very nice post tuppence, may I share a few thoughts?
Lets take a look at the Rosary from a biblical prespective, instead of Catholic's this and Catholic's that.
Here is the prayer that Protestants make such a fuse about.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary. Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Now let us beak down this prayer and see it in light of scripture.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Luke 1:28 "And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace" (NAB: "highly favored one") [kecharitomene]! The Lord is with you."
Kecharitomene: favored by grace; suggests a permanent state of being "highly favored," thus "full of grace." God is infinite goodness. Mary is perfect created goodness, to the limit of her finite being.
Blessed art thou among women
Luke 1:41-42a "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women..."
Luke 1:48 "For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed."
"Among all women": this Hebraicism suggests that Mary is the greatest of women. This must include Eve, whom God created immaculate, i.e. free of sin. Mary's preservation from sin by God's grace, both at her conception and throughout life, is what makes her greater than Eve, who fell from the grace in which God created her.
Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus
Luke 1:42b "and blessed is the fruit of your womb."
Jesus is Mary's fruit. Good fruit does not come from anything but a good tree (Mt. 7:17-18)! The all-holy Son of God could not be the fruit of any other tree than the Immaculate Virgin.
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Luke 1:43 "And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord [Kyrios] should come to me?
Kyrios - the Greek word used by the Jews in the Septuagint Bible (Greek translation) for Yahweh, the Divine Name of God. Thus, Elizabeth is actually saying: How is it that the mother of my God should come to me. Jesus is a single person, a Divine Person, the 2nd Person of the Most Holy Trinity. To be mother of the Person Jesus is to be mother of a Person who is God. The Church gave the title Mother of God to Mary in 431 AD in order to condemn opinions of that day which denied the unity of the two natures of Christ in the Person of the Word.
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Mary sees a need and appeals to Her Son to satisfy it. He does.
We have all ready spoken about Saints interceding for the living, anyhow this is off the topic.
tuppence, as you can see if you break down the Hail Mary it is pure scripture.
Peace