Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae

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.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

Be it done unto me according to thy word.

Such words of obedience and humility, of self surrender and trust. Mary's Fiat, her Yes to God paved the way for the Eternal Word to be made flesh. Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, without the agency of a human father, the flesh and blood of Jesus were of His mother alone. The same flesh, the body that was bruised for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, whose stripes brought us healing, is the same flesh that He received from Mary. His Divine Blood, the sacrifice that redeemed us from sin and transferred us from darkness into Light, the Blood that washed away our sins, that too He received from Mary alone.

She is blessed amongst women not only for being the physical mother of the Lord, but also for hearing the Word of the Lord and keeping it, for bearing all in her heart and pndering on it.

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

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.