Way back in January, about the same time that I returned to work and decided to change jobs, I received an email from Catholic author, Sarah Reinhard, inviting me to contribute to her word-by-word reflection on the Hail Mary prayer. It would start during Lent and my deadline wasn’t until the end of June.

She assigned me the word – OF. 

Seriously.

For weeks I contemplated “of”.  I looked it up in the dictionary. I prayed about it. I lay in bed at night and thought “of”… “of”… “of.”  What could I possibly write about “of”?  Once the series began, I read the other contributions and had several moments of doubt. Eventually I felt called to write what I submitted, though I fretted it was too short, too inconsequential. But Lisa reassured me that it could stand with the others, and I’ve learned to trust her when it comes to writing.

I’m still a little overwhelmed to have been included in this project. The experience came during a busy and difficult time in my life, but it helped sustain me when I felt low. Thank you Sarah.

If you didn’t read these essays as they became available online over the past months, I invite you to read them now. Sarah posted links to all of the meditations. It will change the way you think about this prayer. It will change the way you pray the Hail Mary prayer.