09b. Angelus

Indonesia | English | Latin

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

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.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord:
Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh:
And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
Thy grace into our hearts;
that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ,
Thy 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.

.
The Annunciation of Gabriel to the Virgin Mary

The Angelus is recited at three particular times during the day; 6 am, 12 noon, and 6 pm. Traditionally it is recited kneeling while a bell is rung. During the Easter Season, the Angelus is replaced by the Regina Caeli, a practice first instituted in 1743.

The origins of the Angelus undoubtedly lie with an 11th century custom of reciting three Hail Mary's during the evening bell. Pope Gregory IX (d 1241) ordered a bell to be rung in the evening to remind people to pray for the Crusades. In 1269 St. Bonaventure urged the faithful to adopt the custom of the Franciscans of saying three Hail Mary's as the evening bell was rung.

Pope John XXII indulgenced this practice in 1318 and then again in 1327. The custom of reciting it in the morning apparently grew from the monastic custom of saying three Hail Mary's while a bell rang at Prime. The noon time custom apparently arose from the noon time commemoration of the Passion on Fridays. Pope Callistus III (1455-1458) commended the practice as a prayer for protection against the Turkish invasions of his time. By the sixteenth century the form of the prayer was standardized and it has been highly popular since the 17th century. Popes such as Benedict XIV, Leo XIII, Pius XI, and Pius XII have recommended it.

More recently, Pope Paul VI wrote about it in Marialis Cultus and Pope John Paul II holds a weekly noon time Angelus address at St. Peter's Square. A partial indulgence is granted to those who devoutly recite it according to the time of the year.
Per annum, Outside the Pascal Season.

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