Devotion for today: The Angel of the Lord Declared Unto Mary…

Today, in our look at Marian Devotion in poetry, our poem comes from an unlikely source. It is a reflection on this prayer: The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  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.   "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/angelus.htm#ixzz2RFK1iVw9

  

Hymn of the Angelus

Sancta Maria! Turn thine eyes
Upon the sinner's sacrifice
Of fervent prayer, and humble love,
From thy holy throne above.
At morn, at noon, at twilight dim,
Maria, thou hast heard my hymn!
In joy and woe, in good and ill,
Mother of God, be with me still!
When the hours flew brightly by,
And not a cloud obscured the sky,
My soul, lest it should truant be,
Thy grace did guide to thine and thee;
Now, when the storms of fate overcast
Darkly my present and my past,
Let my future radiant shine
With sweet hopes of thee and thine.

Edgar Allen Poe
Walter E. Croarkin. Our Lady in Poetry: An Anthology.
Chicago: John Maher Company, 1940.