By Francis Van Uden Hey everyone! It’s Francis! Today I want to let you all know about the Angelus prayer! It’s a Catholic prayer and is very cool & traditional. Although not a whole lot of Catholics pray it nowadays, it is a beautiful devotion that you can pray daily, and does not take very long. It’s meant to be prayed three times a day, one as early as possible (around six in the morning for most people), one at noon, and one at six in the evening. Because of these times, some people like praying the Angelus along with grace before meals, which is great! You don’t have to stick to this however, the Angelus is a beautiful prayer and as long as you are praying it respectfully, any time of day is appropriate. This prayer is meant to be prayed everyday, and that is why Catholics have certain times to pray it, so that they are used to praying it at a certain time and don’t forget to. And that’s why it’s called a devotion! Because people pray this prayer everyday at a particular time, they “devote” that part of their days to pray the particular prayer, in this case, the Angelus! The Angelus started out before the year 1000, as people would pray three “Hail Mary’s” at night, and would ask Mary for help and prayers. Then, many began to pray it multiple times a day, in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening. Eventually, prayers before each Hail Mary were added, from details of Mary’s Annunciation (this was when Mary was told she was going to be pregnant with Jesus, the Son of God!). Then, a final prayer was added, and now we have it - the Angelus! Fun fact: Many years ago, when it was normal for all Catholics to pray the Angelus everyday, local churches and monasteries would ring the church bells at 6am, noon and 6pm to remind everyone to stop and pray the Angelus. (There is even a famous painting of a couple stopping to pray the Angelus, in their field!) Here’s the Angelus:
(the “L” parts are meant to prayer by a leader of the prayer (which can be anyone) and the “R” is a response that everyone says, followed by everyone saying a Hail Mary.) L. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, etc... L. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. R. Be it done unto me according to Your Word. Hail Mary, etc... L. And the Word was made flesh, R. And dwelt among us. Hail Mary, etc... L. 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 as we have known the incarnation of Christ, your Son by the message of an angel, so by His passion and cross we may be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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