Mary. I understood why Mother Mary sent me a rosary when I was nine years old. Although it was battered and a bit ugly, it was her way of expressing her love for me, letting me know that she loved me, and preparing me for my priestly vocation since the age of nine. Subsequently, over time, I slowly discovered the love of God and especially the love of Mary for me. Mother Mary has given me many signs, foretelling my future mission and journey: I would be a priest, even though there were times when I felt this was something unimaginable that would never eventuate. Later, when I was ordained to priesthood on July 16, 1994 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church at Maidstone parish, Melbourne, I thought of this prophecy and I silently thanked God as well as Mother Mary from the depths of my grateful heart. After many years of hardship and suffering in my vocation journey, God finally allowed me to become His priest and the beloved son of MOTHER MARY, since I consecrated myself to her on September 15, 1979 at the parish church of Duc My. Power of the Hail Mary: From what I have learned, every time we say the Hail Mary we share the joy of Mary's heart. The greetings are the formation of so many spiritual roses offered to the Virgin Mary as if adorning her with a magnificent tiara, a garland on her head. In return, our Mother will place on the heads of her children an invincible crown of roses, of divine grace; and that is the meaning and purpose of reciting the Hail Mary. For me, the Hail Mary is my most favorite prayer. It is always on my lips and is my very breath. A good habit of mine is to always say the Hail Mary before I start doing something, especially important things: every time I drive, particularly on long trips and when I travel by plane. I do this because I desire Mary’s protection and also, I want to thank her for keeping me safe on my journey. There is one thing that perhaps up until now, I have not been able to fully understand: that is whenever I am in danger, or being attacked by the devil. These situations usually happen in dreams, but sometimes, I felt as if I was fully conscious and aware of what was going on. There were times when I was so frightened and screamed for help, hoping that my friend in the next room or anyone at all, would hear my cry, and would quickly come to my rescue. I seemed unable to speak and only made some sounds. The times when I was too frightened, all I could do was to reach over my headboard and pick up the rosary, usually hung at the top of my bed. I grabbed the rosary; I gathered courage and said the Hail Mary. When I prayed the Hail Mary, sometimes I said it out loud, sometimes just in my head, but every time I began to say the Hail Mary, whether in clear a voice or just in mind, the devil gradually left and I was saved. ​ May I share with you a dream that is quite mysterious and really very special to me, which I have recorded in my diary. Honestly, I still don't fully understand the meaning of this dream, only some of it. A long time ago, one evening, in my dream, I saw many demons flying in the air, trying to catch the souls that were also flying. Whenever the devil touched a soul, that soul belonged to him. I was very worried when I saw this, and I said to Mary that I wanted to save and snatch back these souls for God. I found myself holding the rosary and flying easily in the air, like "Batman." I was very amazed that I could fly like that. I tried to fly very fast, faster than the demons so that I could touch the souls first. If I touched any soul, this soul was saved and the devil stopped chasing after it. I tried to fly as fast as possible and fought with the devil to save many souls for God. Then I woke up suddenly and found myself drenched in sweat, maybe because I was too scared, or because I tried too hard to fly!!! The next day I tried to write down in my diary all the details and feelings that I still remembered after the dream, because I knew this was no ordinary dream. This could have been a vision that the Lord had revealed to me, to let me know that this was my priestly mission. I need to save souls and bring many back to God. The way I can save these souls is to use the rosary as if it were a powerful weapon to fight against the devil, and bring victory to the Lord. If I could partly understand the meaning of such a dream, I was somehow satisfied. What I do not yet understand, I believe that God will slowly reveal to me when He deems it is the right time, and when I am ready to receive what He wants to impart. One thing I am still wondering about and often think about, is that every time I was in danger and my life was threatened, I always said the Hail Mary. When I raised my voice to say the Hail Mary, I regained my peace afterwards, and it seemed to me that Mother Mary gave me strength. It can be said that the Hail Mary is the most powerful and sharpest weapon. The devil is very afraid of the Hail Mary, because every time we mention the name of our Mother – Holy Mary, Mother of God, and the super important name of Jesus Christ – blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, hearing the most holy names of Mary and Jesus, the demons were terrified and fled in disarray. This was also confirmed by the holy patriarchs and saints of the Middle Ages, as well as the saints with special devotion and love for Mary. Throughout the journey of my vocation, all the hardships I have faced, from childhood to adulthood, my time in the seminary, my ordination, in short, up until now, one thing I cannot deny is this: IF NOT FOR THE LOVE AND PROTECTION OF MOTHER MARY, I WOULD NOT BE WHERE I AM TODAY. Mother's protection and support have helped me to overcome countless difficulties. There were challenges that sometimes I thought I would never be able to conquer. I became dispirited and fell into despair many times; in moments like these, I wanted to give up and quit; I wanted to run away and leave it all to the flow of life, but Mother Mary has never abandoned me. Mother didn't leave me in despair. Mother came to my rescue, and helped me solve every problem so that I can continue my journey to this day. Because of that, I vow to never forget in my life the blessings she has given me; I will be forever grateful to Mother Mary and God, a kind and loving Father. In my life, there are two women I cherish the most. The first one is Mother Mary, my spiritual and holy Mother; the Mother who shaped me in the likeness of Jesus by her graces. The second one is the Mother who conceived and gave birth to me, raised me and taught me to fear God and to love my neighbors like my own brothers and sisters. My life is truly happy because I have Mother Mary. She will forever be the spring of my consecrated life to God. It can be said: Mother Mary is everything to me. Therefore, I invite you all to kindly repeat the short consecration prayer composed by the late Pope John Paul II. Please repeat each of the following sentences after me: ​ O my Mother, I am all yours And all I have is yours, Please guide me in everything. I wish that you will consecrate yourselves to Mother Mary by repeating this short consecration prayer composed by Pope Saint John Paul II. In doing so, we will become Marian soldiers, bearing crosses and rosaries to fight for the success of her plans, and preparing for Christ to return in glory. Amen.

Translated into English by Hang Thuy BUI