Need to Know
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
I responded thus to Fred when I read his tweet, “You know, Fred, I think I should make it a habit in the future to pray the Angelus before beginning my noontime one hour weight lifting workout. I can’t think of a better way to begin lifting 55 lbs dumbbells off this 67 year old chest! 😉 ” Of course Fred told me to DO IT! 😉
I pray this at noon every day. And absolutely right, it takes 90 seconds.
Similar story: I’m on the BofD of our parish preschool, and a couple of years ago, at our annual “thank you” luncheon for the teachers and assistants, our pastor got called away for an emergency and I was asked to lead a prayer before the meal. Trying to be a little different, I asked if everyone would like to pray the Angelus, since it was nearly noon. Not one of them knew what I was talking about. I believe this is simply another casualty of the post-V2 Protestantization of the Church, where recited prayers are frowned upon in favor of “prayers from the heart.” In other words, more balderdash from the Modernists.
Now, if you would like an uber-traditional Angelus, there are many Latin chants of the prayer available on YouTube. Here’s my favorite, by the monks of Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma. I wonder how long it will be before they are canceled by the regime?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRVEj16ZOi4
For years I was in the habit of praying the Angelus at my desk at work, and then before the 6PM hour, I logged into radio station WACC from Hialeah, Florida (on the Internet, of course) and we prayed the Angelus together in Spanish.
St. Mary of Mercy in downtown Pittsburgh prays the Angelus before daily Noon Mass and we do so at Most Precious Blood of Jesus in Brighton Heights
I need to return to the habit of doing so. I have allowed the disappointments and pressures of daily life erode my prayer life.