This song is for those interested in scriptural accuracy.  It’s a “Hail Mary,” except that I call it “Most Exalted One.”  I do so because it is more scripturally accurate.  In the second Catholic edition of the revised standard version, Gabriel addresses Mary not by her personal name but by a title – “Hail (or rejoice), full of grace.”  The expression “full of grace” is rooted in Catholic tradition and traced to St. Jerome’s translation in the Latin Vulgate.  Although fundamentally accurate, it lacks some of the depth of the Greek original.  Luke could have described her with the words “full of grace” (Gk. pleres charitos) as he did of Stephen in Acts 6:8, yet here he uses a different expression (Gk. kecharitomene) that is even more revealing than the traditional rendering.  It indicates that God has already “graced” Mary previous to the annunciation, making her a vessel who “has been” and “is now” filled with divine life.  Alternative translations like “favored one” or “highly favored” are possible but inadequate.  Because of the unparalleled role that Mary accepts at this point in salvation history, the best translation is “most exalted one.”  I found this information in a footnote on Luke 1:28 in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 2001 edition, page 105.

The arranger for this song is Nemesh from Serbia and the recording engineer is Mike Clark from Amherst, New Hampshire.