The Angelus
Since the Middle Ages, church bells have rung three times a day to call the faithful to pause and pray the Angelus, recalling the moment the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear Christ. It's one of the oldest ways Christians have marked the passing of an ordinary day with prayer.
The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. 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. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. 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.
