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Welcome to our website's current newsletter, a new addition, which will be used as a means of instruction throughout the year on aspects of our beautiful Catholic Faith. Many who contact this Apostolate have no idea of the obligation nor requirements of the Catholic Church's teachings. Lack of reading, study, or desire to know basic Truths lead many astray. So many fall because they get involved in the New Age or Charismatic movements that stem directly from the author of lies and master of hell ~ Satan. Each month, Catholic theology concerning different topics will be provided to help you correct error and help you to follow teachings given to us by Christ. The Angelus Prayer The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. 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 be His Passion and cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen. The Angelus - It's Meaning and History The frontispiece of this pamphlet shows a painting that is known even to schoolchildren and is beloved of all people. It is the most popular of the materpieces of the French painter Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875). It depicts the scene of two peasants in a harvest field. The musical sound of the noon day bell is wafted across the fields. The peasants pause in their work; in reverence they bow their heads and pray the Angelus. Millet's picture breathes reverence. It inspires peace and contentment. The artist, famous for depicting the peasant type of sturdy virtue, has here succeeded superbly in portraying the dignity of labor and the manliness of prayer. Labor, this painting tells us, is of greatest dignity only when the laborer is in contact with His Creator. Such labor-union alone justifies the beads of sweat on the brow and the calluses on the hands. The Angelus prayer, morning, noon and night, is eminently suited to foster communion of the laborer with His God. From boyhood days there lingers in my mind the memory of a picture. In my town a middle-aged man was walking home from his flour-mill for dinner. The Angelus bell began to ring. Immediately he took off his hat, and holding it in his hand, walked along. When the bell ceased sounding, he put on his hat again. He had prayed the Angelus. That was not the only day he did this. What a beautiful and manly custom! What a fruitful practice! He had inherited it from the Emerald Isle. It was a Presbyterian, Robert Lynd, who, in his Home Life in Ireland, wrote this fine tribute: If you are in a little town in any part of Ireland - except the northeast about noon, when the chapel bells ring for the Angelus, you will see all the men suddenly taking off their hats and crossing themselves as they say their midday prayers. The world loses its air of work, or of the commonplace idleness, and the streets take on an intense beauty for the moment, as the old people and the young people half hide their eyes to murmur a rapid prayer to the Mother of God. The boy walking by a loaded cart stands still with bared head, or stumbles forward, praying as he walks. In the door of the houses, in the entries on the bridge over the river, the town assumes a multitudinous reverence as the tide of prayer sweeps through it to the dinning music of the bell. Even the policeman, ludicrously stiff in his military uniform, lowers his head with a dind of salute, and offers his homage to heaven. I confess I like this daily forgetfulness of the world in the middle of the day. It brings wonder into almost every country town in Ireland at least once a day. Similar tribute could be paid to other countries, especially when Catholicism was an atmosphere in which people lived there. There was Germany and Italy and England - yes, the last of these was among the first where the practice of the Angelus flourished. Endeavors are being made in our day toward a revival or a more enthusiastic interest in this centuries-old prayer and practice, by sermons and conferences, by leaflets and pamphlets, even by a daily broadcast of the Angelus bell and its prayer over the airwaves. It is toward this revival that I offer this brief explaination and history of the Angelus. The name of this prayer may sound strange to those not initiated in the Latin language.
The Angelus prayer commemorates the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to the Mother
of Jesus. In Latin, which was the language first used for the prayer, the opening
word of the prayer is Angelus, "the angel". Hence the name. The Angelus was in the making for many centuries until it attained its present form.
