Hail Mary devotional prayers including the Hail Mary. Martin Luther, the founder of Lutheranism, believed that Mary should be held in highest reverence. Although he did not agree with Mary's veneration, he did advocate the use of the first half of the Hail Mary (that is, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.") as a sign of reverence for and devotion to the Virgin. Only after his death was the second part ("Holy Mary, Mother of God, prayer for us sinners now and at the
Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church and other reasons. In Roman Catholic teachings, the veneration of Mary is a natural consequence of Christology: Jesus and Mary are son and mother, redeemer and redeemed. This sentiment was expressed by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical "Redemptoris mater": "At the centre of this mystery, in the midst of this wonderment of faith, stands Mary. As the loving Mother of the Redeemer, she was the first to experience it: 'To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator'!" In the Roman Catholic tradition Mariology is seen as Christology developed to its full potential. Mary is seen as contributing