I'd like to point out that the first half of the Hail Mary is a direct quote from Scripture. The second half is asking her to intercede for us, as she is our Blessed Mother (Jesus gave her to be our Mother while dying on the Cross).
I refer you now to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
II. DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN
971 "All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship."The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs.... This very special devotion ... differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration."The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.
III. MARY - ESCHATOLOGICAL ICON OF THE CHURCH
972 After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own "pilgrimage of faith," and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, "in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity," "in the communion of all the saints,"The Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother.
In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.
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Now back to me....Mary is a great source of inspiration as she responded to God's call in such a way that we all should.
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:38).
She said yes to God even though she didn't understand. She accepted what was going to happen to her as God's will and because she said "yes" the Saviour was able to come into the world.
Protestants have a big problem with the Catholic devotion to Mary. In a sense I understand where they are coming from (because maybe at first glance Scripture supports their stance). However, they really don't make the effort to see where we are coming from because if they did, they would realise Mary is OUR mother - Christ himself gave her to humanity to be our mother and Jesus refuses nothing his Mother asks of him.
John 2:3 - this is a very signifcant verse in Scripture. As our mother, Mary tells all of us to do whatever Jesus tells us. Further, Mary's intercession at the marriage feast in Cana triggers Jesus' ministry and a foreshadowing of the Eucharistic celebration of the Lamb. This celebration unites all believers into one famiy through the marriage of divinity and humanity.
John 2:7 - Jesus allows His mother to intercede for the people on His behalf, and responds to His mother's request by ordering the servants to fill the jars with water.
I hope that makes it a bit more clear. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions and don't want to ask publicly.