Thursday, August 3, 2017

The Angelus

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. 
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:26-38)
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with Thee;
(Luke 1:28)
Blessed art thou among women, (Luke1:42)
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, (Luke 1:43) 
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death. (James 5:16) & (1Corinthians 12:12-14)
Amen

V. Behold the
handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me
according to thy word.
(Luke 1:38)
Hail Mary....

V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us. 
(John 1:14)
Hail Mary....

V. Pray for us, O holy
Mother of God. (James 5:16) & (1Corinthians 12:12-14)
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
(Being saved: 
1Corinthians 1:18, 
2Corinthians 2:15, 
 Phil.2:12)

(Hope of salvation: 

 Romans 5:9-10, 
1Corinthians 3:12-15, 
 Phil.2:12, 
 Romans 5:2, 
2Timothy 2:11-13)

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 reminds us of the Annunciation. The Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and declared great (if somewhat startling) news. God wished Mary to be the mother of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke1:26-38)

Remember the words from Matthew’s gospel: “Whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matt 23:12). When Mary calls herself the handmaid, the servant, of the Lord, in the Angelus (Luke 1:38) it is with inspiring humility and sincerity .

Mary expressed it most famously in her canticle, the Magnificat. "My soul magnifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47). St. Paul echoed this wonderful sentiment when he wrote “he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord” (2 Cor 10:17).

The Angelus pays tribute to a crucial aspect of Mary’s role in the Incarnation, when it quotes from Luke’s Gospel “be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38) . This is Mary's fiat . By saying “yes” to God in allowing herself to become His mother, she showed us the ultimate example of trust in our Creator!

Do we say “yes” when Christ wants to work through us in showing His love to others? When He asks us to be graceful in trying situations, do we humbly obey with complete trust in our Lord? Prayer and meditation on God’s Word in scripture can help us to do His will.

The Angelus completes its short summary of the Incarnation with the moving reference to our Lord from John’s Gospel: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) . As we read in the letter to the Hebrews, Christ was like us in all things but without sin (Heb 4:15).

The lines that follow about being made worthy of the promises of Christ are an appeal for God’s grace to help us in our pilgrimage of faith. Jesus loved us enough to die for us so that we might live with Him eternally. When we pray the Angelus with humility and love, we are emulating Mary’s faith in His goodness.