Edited by: Erwin L. Lueker, Luther Poellot, Paul Jackson ©Concordia Publishing House, 2000, All rights Reserved. Reproduced with Permission	A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Ave Maria

(Lat. “Hail, Mary”). Also called the Angelic Salutation. Combined out of Lk 1:28, 42, it read originally “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” As a memorial of Christ's incarnation, it has been in devotional use among Christians since the 11th c. In 1522 Luther wrote a commentary, often reprinted, on it (WA 10 II, 407–409; 17 II, 398–410; but see also 11, 59–61), and in a slightly modified form it is part of the gradual psalmodies for the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) and of the Visitation (July 2) in our rite (The Lutheran Hymnal pp. 86, 87); there is also an echo of it in stanza 2 of Hymn 98, “Of the Father's Love Begotten.” The objectionable addition—“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us poor sinners now and in the hour of our death”—was not generally used until the 16th c. and became official even for RCs only in 1568. RCs make extensive use of the Ave Maria in their devotion, both as an indep. prayer, esp. after the Lord's Prayer, and as a frequently repeated part of the rosary.* See also Chaplet; Mariology. ACP

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