Chaplets and rosaries are an important part of the Catholic Tradition and are strongly encouraged by the Church. They help us to concentrate while praying and be “in communion” of prayer outside of Sunday mass. They are both a type of prayer as well as the object with which we pray. Both chaplets and rosaries are strings of beads that help Catholics count specific repetitive prayers while praying. The repetitiveness of the prayers help us to interiorise the prayer. Many claim that in times of distress, when they cannot find their words, this form of prayer can be relied upon. The words chaplet and rosary are used interchangeably which makes it quite confusing for both Catholics and non-Catholics. Hopefully after reading this article, the differences will become clearer and encourage you to start praying in this manner.
The Rosary is a chaplet entirely dedicated to meditating upon the life of Jesus through the eyes of Mary. It is prayed with a set of beads, called also a rosary, that are divided into five groups of ten beads to help count the number of Hail Marys and Our Fathers. The events of the life of Jesus are called Mysteries and there are twenty of them. The Mysteries are divided into four themes. Each theme concentrates on a specific part of the life of Jesus and are usually prayed on certain days of the week except on Feast days.
The Joyful Mysteries - The Birth and Infancy of Jesus (Monday and Saturday)
The annunciation, the Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and The Finding Jesus in the Temple.
The Sorrowful Mysteries - The Passion of Jesus (Tuesday and Friday)
The Agony of Jesus, The Scourging of Jesus, The Crowning of Jesus, the Carrying of the Cross and Jesus dies on the Cross.
The Luminous Mysteries - The Public Life of Jesus (Thursday)
The baptism of Jesus, the Wedding in Cana, The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, The Transfiguration and the Institution of the Eucharist.
The Glorious Mysteries - The Resurrection of Jesus (Wednesday and Sunday)
The Resurrection of Jesus, The Ascension of Jesus, The Pentecost, The Assumption of Mary and The Crowning of Mary.
The chaplet is a special type of rosary, where each chaplet is unique and dedicated to a specific devotion to Mary, Jesus, the Trinity, saints or angels. We pray the chaplet to ask for the intercession of a saint or an angel, to invoke the Holy Spirit, to obtain healing or liberation, to be in union with other christians, and last but not least, to meditate upon different virtues of Jesus and Mary. For example: the Chaplet of Saint Michael, the Chaplet of St. Joseph, the Chaplet of Holy Wounds, the Chaplet of the Holy Spirit, the Chaplet of Liberation and the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, etc. The chaplet is also used to highlight certain feast days and novenas such as the Feast of Divine Mercy, the Feast of St. Joseph, etc. The chaplet can be prayed on ordinary rosary beads or with chaplet beads designed for that specific devotion.
If you would like the support of a prayer community, Hozana offers a multitude of prayer communities to choose from, helping Christians to feel less lonely while praying and finding others that have the same ideals as they do. For example you can learn how to pray like St. Teresa of Lisieux and receive a beautiful prayer each day. You can pray the Rosary of Fatima everyday and receive videos, meditations and prayers and last but not least, you can begin a novena of Lourdes and receive a meditation of St. Bernadette everyday, helping you to become closer to God.