ABSTRACT
Ave verum corpus is clearly a hymn to the eucharist, one might be forgiven for thinking that it is also about Mary. The second part of Ave Maria and the final lines of Ave verum corpus focus attention on the believer's own mortality. Both also bring Mary to the scene of death. In both works, the frightening task of facing death is made at least somewhat easier by an imagined maternal presence. Ave verum corpus is a pungent reminder of death, its final invocation also reminding believers of their potential recourse in the face of death. The second part of the Hail Mary prayer is more explicit, bringing Mary right to the deathbed of individual believer. In principle, any Christian sinner who believes that Mary can intercede with her son on the sinner's behalf already has implicit awareness of Our Lady of the Good Death. That awareness comes close to being explicit at the end of the Hail Mary prayer.
