What does the cryptic crossword clue "Healthy-sounding old lady with really empty prayer (4,4)" mean?

The definition is "prayer". The wordplay uses a homophone (sounds like). sounds like ‘hale’ MA R[eall]Y The answer is HAIL MARY.

Healthy-sounding old lady with really empty prayer (4,4)

Times Cryptic #28705 | 1 Down | 2023-09-11 flower