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Some co-workers of mine who soldiered in Viet Nam during the decade of
the 70's, related to me how they were detailed to go out into the jungle and
tally the number of VC dead so that high command could evaluate the
effectiveness of heavy bombing runs. The enemy's bodies were often ripped
to pieces making the dead difficult to count; so what the guys did was
scrounge up enough body parts to assemble a John Doe; then they could
enter the man they assembled into the log as a dead soldier. That came to
be known as a kick-count.
What Catholicism has done is cobble up an alleged biblical prayer by piecing
together excerpts of Gabriel's and Elizabeth's dialogue; in effect, scrounging
up a kick-count prayer.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the "Hail Mary" is not an in-the-Bible
prayer, but is a developed prayer; and it was developed over a number of
years.
Here's the entire text of the so-called Hail Mary. Words enclosed by brackets
are inserted words.
Hail [Mary] full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb [Jesus].
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
"Hail, the Lord is with thee" was plagiarized from Gabriel's greeting at Luke
1:28 (Douay-Rheims version).
"[Mary] full of grace" is fabricated.
"blessed art thou amongst women" was plagiarized from Elizabeth's greeting
at Luke 1:42 (Douay-Rheims version).
"blessed is the fruit of thy womb" was also plagiarized from Elizabeth's
greeting at Luke 1:42 (Douay-Rheims version).
" Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our
death. Amen." is stated by the official Catechism of the Council of Trent to
have been fabricated by the Church itself.
Obviously then, portions of the Hail Mary, in its official form, are borrowed
from the Bible; but the body text of the prayer itself, is not actually in the
Bible; but rather, it's a man-made supplication concocted from plagiarized
excerpts of conversations between Christ's mom, Gabriel, and Elizabeth;
with an ending invocation composed entirely by Roman Catholic imagination.
The Father's legitimate children would never recite a rote mantra like the
Ave Maria because they're commanded to approach the throne of grace with
candor.
†. Heb 4:16 . . Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The Greek word for "boldly" is parrhesia (par-rhay-see'-ah) which means all
out-spokenness, i.e. frankness, bluntness, and/or confidence.
In other words: the Father's legitimate children are not supposed to be shy
about speaking up and telling their Father exactly what's on their minds.
Mantras like the Ave Maria are not what I call forthright, out-spoken,
frankness and/or speaking up.
NOTE: I cannot imagine anybody talking to their own mother with rote
mantras so how nutsy is it attempting to contact Christ's mother with rote
mantras?
†. Jude 1:20 . . Continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit speaks for Christ (John 16:13-14). So then, it is Christ's
wishes that his Father's children communicate with God rather than
somebody else.
†. Rom 8:15-17 . . For you have not received a spirit of bondage again to
fear; but you have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we call out: Abba!
Father.
†. Gal 4:6 . . And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of His
son into your hearts calling out: Abba! Father.
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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