There are several traditional Catholic prayers that I really never learned. The Angelus is one of them, and is a prayer to Mary, so I thought I’d get to that early in the week. Maybe I’ll pray it every day this week as part of my preparation for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Saturday.
This meditation is traditionally prayed at noon, and many Catholic churches ring their bells at noon as a reminder that it is time for the Angelus. If it is being said in a group, the lines labeled with a V are for the leader, and all participants respond with the lines labeled with an R. When saying the prayer alone, a person just reads all of it.
The Angelus
V — The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R — And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary… (Say The Hail Mary here.)
V — Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R — Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary…
V — And the Word was made Flesh.
R — And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary…
V — Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R — That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY: Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we to whom the incarnation of Christ, your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
This prayer kind of evolved from habits in the first millennium of the Church. It was traditional that members of the laity would say three Hail Marys in the early evening, usually as the bells rang to indicate that those in religious life were saying a similar part of the Divine Office. Over the years, phrases from the Scripture passages of the annunciation were added.
So I picture this prayer as almost being a way that lay people chose to connect a little bit with those in religious life. Its popularity certainly stems simply from the remarkable devotion that many Catholics have for Mary.
This particular prayer is focused on one moment in the Blessed Mother’s life, the Annunciation. This is the moment when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she was to give birth to Jesus. And in fact, when she agreed, it is the moment of the incarnation.
The incarnation is the central event in the entire Bible. If you examine Scripture, you might notice that the entire Old Testament is about preparation for the incarnation, and the rest of the New Testament exists because of the incarnation. That is the sacred moment when God came to earth to save us all. This might be the reason this prayer has maintained its importance over so many years.
Dear God, we come to you today after contemplating again Your beautiful act of love in the incarnation. We are so grateful for the grace and mercy you show us throughout our lives, and for the gift of our heavenly mother.