Table of Contents
History
St. Mechtilde
Around the year 1270, St. Mechtilde asked Our Lady to help her at the end of her life. St. Gertrude the Great, St. Mechtilde’s secretary, wrote that Our Lady appeared to St. Mechtilde and said:
“I will certainly. But I also want you to say three special Hail Mary’s to me every day.
“The first will be in honor of God the Father, Whose omnipotence raised my soul so high above every other creature that, after God, I have the greatest power in Heaven and on earth. In the hour of your death, I will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power far from you.
“The second Hail Mary will be said in honor of the Son of God, Who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to me. In the hour of your death, I will fill your soul with the light of that wisdom, so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled.
“The third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Ghost, Who filled my soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy. In your last hour, I will then change the bitterness of death into divine sweetness and delight.”
This became known as the Three Hail Mary devotion. St. Gertrude received several more revelations that confirmed its value.1
St. Gertrude
In one revelation, on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1299, St. Gertrude saw three flames emanate from the Holy Trinity and penetrate the heart of Our Lady.1
St. Gertrude understood that:
“After the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son, and the merciful Tenderness of the Holy Ghost, nothing approaches the Power, the Wisdom, and the merciful Tenderness of Mary.”
In another revelation, St. Gertrude saw Our Lady in the form of a white lily with three branches sitting before the Holy Trinity. This confirmed Our Lady’s title as “The Immaculate Lily of the Most Holy Trinity,” a title given to her by the saints. The whiteness of the lily represented her perfect purity which was unstained by any sin, and the three branches represented her participation in the omnipotence of God the Father, the wisdom of God the Son and the charity of God the Holy Spirit.1
Our Lady then said to her:
“To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Mary’s, I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with heavenly consolation.”
The Support of Many Saints
Many saints have promoted this devotion.
St. Anthony of Padua was one and his aim was to honor Our Lady’s purity and maintain purity of his own mind, heart and body.1
St. Leonard of Port Maurice was another. He advised his hearers to practice it, he assigned it as penance after confession to attain the grace to avoid mortal sins, especially the sins of impurity, and he promised salvation to those who recited it until death.1
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori supported it and asked parents and confessors to ensure children developed the habit of saying it.1
Fr. John Baptist of Blois supported it and by his works found support in Pope Leo XIII and Pope Benedict XV.1
Purpose
The purpose of this devotion is to honor the Holy Trinity; submit ourselves to God through Our Lady; and understand that God has given great privileges to His greatest devotee, Our Lady.1
This devotion takes 1 minute but has three priceless effects:
We adore the Holy Trinity
By saying three Hail Mary’s, we adore the Holy Trinity and honor the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son and the Love of the Holy Spirit.1
We honor Our Lady
By saying the Hail Mary, we honor the power, wisdom and love that the Holy Trinity has given to Our Lady and the three great privileges she has to leverage each trait to aid humanity.1
We build devotion to Our Lady
By saying the Hail Mary, we build devotion to Our Lady. And as per St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori and all the Doctors of the Church, “A devout servant of Mary shall never perish”.1
Our prayers are effective
For the skeptics who doubt the effectiveness of the devotion or who believe the devotion has too much power for its littleness:
“If to you, as it does to certain intellectuals, this devotion seems disproportionate to the end in view, then take the matter up with the Blessed Virgin Mary. She began it, and she has blessed it with enormous graces. Or better still, take it up with God Himself, Who gave such power to Mary.”
– Fr. John Baptist of Blois1
Consecration Prayer
Act of Consecration to Our Lady of the Blessed Trinity
With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Daughter of the Eternal Father, and I consecrate to Thee my soul with all its faculties.
With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Mother of the Son of God. I consecrate to Thee my body with all its senses.
With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Spouse of the Holy Ghost, I consecrate to Thee my heart, with all its affections and beseech Thee to obtain for me from the Most Holy Trinity all the graces necessary for salvation.
O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this day.
+ Amen +
Imprimatur: February 7, 1963
† FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN
Archbishop of New York
The 3 Promises
You will die a good death
Fr. Auriemma confirms that, as per Our Lady’s promise to St. Mechtilde, anyone who remains faithful to this daily practice would die a good death.1
Our Lady will appear to you at your hour of death
“To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Mary’s, I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with heavenly consolation.”
– Our Lady to St. Gertrude1
You will not be damned
“A devout servant of Mary shall never perish.”
– St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori1