At the Crucifixion of Our Lord, Jesus looked at his beloved disciple and His mother standing near, and “He said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home” John 19:26-27. Thus, as He suffered on the Cross, Our Lord gave us His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to be Our Mother.
Devotion to Mary through the Family Rosary is necessary for the protection of the faith in the Catholic Family. Still, should we not call out to Our Mother and stay near her through the prayer of the Angelus throughout the day? The Angelus, the traditional prayer recited by the Church at 6am, noon, and 6pm, includes a meditation on the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Incarnation of Our Lord and three Ave’s or Hail Mary’s. The Angelus is a firm means of growing closer to Jesus and Mary, nurturing the faith and living in greater charity. As we seek to grow closer to God, praying the Angelus is like holding the hand of Our Mother for a moment in the day. While the Family Rosary is the most powerful weapon and prayer, the Family Angelus is a beautiful devotion by which the family may ‘check-in’ with Our Mother throughout the day.
As a meditation on the Annunciation, the Angelus begins with the verse, “Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae et concepit de Spiritu Sancto,” which translates, “The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived of the Holy Spirit.” Following each meditation, through the words of the Archangel Gabriel, we praise the Immaculate Virgin Mary, with the Ave Maria or Hail Mary. “Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum,” “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord with thee!”
The words of Our Lady follow the first Ave Maria as she said, “Ecce Ancilla Domini; fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum,’ “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word” Luke 1:38. Indeed, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s ‘Fiat’ is all that is necessary for Christ to come to our hearts. As children of God we are called to imitate Our Lady’s ‘Fiat’, ‘Let it be done,’ at each circumstance of the day that Our Lord may be in us and we may grow into his love, into Him.
The third verse recalls the Gospel of John: “Et Verbum Caro Factus Est, et habitavit in nobis,” “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Our Lord reminds us that He is in us. He has made Himself in us, His habitat.
The Angelus concludes with the invocation and prayer, “Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 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.”
Thus through meditating on the Annunciation and Incarnation of Our Lord in the Angelus, we beseech our Lord that through the intercession of the Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary and the Cross, Our Beloved Lord may blend our hearts, free us from anxiety, and direct us in his will. Through the Family Angelus may our families become worthy of the promises of Christ.
The Angelus
V. The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary,
R. 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.
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 amongst 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 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 Angelus in Latin
V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.
Ave Maria, gratia plena; Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
V. Ecce ancilla Domini,
R. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.
Ave Maria
V. Et Verbum caro factum est,
R. Et habitavit in nobis.
Ave Maria
V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genetrix,
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
Oremus.
Gratiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde; ut qui, Angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem eius et crucem ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
