Marian Devotions Through the Year: March
March is the one month of the year that almost always contains most of Lent, but that does not leave the month without its special feasts. The Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of these; in fact, the feast is of such high order—Solemnity First Class—that it tops even the Lenten fast when it falls on a Friday.
Marian Virtue: Surpassing Purity
This month we focus on the sixth of the traditional Ten Virtues of Our Lady. Surpassing Purity goes hand in hand with her title as the Immaculate Virgin, displays prominently in her Immaculate Conception, and plays its own special role in the Annunciation. Naturally, Our Lord if He is to be the most pure in body and soul of all men would grace His Mother with a spotlessness from all sin and defections. In her perpetual virginity, peerless innocence, and never committing a sin, Our Lady offers a most beautiful image for us to look upon when we find ourselves struggling to protect our purity of heart, mind, and soul.
Marian Theme: The Annunciation
The Annunciation remains one of the most beautiful mysteries as it ushers in the Incarnation and Redemption. It also offers some awe-inspiring food for thought, such as the reality of science that some of a child’s cells stay with the mother for the rest of her life. No wonder Our Lord preserves Mary and chooses the most peerless of all women to be His Mother and no wonder she is assumed in to Heaven at the end of her life on earth after accepting with all humility and trust her role at the Annunciation. How can she not merit such reverence when her body continues to bear her Son?
Marian Antiphon: Ave Regina Caelorum
Ave, Regina caelorum,
Ave, Domina Angelorum:
Salve, radix, salve, portaEx qua mundo lux est orta:
Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa,
Vale, o valde decora,
Et pro nobis Christum exora.V. Dignare me laudare te, Virgo sacrata.
R. Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos.Oremus. Concede, misericors Deus, fragilitati nostrae praesidium: ut, qui sanctae Dei Genitricis memoriam agimus; intercessionis eius auxilio, a nostris iniquitatibus resurgamus. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
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Welcome, O Queen of Heaven.
Welcome, O Lady of Angels
Hail! thou root, hail! thou gate
From whom unto the world, a light has arisen:Rejoice, O glorious Virgin,
Lovely beyond all others,
Farewell, most beautiful maiden,
And pray for us to Christ.V. Allow me to praise thee, O sacred Virgin.
R. Against thy enemies give me strength.Grant unto us, O merciful God, a defense against our weakness, that we who remember the holy Mother of God, by the help of her intercession, may rise from our iniquities, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
The liturgical year cycles through four Marian Antiphons, each having a Simple Tone and Solemn Tone in Gregorian chant. Marian antiphons are typically chanted after night prayer and immediately before going to bed. March can either fall in Lent or in Easter, so sometimes the Ave Regina Caelorum is replaced by the Regina Caeli (from Wednesday of Holy Week through the Easter Season) before April starts. In 2026, the Ave Regina Caelorum which will be sung until the end of the month as Wednesday of Holy Week falls on April 1. The Ave Regina Caelorum text is often attributed to the monk from Reichenau, Herimann the Lame (1013-1054) although the Ave’s earliest appearance seems to be in the 12th century.
Sheet music for the Ave Regina Caelorum Simple Tone may be printed from here (page 238 of the Parish Book of Chant pdf).
Sheet music for the Solemn Tone may be found on page 237 of the same pdf.
Marian Feasts
- March 5 - Our Lady of Good Help, Montreal
- March 18 - Cathedral of Our Lady of Loreto erected (1586)
- March 21 - Our Lady of Bruges, Flanders (1150) where a lock of her hair is preserved
- March 23 - Our Lady of Victory of Lepanto, Hungary
- March 25 - The Annunciation
- March 27 - The Apparition of Our Lord to Our Lady as soon as He was risen
- March 31 - Our Lady of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem
Marian Devotion: The Angelus
V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae,
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
V. Ecce ancilla Domini,
R. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.
Ave Maria...
V. Et Verbum caro factum est.
R. Et habitavit in nobis.
Ave Maria...
V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
Oremus. Gratiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde; ut, qui, angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem ejus et crucem, ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum.
R. Amen.
V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary...
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
R. Be it done unto me according to your 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 you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, your 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.
Marian Customs Highlight: Annunciation Waffles
Waffles on Ladyday—as the Annunciation was known in Medieval Europe—is a Swedish custom that’s been growing in popularity. The Swedes have it as a tradition because their title for the feast, Vårfrudagen (“Our Lady’s Day”), sounds so similar to their word for waffles (Våffeldagen). It’s the perfect day to have a brunch following the Solemnity Mass—or perhaps breakfast for dinner if Dad’s work schedule doesn’t allow for the day off—and break out all of delicious foods that go along like bacon, coffee, whipped cream, and maple syrup or fresh berry compote. Pray the Angelus, invite some friends, and feast!
