Six AM, noon, and six at night

My grandfather Hanna lived in Ivesdale, pop 250. One of his jobs was ringing the Angelus bells three times a day in the church across the street from his home. He used a railroad watch, and he used to phone up Albinger's hardware on the old-fashioned party line to talk to Gus Albinger; they would solemnly check their watches every day to be sure the Angelus was rung on time.

My grandmother Sloan in her old age used to aggravate her daughter by sitting on the bench outside the telephone building with her crocheting or her quilting, sitting for hours in the sun. Her favorite prayer was the Angelus, and after she died, her three daughters promised each other to try to say it as often as they remembered at the right times, to remember her.

When we were in Holland, we would interrupt our traveling round -- once we got off a train -- to follow the ringing bells to local churches; usually we could hear a Mass. Drove everybody nuts having to chase after yet another church; and these little daily Masses were very short, luckily!

The Angelus is all antiphonal -- one voice says the first line, one responds. The Hail Marys are too, of course.

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary
And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary ...
Behold the handmaid of the Lord
Be it done unto me according to his Word.
Hail Mary ...
And the Word was made flesh
And dwelt amongst us.
Hail Mary ...
V. Pray for us, o holy mother of God
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Pour forth we beseech thee, your grace into our hearts, that we to whom the birth of Christ was made known by the coming of an angel, may by His passion and death be brought to the glory of his resurrection, through Christ our Lord thru whom all good things flow.