Angelus Prayer Card – The Annunciation – by Simon Bening – pack of 10/100/1000 #006

The Angelus is a traditional Catholic prayer honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary at the moment of the Incarnation with her acceptance of Gabriel's announcement. According to simplycatholic.org, most Church historians date the Angelus to 11th-century Italy, where monks said three Hail Marys during night prayers, at the last bell of the day.

By 1317, saying three Hail Marys at sundown was recommended by Pope John XXII, who added indulgences to it a few years later. Saying three Hail Marys at sunup and noontime were added some decades after that, and then the actual Angelus prayers were added which precede the Hail Marys. The Angelus gets its name from the first word of the prayer in Latin, "(An) Angel of the Lord... "

By about the time of this painting, "The Annunciation" by Simon Bening, 1484, the prayers were in the form we still have them today. There were bells calling people to these prayers as there still are in many Catholic churches today.

It is a lovely habit to get into, and it will yield a deeper spirituality for you and others as they learn to pray it. I kept forgetting the words and didn't like to pull it up on my phone, especially when I was inside a church as the Angelus bells rang at noon. So having this holy card was, in part, something I did for myself, as well as for our fellow parishioners at our church, St. Mary's, where we now say it before the 12:10 Mass on weekdays.

And you don't have to get up at 6 in the morning to say it! And if you forget to say it later, there is no pain of sin. It's just a joyful thing you can add if you like. We recommend you try it.

You might be interested in fine art prints of this image in our shop. Search the shop for "Simon Bening".

As with this and all of our images, you may have a custom holy card made with a personalized back printed for you. Search the shop for "custom".

We price our holy cards inexpensively so they can be used to spread the faith.

Thank you for your interest.

Sue and John

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.

The Angelus is said at 6 am, Noon, and 6 pm.
This prayer has its origins in the 11th Century.
Front: “The Annunciation” by Simon Bening, 1484.

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