Work of Human Hands Gourmet Food &Wine Retreat

Join Fr. Leo Patalinghug, known for his famous thrown down with the Food Network’s Bobby Flay, as he takes you on a travel experience of a lifetime!

Daily Mass, Private Wine Tastings, Culinary Presentations, Spiritual Direction, Land Only.
June 5–9 2011: Napa Valley Gourmet Food and Wine Retreat, the Meritage Resort $2389.
Call Corporate Travel Service at 313-565-8888 x 121 for more details or reservations. 

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Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light. (Mt. 17:1-2 )
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The Transfiguration of Jesus is one of the mysteries of the life of Christ. In fact, when the Holy Father, (soon to be Blessed) John Paul II decided to propose five new mysteries of the Rosary, he included the Transfiguration in his “Luminous Mysteries,” among which are also the Baptism of Our Lord, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, and the Institution of the Eucharist. 
So what does the Transfiguration mean? It’s literally a “change in appearance” of Jesus. It’s described as a brightness emanating from Him.

But what is the mystery behind the event? The Fathers of the Church wrote a great deal about it. Some pointed to the presence of Moses and Elijah as witnesses to the fulfillment the Law and the Prophets in the person of Jesus. Some focused on the Father’s declaration of Divine Sonship (“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”). Some pointed to the bright cloud, and some stressed that the occasion was being a revelation of the glory of Christ as a preparation for the apostles who were soon to experience the scandal of the cross.

Ultimately, the Transfiguration points to Heaven. At the top of a mountain, earth joins to Heaven – our ultimate destination. Lent is like a 40 day journey to remind us of the 40 year journey of the Israelites in the desert. And just as the Israelites reached the Promised Land, we hope to reach the Promised Land of Heaven. But to get there, we must go through the Cross of Good Friday and the Resurrection of Easter.

The Transfiguration is not just a revelation of Christ’s identity and glory, it’s a goal for us. One day, we hope to have transfigured, glorious bodies and to be united in the glory of the Holy Trinity.

One special note this weekend: we are beginning to collect money for Easter Food Baskets for the poor. We hope to have donations by April 15, so we can distribute food on April 20. In the back of the church are donation forms. Heaven is a place of unity that we will share with all of God’s faithful, rich and poor alike. By charity we prefigure the unity of Heaven by showing solidarity with the poor on earth.

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

 

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. (Luke 4:1-2a)
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That little verse above is the reason behind the holy Season of Lent. And all I can say is thank God for Lent!
 
I always look forward to Lent. And this year is no exception. Now that Lent is here, I’m happy to create my own little desert of calm by the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It’s the perfect remedy for the last two weeks of noise, feasting and excess.

One of the good disciplines of Lent is “giving something up.” When I was in seminary, I remember my rector giving up cigars during Lent. And then one Friday in Lent, I walked by his room and smelled cigar smoke. The next day I asked him about it, and he said that he decided to do something different because he felt like everyone knew he gave up cigars. He felt like he was doing it for the “crowd” rather than God. The truth is that I’m not sure that that was necessarily a “bad” thing that people knew about it.

Today in the Gospel we hear about the 40 day fast of Jesus. The only way that St. Luke the Evangelist would have known to write about Jesus’ fast in the 4th Chapter of the Gospel is if Jesus had told someone about it! Think about it: no one was there when Christ fasted. He must have opened up his heart to tell them a little about this important moment in His hidden life. Sharing pain can help with healing, sharing joy can bring joy, and sharing penance can give strength. Jesus shared this story to tell us that He was tempted and He overcame. And filled with the same Holy Spirit as Jesus, we can overcome the temptations of the world so as to focus on the reward of heaven. I ate my last bit of steak on Tuesday night and washed it down with a last sip of wine. And now I’ve got those imposing 40 days ahead of me. Maybe in a few years when I build up enough spiritual strength, I’ll even have the courage to give up my morning coffee!


Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

 

And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined. (Mt. 7:26-29)
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On Friday, the Lagniappe section of the Times Picayune had a question on the cover: “What vices are you giving up for Mardi Gras?” And then it listed a long list of “vices,” including among them “meat” and “alcohol.” Now it’s certain that excessive drinking and obesity are unhealthy, but can we call meat and alcohol “vices”? Of course not. The word “vice” comes from the Latin word vitium, and it’s commonly defined as “an immoral or evil habit or practice.” A vice is the opposite of a virtue. But if alcohol and meat are vices, then Jesus committed vices by drinking wine and eating the Paschal Lamb. And that’s absurd.

