Praying the Hail Mary in a Group

To aid in learning the meaning and memorization of the Hail Mary

The group will learn another way to pray for others using the Hail Mary.

• Read aloud the following prayer activity:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!

God gave Mary the help she needed to accomplish what he called her to do. God also gives us the grace we need to live as Jesus wants us to live.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.?? Mary was a person who was special because of her willingness to answer God's call in her life. God calls us each day to be a sign of his love in the world.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Mary prays for our needs and the needs of the world. We ask her to support us as we present our own needs to God. Take a moment to speak with Mary. Ask her to be with you as you prsent your needs before God. Amen.

• Slowly and prayerfully lead the class in this prayer activity.
• Ask them to personalize the Hail Mary for each member of the group by adding the first name of one person to the final part of the prayer. (Example: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for Becky now and at the hour of her death.)
• Prayerfully repeat the Hail Mary enough times to include every member of the group at least once.
• When you have finished, tell the group that you would like them to pray the Hail Mary several more times, recalling that each of us also has a role in the work of Jesus.

People Smart

To keep unity in the prayer, pray for each member of the group in a specific order or, as the group leader, walk among the children and indicate in some way which child will be prayed for each time.

If there is not enough time to pray for each child because of the size of the group, divide into smaller groups of two to four persons, and ask each small group to pray by name for just the members of their group.

Suggest that the children pray the Hail Mary this way with their families.

If there are children in your group with special needs (physical, visual, hearing, language, or behavioral disabilities), adapt the activity accordingly.