As said today it consists essentially of three Hail Mary's, each of which is
proceded by a versicle and a response; and the last Hail Mary is followed by a versicle,
response and prayer. The Angelus expresses the must stupendous message ever given by God to men, the news
about the Redemption of mankind through the Incarnation of God himself from a lowly and
humble Virgin Mother. By retelling the story of the Annunciation as related in the
divinely inspired Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 1, verses 26-38, we can best understand the
meaning of the prayer. When "the fullness of time had come" (Gal. 4:4), as determined in the
providence of God, in the days that King Herod was ruler of Judea (Luke 1:5), God sent
Gabriel, one of His angels who assist at His throne in Heaven (Luke 1:9), to a little town
of Galilee, called Nazareth. Here there lived a humble young lady, who was a virgin,
but who was espoused to the very holy man, Joseph. He, as the virgin herself, was a
descendant of the royal family of the great King David. The virgin's name was Mary,
a name that well befitted her, since in her day it was popularly taken to mean
"Lady", and its scientific meaning may be "Highness" or "Exalted
One". Entering her home unannounced, the Angel must have found Mary at prayer - the perfect
occupation for receiving the message. He greeted her, "Hail. Full of
grace". "Hail", represents the Greek of St. Luke, which really means
"rejoice". It has commonly been asserted that St. Luke merely interpreted
the usual Hebrew greeting, "Peace be to you.", since the Angel no doubt spoke in
the Aramaic language, Mary's language. Today, however, scholars incline to think
that the Angel used a term that actually invited Mary to rejoice, a term that is so the
angel's first word would indicated that he came to announce the fulfillment of the
prophecies about the Messiah who would bring joy to the world. Immediately the Angel addressed the virgin, not by her personal name, but by a very
special title: "Full-of-grace". This expression, so familiar to us, is
freighted with meaning. I have used hyphens to indicate that it is a title of Mary,
given in the Greek of St. Luke by one word. We might coin a parallel like
"all-graced". The Greek perfect participle in this case indicates that
Mary possesses to the fullest measure what the stem of the verb implies, namely, grace. The grace that Mary possessed so fully and by which she was in turn possessed so fully
is sanctifying grace. This she received already at the first moment of her
existence, when she was immaculately conceived in her own mother's womb. Mary was so
full of grace that she possessed more than all the angels and men put together.
Besides sanctifying grace, the fullness of grace meant here includes also the very
exceptional, entirely unique and fundamental favor that God bestowed on Mary and about
which the Angel came to tell her, her divine, virgin Motherhood. After that greeting the Angel assured Mary: "The Lord is with you".
This phrase, found rather frequently in the Sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament,
expresses the fact that God is with Mary in a very special manner, because He is
conferring on her a most exceptional and difficult office. In it she will certainly
be successful, since God himself, the Lord Omnipotent, will give all the help needed. Whether at this point the Angel pronounced the special praise of Mary, "Blessed
art thou among women", is not certain, since it is missing here in a few of the more
important manuscripts. No matter. It is certain that, not many days later, St.
Elizabeth, under divine inspiration, uttered this praise of her cousin, Mary. The
clause is couched in Hebrew idiom for the superlative degree, and means that Mary is more
blessed than all other women. All in all the divine messenger's praise was surely exceptional for a young Jewish lady of lowly station. Small wonder that in her humility, Mary feared at hearing such praise bestowed on her. Still she remained entirely self possessed and kept pondering what manner of greeting this really was. The Angel quickly informed her: "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found grace with God". The Angel, in other words, said, "Mary, you are most pleasing to God; He is granting you a very great favor". Continuing, the divine herald unburdened himself of his message: "And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and shall bring forth a son; and you shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and he shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he shall be King over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."
What a wonderful son Mary will have! Indeed, the Prophet Isaias had announced Him as "the wonderful" (Isa. 9:6). He is the long awaited Messiah, the Son of
God. He is the Savior of mankind, whose name itself, Jesus, means that he will save
his people from their sins, as the Angel will later explain to Joseph (Matt. 1:21).
He is the great King whose kingdom will never end; it is everlasting as he himself is
everlasting, as the great prophet Daniel had already foretold (Dan. 7:14). What a wonderful child the angel promised Mary! What? A child to Mary?
But how? "How shall this happen?" asked Mary, looking for an
explanation, since "I do not know man." She wished to say that she had
made a firm and sacred resolve never to make use of a wife's rights with her spouse.
She had decided, undoubtedly under divine guidance, to remain a virgin always, even
though for protection she espoused Joseph, who had also determined to remain a virgin. The Angel did not leave Mary in doubt for long. He assured her. "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the most high shall
overshadow you; and therefore the Holy One to be born shall be called the Son of
God." How delicately and simply stated! Mary will remain a virgin while at the same
time she will be the greatest mother ever to exist, the Mother of the Son of God.
This will elevate her to the highest dignity a mere creature can receive even from
God. All this by the miraculous creative power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
Love Divine. Then, by way of reassurance, though Mary had not doubted the Angel's message, he have
her a sign of the truth of the message; Elizabeth, her cousin, is with child. She
who had been sterile and who was now beyond the child-bearing age conceived a child by
God's omnipotence. "For nothing shall be impossible with God."
Neither, therefore, shall the virginal conception Mary's divine Child be impossible. Now the Angel is waiting. His message has been delivered. God in His
infinite goodness did not wish to force motherhood on Mary, even divine Motherhood.