Mardi Gras isn’t a season to “give up vices.” Our entire lives are devoted to giving up vices! The inspiration for Lent comes from Jesus having gone into the desert prior to His temptation by the devil. In the desert Jesus emulated Elijah and Moses who each fasted for forty days. It was a time of spiritual preparation prior to a great struggle. But Jesus didn’t go out into the desert to give up “vices.” He gave up earthly goods – food and water – so that He could focus on the things of Heaven.
Alcohol and meat in moderation are good. And when we give up things that are “good,” we learn to resist temptation. And strengthening our ability to resist temptation allows us to battle against vices on a daily basis.

You might also hear people telling you that they don’t want to “give up” anything during Lent; they want to use it as a time to “do some good.” And that’s exactly what the Catholic Church teaches. For centuries, the three great practices that the Church has advocated for Lent are: (1) prayer, (2) fasting, and (3) almsgiving. These spiritual practices allow us to participate with God in making our world a place of justice and peace. Prayer is ordered to a relationship of justice and peace with God.  Fasting is ordered to justice and peace within ourselves. And alms-giving is ordered to justice and peace with others, especially those who are poor. And when we live lives that are ordered toward justice and peace, we move away from immoral thoughts, words and actions. We naturally avoid vices.

And there’s another problem with the thought that Lent is a season to “give up vices.” What happens when Lent is over? Do we return to our “vices”? Of course not. We don’t build our houses (lives) on the ever-shifting sands of worldly opinion. We build our houses (lives) on rock – the word of Jesus. And when the rain and floods and winds of temptation come from the devil, our house will stand firm. Have a Holy Lent, and don’t get your theology from the newspaper!


Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. (Mt. 6:33-34)
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One of my favorite books is called the “Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis. I’m sure many of us have read it. The book takes the form of a series of letters from a senior  demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, a junior “tempter” named Wormwood, giving advice on the best way to ensure that a British man, known only as “the Patient,” ends up in hell. In a great irony, God is called “the Enemy.” One of my favorite letters involves the idea of “living in the present.” I’m going to let Clive Staples Lewis speak for the pastor today:

“The humans live in time but our Enemy destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity. Of the present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience analogous to the experience which our Enemy has of reality as a whole; in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them. He would therefore have them continually concerned either with eternity (which means being concerned with Him) or with the Present—either meditating on their eternal union with, or separation from, Himself, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure.

“Our business is to get them away from the eternal, and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human (say a widow or a scholar) to live in the Past. But this is of limited value, for they have some real knowledge of the past and it has a determinate nature and, to that extent, resembles eternity. It is far better to make them live in the Future. … [I]t is unknown to them to them, so that in making them think about it we make them think of unrealities. In a word, the Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most completely temporal part of time—for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays. … Hence nearly all vices are rooted in the future. Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead. Do not think lust an exception. When the present pleasure arrives, the sin (which alone interests us) is already over. The pleasure is just the part of the process which we regret and would exclude if we could do so without losing the sin; it is the part contributed by the Enemy, and therefore experienced in a Present. The sin, which is our contribution, looked forward.”
I think that’s the real reason why Our Father doesn’t want us worrying about the future. You can only reach Him today.


Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

 

You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt. 5:43-48)
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“Nobody’s perfect.” It’s a common excuse when we make a mistake. We might like the perfect date, or the perfect sunset, or the perfect evening, but we don’t like applying the word to ourselves because, well, nobody’s perfect. So how do we understand the call of Jesus for us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect”?

First of all, we have to recognize that this is a commandment of Jesus. Secondly, we have to recognize that it’s possible. Otherwise, Jesus would not have demanded it! But the key to the commandment is understanding what Jesus meant.

Does he mean that we should all get straight A’s in school? Does he mean that we should never get a parking ticket, a demotion at work or an admonition for having a stain on our shirt? Is it intellectual perfection, physical perfection, or is it something else?

