Prayers of the Church: The Angelus

You can pray the prayer on your own, or in a group. If praying in a group, the leader prays the part marked V, and the group responds with the part in italics marked R.

The Angelus
V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

V. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
R. 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 your Word.

V. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
R. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

V. And the Word was made flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.

V. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
R. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

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

V. Let us pray: Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 
R. Amen. 

"The Angelus" by Jean-Francois Millet

The Angelus is a prayer that recalls the mystery of the Incarnation -- that "the Word became flesh and lived among us" [St. John 1:14] as Jesus Christ, born of his mother Mary. The prayer itself joins together verses from Luke's and John's gospels that tell about the announcement of Christ's coming, interspersed with the ancient prayer known as the 'hail Mary' which beseeches the mother of our Lord to pray for us to her son our Lord. 

The Angelus dates back to at least the 13th century. It is traditionally recited three times in the day: in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Bells would often ring at these times in a particular pattern: 3 rings, 3 rings, 3 rings, and finally 9 rings. A sign of the popularity of this prayer can be found in the large number of medieval church bells that are inscribed either with the name of the Archangel Gabriel (who delivered the message to Mary) or with the opening words of the "Hail Mary" prayer in Latin: "Ave maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum" (Hail, Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you [St. Luke 1:28]). 

In this prayer, we focus our attention on God's great gift to us, Jesus Christ, "...for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" [St. John3:16-17]. Even though it is God's grace that saves, we continually strive to walk in the ways of Christ, and to ask for the prayers and help and guidance of others to stay constant on the Christian path. And just as Bob might ask his friend Joe to pray for him in a time of need, we boldly ask the mother of Christ to intercede for us to her son, who is her savior as well as ours, and the only key that unlocks the door of salvation.