God, too, is waiting . . . waiting for Mary's answer. In a sense, God made the incarnation of his Son and the consequent redemption of
mankind depend on the consent of the Redeemer's Mother. He wanted her to share in
the closest way in her Son's work of Redemption, not only in the distribution of the
graces acquired, but already in the acquisition of Redemption. And the first step
would be Mary's consent, free and generous, to be the Mother of the Redeemer, to make it
possible for the Son of God to be born of our race and to offer himself for man's
Redemption. What will Mary's answer be? Without delay, most humbly but
resolutely she replied: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done
to me according to thy word." Mary meant to say, I am the lowly servant of the Lord Almightly. Let him achieve
in me, and with me, what he has expressed in the message that you have brought.
God's holy will be done. The Angel's mission is ended. He leaves as quietly as he had come. St. John
states the mystery simply: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among
us" (John 1:14). Immediately upon Mary's consent to be the mother of the Messiah the Holy Spirit wrought
the marvel of the Incarnation of the Son of God in the immaculate sanctuary of the Virgin
Mary's womb. Pope Pius XII, quoting St. Thomas, writes in his encyclical on the
Mystical Body, "'In the name of the whole human race, She gave consent for
"spiritual nuptials between the Son of God and human nature.'" Thereby she
became the Mediatrix and Spiritual Mother of all men as well as the Mother of God's Son
and our Redeemer. The Angelus Itself In telling the story of the Annunciation we have explained also three
versicles of the Angelus. The first versicle is: "The Angel of the
lord declared unto Mary". This is a summary of the entire message of the
Annunciation, as if we were saying: "The angel of the Lord brought a message to
Mary". The response is: "And she conceived of the Holy Ghost".
That was the purpose of the message, and the effect. The Angel told Mary that
God was inviting her to be the Mother of the Redeemer. She accepted the invitation.
Then, as the Angel had promised, she conceived the son of God through a miracle
wrought by the Holy Ghost, thus becoming the greatest Mother and still remaining the most
perfect virgin. Since Mary's part in this initial step of Redemption was of such
importance, we emphasize it by singing out her consent in the second versicle: "Behold
the handmaid of the Lord" and in its response: "Be it done to me
according to thy word". The meaning and import of this we explained above. In the third versicle, we put in bold relief the fact of the Incarnation,
as resulting from the Annunciation. We clothe our prayerful thought in the
immortal and picturesque words of St. John: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us". Words that describe the Incarnation of the Eternal Word of God by assuming flesh our human nature complete with body and soul, from the Virgin Mary, and thus dwelling among us, pitching his tent (as the Greek verb implies) on our earth for the time of his sojourn. Simplest metaphor expressive of the sublimest mystery! The Hail Mary was originally the only part of the Angelus, and is today
its heart. In the story of the Annunciation, we explained the first phrases of the Hail Mary. Now we will continue with the rest. We noted above that if the Angel did not address to Mary the words, "Blessed art thou among women",
Elizabeth certainly did (Luke 1:42). But Elizabeth also added: "And
blessed is the fruit of thy womb". Truly, Mary's child is "blessed"; he is the source of all blessing. To that was added, in the Middle Ages, the name of Jesus, who is the fruit, the child, of Mary's womb. Thus the first part of the Hail Mary is complete. The second half was composed and added in the Middle Ages. There is
a credible tradition that it was the Franciscan Friars who began the practice of adding, "Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death". It is a petition to Mary to exercise her poerful intercession with God in our behalf, since she is God's Mother. That is why we pray, "Holy Mary, Mother of God". It is particularly as "sinners" that we have the need of intercession of Our Mother of mercy; and precisely "now" at every moment of our lives, but most of all
"at the hour of our death", when Satan's assaults will be renewed; at the hour
of our death, the most important moment of our lives, on which will depend our unending
life thereafter, in that moment we must make good, in that moment we have particular need
of the guiding hand and understanding heart of our Mother. We, therefore, make this
request of her: "Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death". The Angelus concludes with a prayer preceded by a versicle. The
versicle is simply an expression of our belief and trust in the intercessory power of Mary with God. We pray for the greatest blessing possible - to be made worthy of the
blessings promised us throught the Redemption of Christ: "Pray for us. O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ". The prayer itself commemorates the vocation of Jesus and Mary, the Incarnation of the eternal word from the virgin Mother. "Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that
we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, The Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may be His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Ressurection. Through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.". We address this petition to God, the Father: "O Lord".
As the motive for our petition we appeal to the fact that God gave us a knowledge of the Incarnation through the message of the Angel Gabriel: "That we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel.".
