By Fr Trevor D’Souza, OFM –
In many Catholic countries it was a pious custom among the lay Christians to recite three Hail Marys in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary for her role as the Mother of God. This practice existed before 1000 AD. The recitation took place toward evening at the ringing of the monastery bells for the Divine Office called Compline (said after evening prayers).
Slowly this practice was expanded and became part of the morning-noon-evening rituals. Later, the event of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary became part of this devotion. The Angelus originated with around the 11th century and there is documented evidence of the same by an Italian Franciscan friar Sinigardi di Arezzo who died in 1282.
Today the Angelus is the recitation of the event of the Annunciation, punctuated by the Hail Mary-Holy Mary. It is a way of saying THANK YOU MARY FOR SAYING YES, TO BECOME THE MOTHER OF GOD!!!
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary ((Lk 1:26-28)
R. And she conceived of the Holy Ghost (Lk 1:35)V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: (Lk 1:38)
R. Be it done to me according to thy word. (Lk 1:38)V. And the Word was made flesh (Jn 1:14)
R. And dwelt among us (Jn 1:14)V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God (Mt 1:18, 2:11; Jn 19:26)
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ (Eph 4:1; Phil 1:27; Col 1:10)
(When we ask Mary to pray for us, we follow the biblical tradition of Paul and others who asked the disciples and brethren to pray for them, see Col 4:3; 1Thess 5:25; 2Thess 3:1; Heb 13:18. After all Mary is the great intercessor (after Jesus himself), on whose intercession Jesus performed his first miracle of converting water into wine (Jn 2:3-5).
The Angelus is a biblical prayer, based on the words from Scripture. It is well connected with the OT, Is 7:14 and other prophecies. Every time we recite the angelus we remind ourselves of the mystery of the Annunciation – Incarnation and we give thanks to God for the gift of Mary who cooperated with God’s plan of salvation. It encourages each one of us to be like her, to be ready to say YES to our Lord, to do His will and cooperate with His plan of salvation (Lk 17:10).
Make the Angelus part of your prayer of thanksgiving and meditation by reciting it thrice a day, morning-noon-evening. Do not be deceived by people who spread false teachings about Mary. She is special, she was chosen to be the Mother of our Lord and the greatest gift she gave us was JESUS!