It’s something else. It’s spiritual perfection. Striving after spiritual perfection is our real purpose on earth. It’s the purpose of our lives. Each of us must respond to the universal call that God gives to each of us to seek spiritual perfection. We are called to holiness because we only enter Heaven in a “perfected” state.

But if we could do it ourselves, we wouldn’t need a savior. And that’s where Jesus comes in. He is the means by which we can reach spiritual perfection. His Word, His Sacraments and His Commands are the means. Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, we are configured to Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Seeking perfection isn’t a one day thing; it’s our work for a lifetime.

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

 

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:19)
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Although I rarely listen to music around the rectory or in the car, when I go to my family farm in Alabama, I listen to a lot of country music. It started many years ago when it was the only thing I could pick up on the radio in my beat-up 1980 Suburban. And now I listen to country because it seems to go well with riding around in the woods. Although I generally enjoy the melodies of country songs, what I particularly like are the lyrics. They’re easy to understand in country music, and they usually have some kind of good, wholesome message. I mention this because one song in particular reminds me of the Scriptural quote above from this week’s Gospel. The song is by Rodney Atkins, and it’s called “Watching You.” In the song, Rodney recounts a story where he’s driving in the car with his little boy, and he’s forced to slam on the brakes. As he recalls in the lyrics, his son’s “fries went a-flying and his orange drink covered his lap. Well then my four-year-old said a four-letter-word that started with ‘s’ and I was concerned. So I said, ‘son, where’d you learn to talk like that?’”

I wonder how many parents have had that same experience? “Where’d you learn that word?!” It’s a natural reaction when you realize the innocence of your child has been touched by the sins of the world. In the song, the answer surprised Rodney. The little boy’s response is the title and refrain of the song: “I’ve been watching you, Dad, ain’t that cool? I’m your buckaroo; I want to be like you! And eat all my food, and grow as tall as you are! We got cowboy boots and camo pants. Yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we Dad? I want to do everything you do. So I’ve been watching you!”

No matter how much we may not intend to, our examples influence others. And it’s not just kids; we influence older children, friends, neighbors, work colleagues and even our elders. If someone respects us, our actions have an effect on their lives. That’s the warning that Jesus gives us in this passage from Scripture.

The good thing is that Rodney’s son also watches him at other times. In the song, he prays to be a better Dad, and then he puts his son to bed. And the lyrics continue: “Just this side of bedtime later that night, turnin’ on my son’s Scooby-doo night light, he crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees. He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands, spoke to God like he was talkin’ to a friend. And I said, ‘Son, now where’d you learn to pray like that?’”

And the refrain continues: “I’ve been watching you, Dad, ain’t that cool? I’m your buckaroo; I want to be like you! …”


Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. (Mt. 5:14-16)
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Just last week we celebrated a beautiful school Mass in St. Stephen Church celebrating the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord.  It’s a Mass traditionally called “Candlemass” because it commemorates the presentation of Jesus in the temple when Simeon declared Him the “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”  One of the things that made the Mass special was that our school children from St. Stephen Catholic School were joined at this Mass by the lower school of the Academy of the Sacred Heart and their parents.  It was so wonderful to have an entirely full church of happy, well-behaved children joyously joining together in song and prayer.  The girls from Sacred Heart sang one of their favorite songs for the “Light of the World” Mass:  “This Little Light of Mine.”  And out students really practiced to lead the Mass parts in Latin chant: the “Sanctus” and the Agnus Dei.”  And afterward, St. Stephen School hosted the Sacred Heart girls to doughnuts and milk for breakfast.

At the school Masses, I usually ask questions of the students during my homily, and this week was no different, except that I had twice as many children from which to choose!  And I love their answers.  When I asked the first words God spoke in the Old Testament, a St. Stephen student correctly answered, “let there be light.” 

And when I asked whether there was a light at the birth of Jesus, another St. Stephen student remembered the Star of Bethlehem.  And when I asked if there was a light in St. Stephen Church that was always lit, a Sacred Heart student pointed to the Sanctuary Lamp.  And when I asked why that lamp was lit, another Sacred Heart girl knew that it indicated that the Blessed Sacrament – Jesus, the Light of the World – was in the Tabernacle. 

