The Angelus

(to be said at Six, Noon & Six throughout the year except during Easter time, when the Regina Coeli is recited instead)

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit
Hail Mary...

V. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word."
Hail Mary...

V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary...

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. 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.

About the painting: The Angelus was painted by 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.