Chaplet (prayer)
Encyclopedia
The term Chaplet is used commonly to designate Roman Catholic prayer forms which use prayer beads
, but are not necessarily related to the Rosary
. Some of these chaplets have a strong Marian
connotation, others are more directly related to Jesus
or the Saints. Chaplets are considered "personal devotionals," and there is no set form and therefore they vary considerably. While the usual five decade rosary may be referred to as a chaplet, often chaplets have fewer beads than a traditional rosary and a different set of prayers.
Prayer beads
Prayer beads are used by members of various religious traditions such as Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Anglicanism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Bahá'í Faith to count the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions, such as the rosary of Virgin Mary in Christianity and dhikr ...
, but are not necessarily related to the Rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
. Some of these chaplets have a strong Marian
Mariology
Roman Catholic Mariology is theology concerned with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ as developed by the Catholic Church. Roman Catholic teachings on the subject have been based on the belief that "The Blessed Virgin, because she is the Mother of God, is believed to hold a certain...
connotation, others are more directly related to Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
or the Saints. Chaplets are considered "personal devotionals," and there is no set form and therefore they vary considerably. While the usual five decade rosary may be referred to as a chaplet, often chaplets have fewer beads than a traditional rosary and a different set of prayers.
Common chaplets
Common Chaplets include:- Chaplet of Divine MercyChaplet of Divine MercyThe Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion based on the visions of Jesus reported by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska , known as "the Apostle of Mercy." She was a Polish sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and canonized as a Catholic saint in 2000.Faustina...
, using ordinary rosary beads of five decades. - Chaplet of the Five Wounds of JesusChaplet of the Five Wounds of JesusThe Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus is a devotional prayer written in 1761 by St. Alphonsus Liguori, a devotional writer and founder of the Redemptorist Fathers religious community in Naples, Italy.St...
- Chaplet (Little Crown) of the Infant JesusChild JesusThe Child Jesus represents Jesus from his Nativity to age 12. At 13 he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries.The Child Jesus is frequently depicted in art, from around the third or fourth century...
, made up of three and twelve beads. - Chaplet of the Sacred HeartSacred HeartThe Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
, consisting of 33 small beads, 6 large beads, a centerpiece, a Crucifix and a Sacred Heart Medal. - Little Chaplet of the Holy Face, to honor the Five Wounds of Jesus Christ, composed of a cross and six large beads and thirty-three small.
- Chaplet of the Precious Blood, consisting of thirty-three beads in seven groups.
- Chaplet of Black Madonna of CzęstochowaBlack Madonna of CzestochowaThe Black Madonna of Częstochowa is a revered icon of the Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland.-The icon:The origins of the icon and the date of its composition are still hotly contested among scholars...
, made up of nine beads with a crucifix and a medal of Our Lady of Czestochowa. - Chaplet of Our Lady, Star of the SeaOur Lady, Star of the SeaOur Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris, first reliably used with relation to the Virgin Mary in the ninth century...
, consisting of a medal of Our Lady of Mount CarmelOur Lady of Mount CarmelOur Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...
, three separate beads, and 12 additional beads. - Chaplet of the Immaculate ConceptionImmaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
, also called the Crown of Stars, consisting of 3 groups of 4 beads, with a medal of the Immaculate Conception. http://books.google.com/books?id=fOcCAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=methods+rosary&lr=&as_brr=0#PPA326,M1 - Chaplet (Rosary) of the Seven Sorrows of MaryOur Lady of SorrowsOur Lady of Sorrows , the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows , and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life...
, made up of seven groups of seven beads. Also known as the Dolour beads. - Chaplet of Blessed Kateri TekakwithaKateri TekakwithaKateri Tekakwitha or Catherine Tekakwitha was a Mohawk-Algonquian woman from New York and an early convert to Catholicism, who has been beatified in the Roman Catholic Church.-Her life:...
, composed of eight brown, eight red and eight crystal beads. - Chaplet of Saint Anthony, made up of thirteen sets of three beads.
- Chaplet of Saint JosephSaint JosephSaint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
, which is divided into 15 groups of four beads consisting of one white and three purple beads. - Chaplet of Saint PatrickSaint PatrickSaint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
, made up of twelve beads symbolizing the twelve perils of St. Patrick - Chaplet of Saint Philomena, consisting of three white beads and thirteen red beads.
- BridgettineBridgettinesThe Bridgettine or Birgittine Order is a monastic religious order of Augustinian nuns, Religious Sisters and monks founded by Saint Birgitta of Sweden in approximately 1350, and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370...
Rosary, consisting of six decades of ten beads each. There are three additional beads at the end. - Little Flower Chaplet, made of one large bead and twenty-four smaller beads.
- Chaplet of the Way of the Cross, made of fifteen groups of three beads, etc.
- Chaplet in Honor of the Holy Infant of Good HealthHoly Infant of Good HealthThe Holy Infant of Good Health is a statue of the Christ Child regarded by many to be miraculous, which was found in 1939, in Morelia , Mexico. The statue is eleven inches tall and has apparently been responsible for many healings. The veneration of the statue was approved by Luis M. Altamirano y...
, said on the standard Dominican Rosary. - Chaplet of Saint MichaelChaplet of Saint MichaelThe Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel is a chaplet resulting from a reported private revelation by the Archangel Michael to the Portuguese Carmelite nun Antónia d'Astónaco...
the Archangel, comprising nine groups of four beads each, consisting of three Hail Marys and one Our Father in each. (Each of the nine groups is said in honor of one of the nine choirs of angels.)