Our Father, Hail Mary: Two books that go beyond the obvious

By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Mar 11, 2026

I find myself attracted by what we call “coffee table” books, and I like having them around the house. Even if they are not often used, they remain a reminder of their subjects, which are in that sense associated with both beauty and attentiveness. This principle is certainly true of two new books from Magnificat by Dominican Fathers Andrew Hofer and Philip Nolan. These books are devoted to what are probably the most important and most-often used prayers among Catholics, namely Our Father: Our Prayer of Hope and Hail Mary: Pondering the mysteries of Love. The Magnificat Bookstore also sells both titles as a set. (Note, however, that these titles are in demand and may be temporarily out of stock.)

The two books follow the same format, in that each contains a brief introduction followed by eight chapters devoted to the eight phrased concepts which make up each prayer. A final reflection appears in the “Amen” conclusion of each book. The introductions themselves set a particular tone: “Teach Us to Pray: Learning our prayer of hope” for the Our Father; and “Pondering the Mysteries of Love” for the Hail Mary. In the various chapters you will find reflections which draw on Scripture, tradition, history, theology and popular devotions to unlock the riches of the prayer and the context for properly understanding and benefitting from it.

To take just two of many examples: In the consideration of the Hail Mary we find a reflection on what it means to be “full of grace” and how this grace is increased and strengthened by prayer along with the sacramental life of the Church. And in the reflections on the Our Father, the text probes the difficulties of forgiving, and why it is important—and liberating. Even the “Amen” conclusion to each book is spiritually rich, urging “A Heavenly ’Yes!‘ to Hope” at the end of the Our Father and insisting at the end of the Hail Mary that “Love Has the Last Word”.

Throughout, the artwork is as beautiful as it is well-chosen for each subject, drawing on great painters such as Fra Angelico, Bellini, Doré, van Dyck, van Gogh, Murillo, Rubens, Tintoretto, Tissot, Velazquez and many others. Monochrome sketches adorn each page of text with full-page color prints of the best work of the best artists highlighting the beginning, middle and end of each chapter. Each book also sports a red ribbon for marking your place or reminding you of a favorite location for a particularly powerful image or meditation.

A Sampling

It is important to emphasize that these beautiful books are not mere fluff. The text is spiritually enriching, as is typical of the work of Frs. Hofer and Nolan and of the entire Magnificat project, which consistently provides outstanding prayers and spiritual reading to committed Catholics throughout the world. For example, I chose the following passage essentially at random from the third chapter of the book on the Hail Mary, “Blessed art thou among women”:

Elizabeth rejoices at what God has done for Mary, and so do we. We repeat Elizabeth’s words, “Blessed art thou among women.” That God has loved Mary more than he has loved us and given her greater blessings is no cause for envy for us, but rather a cause for joy. Saint Paul says that just as in the body, when one part suffers, all suffer with it, so too if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy (1 Cor 12:26). Mary causes us to rejoice—she is, according to one of her titles, Causa Laetitiae, Cause of Our Joy. [59]

Or I might choose, again almost at random, from the seventh chapter of the book on the Our Father, “And lead us not into temptation”, the subtitle of which is “Hope guides us through trials”:

God doesn’t cause us to sin—of course! But he does allow us to be tried. Even in those trials he wants to lead us, just as he led Israel through their difficult time in the desert. We trust that he allows temptations for our good, especially so that we learn to claim victory over them in Christ. Knowing the love of Christ, we share his victory. Christ is our leader; we are his followers. And in receiving Christ in the Eucharist, we learn to hope that he will lead us every step of the way on our pilgrimage to heaven. [115]

Lord, teach us to pray

A great many of us typically rattle off these prayers, whether at set times during the day or randomly, without giving them much more than a momentary thought or a fleeting urgency. Even though they nourish our spiritual life and protect us in times of trial, it is only over time and, as it were, behind the scenes that we tend to grow in our grasp of their incomparable power and depth. Only seldom do we reflect deeply on the words as we pray them. Using these rich and (dare I claim) spiritually “enjoyable” books is one way to increase not only our understanding of the spiritual, moral and historically salvific context of these great prayers but also our ability to actively associate them with key elements in our own lives, even when we have not forced ourselves to slow down and think them over phrase by phrase.

If any reader rapidly outstrips me by unfailingly focusing on each word of these prayers every time he or she prays them, so much the better. But such an intense and disciplined focus is rarely at the very center of our use of the Our Father and the Hail Mary. Far better, then, to take time occasionally to learn to appreciate them more, precisely so that we will already possess a greater understanding and a greater wealth of spiritual connections when we resort to these prayers, however hastily. For precisely this will make them steadily more full of grace for us in their constant use. This will be true even when, in the moment, we fleetingly capture only a single thought or disposition—nonetheless occasioned by these words that bear such a richness of Divine love as they soar unerringly through our minds and hearts.

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Fr. Andrew Hofer, OP & Fr. Philip Nolan, OP: Our Father: Our Prayer of Hope. Magnificat, 2026. 143pp. Hardback. $19.95.

Fr. Andrew Hofer, OP & Fr. Philip Nolan, OP: Hail Mary: Pondering the Mysteries of Love. Magnificat, 2026. 143pp. Hardback. $19.95. Magnificat, 2026. 143pp. Hardback. $19.95.

Or both at once: Hail Mary & Our Father Set. Hardback. $35.00.