Praying Hail Marys has a deep motherly connection

By Vivian Marino
NOLA Catholic Parenting
 
In October 2020, I stumbled across “Many Hail Marys at a Time” (MHM), an Instagram ministry that completely transformed my life. It quickly became my daily anchor of peace during COVID.

Many Hail Marys was created for those who wanted to advance in prayer and make the rosary a daily habit. It is a female-led initiative, started by two midwestern sisters, Kristin Reilly and Jill Greenwood, who had hopes of spreading and encouraging the rosary prayer through social media.

Their goal is to pray 1 billion rosaries in their lifetime, and their motto is “the rosary meditation is life’s greatest secret.”

Jill and Kristin say Mary’s gift of the rosary anchors their lives and connects right to the heart of the divine, allowing them not to steer far away from the peace of heaven. They credit their grandmothers and mother for their love and devotion to the rosary. Both work full time, and they have 12 children between them.

Along the way, stay-at-home mom Caroline Kane, who lives in Florida, joined them. Caroline does the work behind the scenes – managing social media, communication and the guests.

Kristin and Jill first started praying the rosary live on Instagram on Oct. 7, 2018, to celebrate the month of the rosary in October. The plan was to do it just for a month, but they stuck with it.

Initially, their goal was to have at least one or two join them daily. Fast forward to October 2022, and more than 1,300 people join them live daily, with thousands more watching the replay. They have amassed almost 49,000 followers worldwide and have prayed more than 1,450 consecutive rosaries.

The sisters pray the rosary live daily on Instagram (@manyhailmarysatatime) at 6:45 a.m. Central Time. If you cannot catch the live show, you can watch the replay or tune into their YouTube later.

The beauty of the live rosary is that participants can state their intentions in the comment box while praying. Literally, hundreds of comments are posted, stating specific and private intentions.

Their format is very simple. Each day, they invite a guest who may or may not be scheduled or they randomly pick a person from the community, and they pray the rosary together. At the end of the rosary, the guest gets to share their “rosary story” that can detail their first encounter praying the rosary or a moment in time when the rosary truly impacted their life. The guests are fascinating – including priests, monks, authors, actors and just everyday people. Some of the stories will truly take your breath away.

Kristin, Jill and Caroline agree that the daily rosary is a privilege and their life raft. Days are more peaceful and fruitful when they start the day with the rosary. How do they do it day in and day out? They get by with the help of the Holy Spirit! God sends help every time they ask. In fact, Caroline joined the duo after Kristin prayed for help and wrote down 15-plus qualities in a person she was looking for. Mary opened Caroline’s heart to volunteer, and she fit the bill. Even more interesting is that Caroline is a convert, and Mary was always a stumbling block for her. Now, she volunteers full-time for a Marian ministry.

If you are desiring a way to start praying the rosary or to increase your devotion, check out “Many Hail Marys at a Time.” I can guarantee you that once you start, you’ll get hooked and will not be able to go throughout the day without saying the rosary.

Vivian Marino is a wife and mother of four children living in the New Orleans Lakefront area. She graduated from St. Mary’s Dominican High and Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in science. Her masters in exercise physiology was earned at the University of New Orleans. She has done research at Tulane School of Public Health and worked as a personal trainer. These days, she’s busy raising her children – two boys and two girls ages 18, 16, 14 and 8. Her favorite things include spending time with her family, weekend dinners with her husband, hiking whenever she gets the chance and praying the daily rosary with her favorite online community, “Many Hail Marys at a Time.”