ANGELUS

ANGELUS

In the Philippines, the ringing of church bells is still done for the Angelus every 6:00 pm. In the past, Filipino families at the sound of the bell would kneel before their home altars and pray the Angelus. The rite is called the orasyón, from the Spanish oracion, (prayer/litany/recitation), and children playing outside must come home before the family prays the Angelus. In traditional Spanish-Filipino families, the Angelus is recited in Latin.

Wherever you are, whether outside or inside the house, and Whatever you are doing, when you hear the sound of the Church Bell for the Angelus, you must stop, stand or kneel, do the sign of the cross, bow your head, and pray. After the Angelus the younger people must bless those who are older within reach as a sign of respect, this is when I was about eight or ten years old. I even remember, as a kid playing near the seashore, almost every late afternoon Padre Patricio Alcazaren walked around the town and whenever he was near, all my playmates and other kids stopped playing and ran toward the Priest to bless.

How about nowadays, are we still doing this?