Jesus is the light.  And this weekend Jesus asks us to bring His light to others by allowing our light to shine before men.  Light came into the world through the Word at Creation.  And the Word became flesh in Mary’s womb.  And that Body of Christ is present in our church in the tabernacle.  And last week I saw that light in the eyes of some beautiful students witnessing their faith to me.  Sometimes we spend too much time talking about how we need to be good examples and bring the faith to others.  I can often time find greater happiness when someone shows their faith – their light – to me!

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:1-3)
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Who are the “poor in spirit” to whom Matthew refers in the Gospel today? The other seven of the eight beatitudes concern people who seem easy to identify (the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and those who are insulted and persecuted because of Jesus). But what does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?

The word “poor” comes from the Aramaic or Hebrew word anawim, which means bent down, afflicted, miserable, or poor. Although the word can mean the opposite of “rich,” the use of the word in Scripture isn’t confined to a lack of money. It has more to do with those of low estate: those who are dependent and defenseless.

As the word is used throughout the psalms, it usually refers to those who are seeking God for deliverance. These anawim are those who are dependent and defenseless, and who acknowledge their need of Divine help.

When we have all of our physical needs met, it is very easy for us to see ourselves as being in control of our destiny. We make the money, we buy the food, we feed the family and we pay the bills. And if we are having trouble with the bills, we might seek governmental or charitable assistance. And that consistency of living in a fairly prosperous world can trick us into removing God from the equation.

Perhaps for us, being poor in spirit doesn’t have anything to do with money. When we face situations that we can’t control, we might come to the realization that we really need God’s help. Many people who have suffered from depression, addiction (whether drugs, alcohol or sexual), the loss of a loved one, or simple loneliness, have come to a greater understanding that they need God to deliver them from their situation. And when brought to that low state from which only God can help, they become anawim. So if you suffer, look to God in your desperation. Become an anawim. Because they are blessed.

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.  He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Mt. 4:18-20)
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One afternoon while I was in seminary I was having lunch with a some classmates, and we were joined by another seminarian who was a member of a religious community. He was younger than my classmates, and pretty “gung ho” about being a seminarian. With eager eyes and enthusiasm, he turned to my classmate, Mike Woods, and asked “So when did you get your call??!!” Now, you’d have to know Mike, but suffice it to say that Mike was about 10 years older than the other seminarian. He’s from Pittsburgh, and he had been a professional tri-athlete before entering seminary. Mike just looked over at him and said: “Well, I hope I get my call every day.”

People experience a call to follow Jesus in many different ways. For Peter and Andrew, it was the Incarnate Lord walking along the Sea of Galilee. For St. Paul, it was a burst of light that knocked him down and blinded him. For some people it is a moment when we experience a profound religious awakening. Some have a constant nagging feeling. And others are reinforced by a slow, steady constant understanding of the presence of God working in their lives. However it happens, it’s Jesus doing the calling. He might send the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds, but He is the mediator of God and mankind. He’s the one who calls to us: “Follow me!”

My “call” to the seminary wasn’t a dramatic one, although it did involve some dramtic events. But once I finally made the decision to enter, Jesus opened the floodgates to our conversation. I became much more attentive to His work in my life; I devoted a substantial amount of time trying to listen to Him in private prayer; and I even began to have conversations with Him – recognizing that He was always right!

Although I would bet most of us have had some sort of “vocation” moment concerning the Lord, we should always recall to where that presence is directed: to the Universal Call to Holiness. As the Catechism says: “The Christian faithful are those who have been incorporated in Christ through Baptism and have been constituted as the people of God; for this reason, since they have become sharers in Christ's priestly, prophetic, and royal office in their own manner, they are called to exercise the mission which God has entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world, in accord with the condition proper to each one… In virtue of their rebirth in Christ there exists among all the Christian faithful a true equality with regard to dignity and the activity whereby all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ in accord with each one's own condition and function.” Holiness is how we respond to our call.


Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’”
(Jn. 2:1-5)
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One of the mysterious things about the Scriptures is how it has a powerful way of speaking to the past, present and future at the same time. But there’s an easy explanation for that. Sacred Scripture is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh (Jn 1), is the same, today, yesterday and forever (Heb. 13:8).