The favor that we petition is a further infusion of God's grace into our hearts for the greater perfection of our spiritual lives: "Pour forth, we beseech Thee, Thy grace into our hearts".
Reasons for Praying the Angelus Why should we pray the Angelus? The reasons can be gathered from the very thoughts expressed in the Angelus and from its historic development. One may say, in general, that the reasons are two: to give honor and glory to God, to Christ and to Mary; and to bring salvation and peace to men. The angelus is, in other words, a prayerful echo of the Angel's song: "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will." The prayer deals expressly with the mystery of the Incarnation, of how the Son of God became man through the consent and cooperation of the Ever-Virgin Mary. To recall this mystery over and over again in the Angelus is indeed an easy yet effective manner of giving glory to God, in the Incarnate Word and to His Immaculate Mother. It must be most pleasing to them. It is a composition of praise for Mary made by God Himself and the Church. Besides, this prayer is a commemoration of the Passion of Jesus. It is meant to give glory to God in the highest, and also to Christ, the Redeemer and His Virgin Mother.
It is related that St. Mechtilda one day wished that she could honor Mary
as no creature had yet done. Mary herself appeared to her with the Angel's
salutation written in golden letters across her breast. She assured the Saint:
"No one has yet surpassed this salutation, and no one can give me a more
welcome greeting than that given to me by God, the Father through that Ave".
Let us salute Mary with the prayer she loves so dearly and esteems so highly. In the Angelus we ask for the greatest blessing for ourselves and all
people. The words themselves express this reason. In the Hail Mary we beg for
the gift of final perseverence through Mary's help at the hour of our death, and is the
prayer we request the further infusion of graces that will lead to a glorious
ressurection. These benefits are really summed up to the second part of the Angel's
song: "And peace on earth to men of good will". Peace of soul is the
result and sum of all the blessings that we can lawfully enjoy on earth. It is the
blessing we desire so much to receive through the Incarnation and Redemption of Mary's
Son, the Prince of Peace. The Angelus should be our special prayer for peace each
day - morning, noon and night. We will then realize the Angel's chant:
"And peace on earth to men of good will." The Angelus is in a true sense the commemoration of the vocation of Jesus
and Mary, the two greatest vocations ever to be given by God. In God's eternal
decree the vocation or call was given to Jesus and Mary. It is therefore very
natural to consider the Angelus a special vocation prayer. For anyone who must yet
choose his vocation the Angelus is a prayer for Divine guidance and courage to make the
proper choice. For one already settled in his vocation, the Angelus is a prayer for
successfully fulfilling God's will in the state that has been chosen. We can pray
it, too, for the vocation of others. An inspiring practice would be the family recitation of the Angelus when
gathered at table for grace before meals. Through it each child, as his turn comes,
would be guided by God to choose his vocation wisely according to God's plan; the parents
and those children who have already made their choice would be given the grace to be
successful in their state of life. Making the choice and success of vocations such a
"family affair" will certainly draw down God's blessings. In conclusion to
this section on the fruits of the Angelus, it should be noted that this prayer is still
indulgenced. See the end of this pamphlet for the indulgences. Everyone's Prayer Everyone receives benefits from the Incarnation and Redemption and from
Mary's cooperation in this work of salvation; everyone has need of the grace and peace
that will lead to a glorious resurrection. For that reaason we should pray the
Angelus daily. There is hardly an excuse for not doing so. It is so simple to
remember and takes so little time. To pause three times daily - this need not be
exactly at six, twelve, and six, as long as it is in the morning, at noon and in the
evening - to pause for a few moments to say the Angelus, is a splendid means of spiritual
recollection. The Angelus can be said anywhere. In the home, of course, it should
be said by the family in common as far as possible, or at least by those who happen to be
at home. It can be said in the office, in the workshop, in the factory. It can
be said while walking along the street. It can be said very naturally in the field,
immortalized in the painting by Millet. In every circumstance the Angelus can certainly be said privately, in a
manner that is entirely unknown to others who might cause a disturbance over a
"public" Angelus. But where possible it would be praiseworthy if Catholic
workers would pause in their work for the Angelus, fold answering a leader of the group.
