Ave Maria : A sacred Song of Grace and Devotion

“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” – Pablo Casals.

  Ave Maria        Those two gently whispered words carry centuries of reverence, echoing through cathedrals, sacred ceremonies and the hearts of seekers around the world.  Translated from Latin as “Hail Mary”,  Ave Maria  is both a sacred prayer and a celestial hymn – a tender invocation of the Divine Mother, wrapped in love and light.

Whether sung by the voice of an angel or quietly offered in solitude, this sacred song lifts us into a state of peace, stillness and devotion.  It transcends religion.  It speaks the universal language of love.

Who wrote Ave Maria?

The most famous version of  Ave Maria  was composed by Franz Schubert in 1825.  Strikingly, his piece wasn’t originally intended to be a religious hymn.  It was part of a musical setting for a poem from  The Lady of the Lake – by Sir Walter Scott.  But because it opened with the words  Ave Maria  people gradually began pairing it with the ancient Catholic Prayer – and in doing so, Schubert’s melody became an enduring spiritual treasure.

Other stunning renditions followed, including:

       1.  Bach/Gounod’s version,  written in the 1850’s, overlays a delicate melody atop Bach’s  Prelude in C Major.

      2.  The Caccini version,  haunting and ethereal , is believed by many to have been written in the 20th Century by Vladimir Vavilov, though it’s often attributed to Renaissance composer Giulio Caccini.

Each version is a vessel for divine light, resonating with a sacred frequency that transcends time.

The Heart of the Prayer

At it’s core,  Ave Maria  is a prayer of surrender and grace.  It is an offering to the Virgin Mary  – the mother of  miracles, the queen of compassion and the eternal symbol of unconditional love.

Those who seek peace, hope or healing often turn to her with these words, knowing she watches over them with gentle eyes and an open heart.  To whisper Ave Maria  is to call upon the presence of divine comfort.

The Sacred Sound 

To listen to Ave Maria  is to step into a sanctuary beyond this world.  The sacred tones carry a vibrational purity that can lift even the heaviest soul.  Many believe that this kind of music opens portals – spaces where angels draw near, where flows and where grace descends like light through stained glass. 

In this way,  Ave Maria  becomes more than a melody.  It is a prayer sung with the voice of heaven itself.

The Ave Maria Prayer  ( Latin and English ) 

Below is the original prayer, in Latin and it’s English  translation.  Feel free to read it aloud or silently and allow it’s soothing cadence to fill your heart:

Latin:  

Ave Maria, gratia plena,

Dominus tecum,

Benedicta tu in mulieribus,

et benedictus fructus ventris tui lesus,

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,

ora pro nobis peccatoribus,

nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.  Amen.

English Translation:

Hail Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among 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.

A Magical Connection :   Ave Maria and Ava Maree

And now we come to a beautiful coincidence – or more like a heavenly design.

My granddaughter,  Ava Maree, carries in her name the sacred echo of this divine prayer.  Her name is like a soft melody in itself:

    1.  Ava,  phonetically mirroring Ave, is rooted in Latin and Hebrew origins meaning “life”  and “voice”.

    2.  Maree,  a graceful  variant of Maria or Marie, is directly linked to the name of the Virgin Mary.

Together,  Ava Maree  becomes a gentle, living expression of  Ave Maria – a name infused with the energy of  divine femininity, purity and inner strength.

She may well be a soul who carries this sacred light within her – a child of grace, here to bring beauty, softness and deep emotional wisdom into the world.  Her presence is a prayer answered, a melody in human form.

Closing Blessing 

May the timeless song of  Ave Maria  surround you with peace .

May the Divine Mother walk beside you and your family always.

And may my precious granddaughter Ava Maree continue to grow as a living hymn of love, 

guided by the stars and held in the hands of angels.

“Gratia Plena….full of grace.”