Three Hail Marys of conscience, before going to bed. St. Virgilius Council 185, Knights of Columbus, in Newtown, Connecticut, initiated a Three Hail Mary's Prayer Drive in support of those affected by the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Council requested other Knights Councils and religious organizations to encourage the praying of one Hail Mary for the deceased and their families, one for first responders and teachers, and one for the community. It is a common practice for Catholics to offer three Hail Marys for any given problem or petition. Three Hail Marys Three Hail Marys is a traditional Roman Catholic devotional
Hail Mary to Mary, originally written in Koine Greek. The opening word of greeting, , "chaíre", here translated "Hail", literally has the meaning "rejoice" or "be glad". This was the normal greeting in the language in which Saint Luke's Gospel is written and continues to be used in the same sense in Modern Greek. Accordingly, both "Hail" and "Rejoice" are valid English translations of the word ("Hail" reflecting the Latin translation, and "Rejoice" reflecting the original Greek). The word , ("kecharitōménē"), here translated as "full of grace", admits of various translations. Grammatically, the word is the feminine perfect passive participle of the