THE Angelus is a traditional Catholic devotional prayer that commemorates the Incarnation of Christ. The prayer has its origins in the 11th-century monasteries whose monks would recite three Hail Mary, three times a day. The prayer form continued evolving throughout the years into its present form: where it is customary to pray it at 6 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm, except during the Easter season. During Easter, the Regina Caeli prayer substitutes the Angelus.
The prayer combines three verses from Scripture commemorating the Annunciation, each followed by a Hail Mary. It is also customary to bow or genuflect in honor of Christ during the 3rd verse, when we say, “And the Word became flesh,.” The prayer concludes with a petition to God for His grace to help us follow Jesus into heaven.
Below I include of the prayer sung in Latin by the Daughters of Mary, as well the prayer as taught by the Catholic Church:
The Angelus
The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary;
And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Pray the Hail Mary
Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to your word.
And the Word was made flesh,
And dwelt among us.
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 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