Should the work be of such a nature that it cannot be discontinued even for these
few minutes, the Angelus could still be recited aloud by someone and answered by the
others without interfering with the work. For a number of years, the Angelus has been broadcast from some radio
stations each evening at six o'clock. This is a modern, rather simple, but effective
means of encouraging the Angelus. During the Marian year of 1954 the Holy Father
himself several times led the Angelus over the Vatican radio. Pope Paul VI regularly
leads the people in the Angelus at noon on Sundays. Join the modern crusade for saying the Angelus daily wherever you are,
especially as a family prayer in your home. By the daily recitation of the Angelus
we could change the world for the better. Your own little world will take on a new
beauty, particularly for that one moment when you stand with bowed head and whisper Mary's
prayer to the music of Mary's bell. The Angelus is recommended especially in mothers. By their motherly
influence they can be instrumental in having the Angelus prayed daily in their homes.
And the Angelus is a reminder to all mothers of the supreme dignity of motherhood,
elevated by Mary's consent to be the Mother of God. Mary made it possible for all
mother to give birth to children who would be incorporated into the Mystical Body of
Christ, and be heirs of heavenly glory. Without Mary's consent this would not have
been possible. Mothers would have given birth to children who could never have had
even the slightest hope of enjoying an unending happiness in a face to face vision of God.
The Angelus recalls this outstanding participation of all mothers in the mystery of
the Incarnation and Redemption through the cooperation of the Ever-Virgin Mother. Mothers by their example and influence can train the children to love the
Angelus so that its recitation will be second nature for them even outside the home.
Bishop Sailer was visiting a small town in rural Germany. The children were
putting on a program for him. A little girl of ten was the first speaker. Just
as she came on stage the Angelus bell began to sound. For a moment she embarrassed.
But only for a moment. With a clear voice she announced very naively:
"I think before we begin we had better pray the Angelus." And they
did. The Bishop was highly pleased and commented on the practical education of the
child. Historic Development The Angelus has an interesting history. But it is not to be viewed
as a mere antique in some museum, but as a living prayer, venerable with age, increasing
in beauty through the centuries, and carrying within itself the rejuvenating spirit of the
Church. No universal decree of the Pope gave rise to the recitation of the
Angelus, morning, noon, and night, according to the present-day form. It developed
gradually over many centures, and is a combination of a number of practices.
Specific details have been lost, but we do know the broad outlines. At first
there were some prayers at the ringing of a bell in the monasteries in the early Middle
Ages, which became a signal also for the people to pray. Later at this ringing of
the bell the Hail Mary was recited, first by Religious, then by the people, too. It
was these Hail Marys that gradually, through a few centuries, took the form of our
Angelus. At first the Aves were recited only in the evening, soon also in the
morning, and only later at noon. The history of the Angelus falls into these three
parts, according to this gradual development. The Evening Angelus That King Alfred of England began the custom of the Angelus is mere
legend. As early as the tenth century in some Benedictine monasteries a bell was
rung before Matins, before Prime or Tierce and after Compline. At each of these
three bells special psalms and prayers were said, especially after Compline. The
people, too, were encouraged to say some prayers when they heard these bells. Such a
custom existed in Germany in the tenth century. After Compline some boys would say
three prayers. The abbot rang the bell and said three prayers with his confreres.
A Similar practice is recorded for England. In the monastic rule, Regularis
concordia which was composed about 975 by St. Aethelwold of Winchester, we find the
instruction that three prayers preceded by five psalms are to be said after Compline as
well as before Matins and before Prime. Since the bell is mentioned for Matins and
Prime, it can be presumed for Compline. The same custom is found later in other
English monasteries. People were soon encouraged to pray along when they heard the monastic
bell. Later the church bell was rung for this purpose. The first record of
this is the ruling of the Synod of Caen in 1061, which ordered the bell to be rung daily
in the evening for calling the people to prayer, after which they were to retire to their
homes and close the town gates. Historians argue over whether the curfew bell was in existence first, to
which this religious practice was attached. There is no doubt that in the Middle
Ages many regulations were made for civic life. Among these was the ringing of a
bell in the evening to end work and clear the people off the streets. The custom
seems to have begun in Normandy. At least from there the bell got its name of
curfew, from the old French covrefew, because at this bell also the fires had to be put
out. In some places the curfew and the prayer bell were combined. But that
seems to have been rare and accidental. Usually the town tower bell was used for the
curfew, and the church bell for prayer. And, all things considered, the prayer bell
seems to have existed first and is not a development of the curfew. An early purpose of such prayer at the evening bell was peace. That
is why the bell itself was called the peace bell. For instance, in the thirteenth
century we have a record of a peace bell at St. Omers that sounded the closing of the
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R. And she conceived by the Holy Ghost. . . Hail Mary, etc.
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to Thy word . . . Hail Mary, etc.
V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us. . . Hail Mary, etc.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
(from pamphlet by Dominic J. Unger OFM, 1955)
