One of our favorite things we did this summer was start praying the Angelus together as a family everyday at noon.
We set an alarm on my phone with the church bells and gather around together, stopping what we’re in the middle of (as much as a 5, 3, 2, and 10 mth old can) and fold our hands to recite this beautiful prayer.
It brings my heart so much joy to hear our children say “we need to pray the Angelus!!!!” when they hear the bells. This prayer is a beautiful one to bring into your family’s domestic church and culture.
The Angelus, Latin for angel, is a set of three antiphons reflecting the Annunciation. It became a custom in the 11th century. Many Saints, such as St. Anthony of Padua recommended praying it. Later on in the 15th century, the custom began to pray the Angelus at morning, noon, and evening. It was commonly prayed to sanctify the start of the day and ask for safety in difficult moments.
Like the famous painting, L’Angelus by Jean-François Millet, let us stop our work, our tasks, our distractions and pause to bring our mind to the Lord and His goodness. Reflecting on our Blessed Mother’s yes and imitating her humility to receive grace for our days.
A few tips for adding the Angelus to your daily prayer routine as a family:
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Use a prayer card to help memorize and get you off looking it up on your phone - we memorized this prayer very quickly by using our prayer card from the shop
- Place the prayer card in a spot that is easily accessible and remains always - we put ours in between the trim of our kitchen cabinet.
- Set an alarm on your phone to pray - just like a monastery has bells for prayer, choose church bells for your kids to know it’s prayer time!
- Ask the Lord to bless your efforts and give you the grace to build this new routine - He sees your desire to form your family and will bless you all!
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