HOW TO PRAY THE ANGELUS

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, 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.  

    And the Word was made Flesh:

     And dwelt among us.

 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.  

   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.

WHAT IS THE ANGELUS?

The term Angelus means "angel" and it is the first word in Latin that begins the prayer in honor of the incarnation of Jesus Christ: "The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary." Throughout the greater part of the Church's history this prayer has been said at 6 a.m., 12 noon, and 6 p.m., accompanying the traditional prayer times of monks. While the monastics prayed the liturgy of the hours, the laity would stop what they were doing and say 3 Hail Marys. Since roughly A.D. 1612, verses were added to these Hail Marys to form the complete version of Angelus we pray today. During the Easter Season, the simple, humble Angelus prayer is replaced with the more celebratory, joyous Regina Coeli prayer.