There are few scriptural lines that are more easily understood as speaking to the past, the present and the future than the line we hear from John the Baptist this weekend: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The “past” pointed to by this statement is the Passover Lamb of the Book of Exodus. It was the lamb that was slain by the Jewish people and whose blood was put on their doorposts and lintels so that the angel of death would “pass over” them while it killed the first-born of the Egyptians. This was the final plague that persuaded the Pharaoh to release the Jewish people from their slavery. It has a perpetual commemoration in the Feast of Passover celebrated by Jewish people today. However, something is missing. There is no longer the sacrifice of a lamb because the Temple (where animal sacrifices were done) has been destroyed. The unleavened bread is there, but no lamb.

The future pointed to by the “Behold, the Lamb of God” is the lamb of Revelations 4-7. It is the lamb “who is in the center of the throne [and who] will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water.” It’s the form of a prophecy that has not yet occurred. Or has it?

And what about the present? Where is the Lamb of God today? At Mass we paraphrase John’s line immediately before receiving the Eucharist. After we begin using the new translations of the Mass in December, 2011, we will return to something more closely resembling the original. Instead of saying “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, happy are those who are called to his supper,” we’ll be saying “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.”

In a way, this new line – used in our present day – is a connector of the past and the future. Like the Jewish passover, the Eucharist is a reminder of the events of the past. And like the Jewish passover, it points to a deliverance in the future. But for us, the unleavened bread is really the Christ, the Lamb of God. He has come; He will come again; but He has also promised to be with us always. Behold Him who is present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Lk. 3:21-22)

Last week we celebrated “Epiphany Sunday,” which has been moved by the U.S. Bishops from its traditional date on January 6 to promote more active participation in the Feast. It’s a bit confusing to us in New Orleans because we still mark “Twelfth Night” as the beginning of the Carnival Season and the first day that we can eat king cakes. Rousse’s must be following the revised liturgical schedule since they had a huge king cake display last Saturday night!

We know that Epiphany is marked by the appearance of the magi looking for the newborn King of the Jews (just like we look for the baby in the cake). But the Church Fathers saw much more in the word “epiphany” than the appearance of the magi. The Greek word for Epiphany (ἐπιφάνεια) mean “appearance” or “manifestation” and the point is that the identity of Jesus was “made known” on certain occasions. Obviously, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph were given an “epiphany” when Jesus was born. The shepherds in the field were given an epiphany when the angel led them to the baby Jesus. But the Fathers focus on three distinct “epiphanies”: the Visit of the Magi, the Wedding Feast at Cana, and the Baptism of Our Lord.

Today’s Baptism of Our Lord is the most dramatic of the epiphanies. Although the presence of “wise men” in the small town of Bethlehem visiting a baby might have been unusual, the sight of “heavens opened,” the “Spirit of God descending like a dove,” and a voice from the heavens saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” sends a clear message!

An interesting part of the “epiphany” is the sentence spoken by the “voice from Heaven.” The words come at the beginning of Christ’s ministry. Why is the Father“well pleased”? Jesus hadn’t “done” anything, yet. The point is that the Father loves Jesus, and that is why He is well pleased. And the moment is a reminder to us. God doesn’t love us because of what we “do.” God loves us. Period. We respond to that love by living lives consistent with the Gospel because that is how we can live the happiest, and God wants our happiness. But the love of God is stronger than anything we “do.” And that’s especially important for understanding God’s love for us even in the face of our own sins. God loves us. Period. Our own Baptism incorporates us into the life of Christ, and our availing ourselves of the Sacrament of Confession restores us when we fall away from Christ and others.

We are God’s beloved sons and daughters. We are loved by God. In us He is well pleased.

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

Each day at noon and 6:00 p.m., the church bells at St. Stephen Church ring to remind us of the Angelus. The Angelus is a recollection of the salvific event in which the Word became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the salvific plan of the Father.

The recitation of the Angelus is deeply rooted in the piety of the Christian faithful, and strengthened by the example of the Roman Pontiffs. In some places changed social conditions hinder its recitation, but in many other parts every effort should be made to maintain and promote this pious custom and at least the recitation of three Hail Marys. The Angelus “over the centuries has conserved its value and freshness with its simple structure, biblical character [...] quasi liturgical rhythm by which the various time of the day are sanctified, and by its openness to the Paschal Mystery.”

The Angelus

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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.