Rev'd James M. Hairston

 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.”

Today, I was reminded of the power of the intercession the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Walsingham, whichever. As my son would say, “Jesus’ mommy.” As an Anglo-Catholic / High Churchman, I fully believe in the power of the prayers of the BVM. It took me a long time to get to this place; especially coming from an African American Baptist upbringing.

Things were looking really bleak for me. I was stuck in a middle of a quarrel with a loved one. Those tend to be the hardest. I was having unkind thoughts. I decided to go to Confession and then prayed the Hail Mary several times. I felt the Spirit of the Lord provide me with the comfort I needed. And almost instantly, my phone rang. The loved one and I spoke and had a very pleasant conversation.

I do want to caution that it’s not magic or anything. I pray the Pater Noster (Lord’s Prayer/”Our Father”) and the Hail Mary with my kids most nights. I pray it alone every night (unless I pass out from exhaustion and wake up the next morning, in time for work). Sometimes I feel something, sometimes I don’t. Today, I wasn’t looking to feel anything. And yet, I did and know I felt something. It was authentic. As the HipHop group, Little Brother* said “He might not come when you want him, but he always on time!”

**Of course I’m fully aware that Black church mothers been saying that for eons. I’m just impressed that a progressive HipHop group would say it in 2019!**