It's a good time this week to be covering the raising of Lazarus since death is ever present, especially now. What happened in the Lazarus story is not as simple as we have come to think. But that is a discussion for Tuesday night. I hope you attend on zoom.
What I wanted to mention is the prayer, the Hail Mary.
We have touched on the first half of the prayer, which comes from scripture. When the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary by God the Father, he greeted her, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). A few weeks later, when Mary visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaimed, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:41-42).
What we haven't discussed is the 2nd half of the prayer:
"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."
For the first 1300 years since the Apostles, this prayer only consisted of the first half. The 2nd half was cried out in prayer during the Black Plague, which was a bit worse than our time, but nevertheless it was during the "virus killing" of that day.
For those who don't remember their history, the plague, also called the Black Death, started in China, India, Persia, and even Egypt. Then it reached Europe by boat in this devastating scene:
"The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Italian port of Messina. People gathered on the docks were met with a horrifying surprise: most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those still alive were gravely ill and covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. Sicilian authorities hastily ordered the fleet of “death ships” out of the harbor, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the Black Death killed more than 20 million people in Europe—almost one-third of the continent’s population."
The plague not only wiped out a third of Europe, but it reduced the world's population by a third. It took 200 years before Europe reached the same population level.
Back to the Hail Mary....
Priests were courageous and died along with everyone else. Some died while saying as many as 50 funerals a day. It was during this time that Christians began praying to Mary to intercede for them: "Pray for us sinners, now at the hour of our death!" For many, "now and the hour of death" were one and the same thing.
They prayed the right thing, for we must remind ourselves, it's the next life that matters.
I look forward to talking with you Tuesday night. Look for you zoom invitation.
Ron
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