Rosary-based prayers

The rosary as prayed by the Bridgettine and Discalced Carmelites orders is a loop containing six decades and five single beads, together with a short string of beads leading to the crucifix.[1][2] It was propagated by Bridget of Sweden. It adds one additional mystery to each of the three traditional sets of Dominican mysteries: the Immaculate Conception is added as the sixth Joyful Mystery, Christ's body being removed from the cross is the sixth Sorrowful Mystery, the Virgin Mary being matron of the Bridgettine order is the sixth Glorious Mystery. An example of the Bridgettine rosary may be seen depicted on the statue of the Crowned Virgin in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The Carthusian Rosary or Life of Christ Rosary developed by Dominic of Prussia comprises fifty recitations of Hail Mary each interpolated with a phrase stating a Christological or Mariological mystery. For example, "Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, whose feet were washed with Mary Magdalene’s tears, dried with her hair, anointed with her perfume. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, Now and at the hour of our death. Amen." (Italic or oblique section indicating the inserted mystery.) At the time Dominic lived, the Hail Mary comprised only the first half of today's longer prayer—just "Hail Mary..." to "... thy womb, Jesus"—so he was adding his phrase to the end of the prayer.[3][4]

There are fifty such phrases commended by Dominic and it acquired its alternative name as these cover the life of Jesus more completely than other rosaries. While using all fifty meditative phrases is traditional, the rosary is intended to be contemplative, invites silence for the contemplation, and quality is emphasised over quantity with no need to recite fifty prayers let alone needing to recite all fifty meditations.[3]

The Carthusian Rosary is seen as an ancestor to the Dominican Rosary.[4]

The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy was introduced in the early 1930s by Faustina Kowalska, a nun who lived in Płock, Poland. The focus of this prayer is God's mercy and centered on three themes: to obtain mercy, to trust in Christ's mercy, and to show mercy to others.

The Rosary of Mary's Immaculate Heart is said with an ordinary rosary.[5]

The best known example of a rosary-based prayer is the Dominican Rosary which is ubiquitously called the Rosary. In traditional form it involves contemplation on fifteen rosary mysteries (as three sets of five mysteries each), while Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father prayers are recited.[6] Commonly ,just one set of mysteries, out of three or four sets, is prayed.

This rosary prayer goes back several centuries and there are differing views among experts on its exact history.[7] In the sixteenth century, Pope Pius V established the current form of the original fifteen mysteries for this rosary and they remained so until the 20th century.[8] Pope John Paul II proposed an additional set of five mysteries known as the "Luminous" mysteries as a manner of reflecting on Christ's life during His public ministry. Some choose to pray the Luminous mysteries or retain the "Psalter of Our Lady" and pray the 15 original mysteries.

Further prayers specified in the Roman Catholic tradition include: the Fátima prayers, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Memorare of Bernard of Clairvaux.[9]

In 1263, Bonaventure, Minister General of the Order, encouraged liturgical devotion honoring the mystery of the Visitation. The Franciscan rosary, or as it is properly called, the Franciscan Crown and also known as the Rosary of the Seven Joys of Mary, developed in early part of the 15th century, and was officially established in 1422. The Franciscan Crown consists of seven decades of Hail Mary prayers, each preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Glory Be, and completed by two more Hail Marys after the 7th decade to complete the number 72 which is thought to be the age of Mary at the time of her Assumption. The Crown recalls the Seven Joys of Mary and how she responded to the grace of God in her life. These Seven Joys overlap with the Joyful and Glorious Mysteries of the Dominican Rosary. In addition to developing this Marian devotion, the Franciscans are credited with adding the final words to the Hail Mary: Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners (from the writings of Bernardino of Siena) now and at the hour of our death (from the writings of the Servite Fathers and the Roman Breviary).

The Rosary of the Holy Wounds was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century by Sister Mary Martha Chambon, a Roman Catholic nun of the Monastery of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Chambéry, France.

This rosary specifically meditates on the wounds of Jesus Christ as an Act of Reparation for the sins of the world. This rosary also focuses on prayers for souls in purgatory. Sister Mary Martha attributed the following purpose for the rosary to Jesus: "you must not forget ... the souls in Purgatory, as there are but few who think of their relief . . . The Holy Wounds are the treasure of treasures for the souls in Purgatory."[10][11][12]

The Irish (specifically the Gaelic-speaking) and their descendants have a tradition of saying thirteen Aves rather than ten, in honour of Anthony of Padua, whose feast day is 13 June. Also called the St. Anthony Chaplet, its prayers are accompanied by a poem called the Miraculous Responsory or si quaeris, written by Bonaventure.[13]

In 1233, seven of the members of a Florentine Confraternity devoted to the Holy Mother of God were gathered in prayer under the presidency of Alessio Falconieri. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to the young men and exhorted them to devote themselves to her service, in retirement from the world. They retired to the deserted slopes of Monte Senario near Florence, where they experienced another vision of Mary. There they formed a new Order called the Servants of Mary, or Servites, in recognition of their special manner of venerating Our Lady of Sorrows. The seven-"week" Servite Rosary is variously called the Servite Chaplet; Rosary of the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and the Seven Swords Rosary. A set of introductory prayers for the Servite Rosary was written by Alphonsus Liguori in his book The Glories of Mary.[14]

This term is used for at least two different rosaries or chaplets.

First, it can refer to the special rosary or chaplet used by the Trinitarian Order (the Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives), which was founded in France in 1198. From an early date, the Trinitarians have used a form of prayer based on the Trisagion (sometimes Trisagium or Triagion, from the Greek "thrice" + "holy"). This is a Byzantine prayer in praise of the Trinity: its simplest form is "Holy God, Holy Strong One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us."[15]

The Trisagion rosary (usually called a chaplet) has three groups of nine beads. In reciting the chaplet, each group is preceded by the Trisagion and the Pater Noster. A special prayer is said on each of the nine beads: "To you be praise, glory, and thanksgiving for ever, blessed Trinity. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory." Each group of nine prayers is followed by a Gloria Patri ("Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit..."), and the whole ends with a closing prayer.[16]

As with other rosaries that are special to a particular religious Order, its history is rather cloudy. The first question is how long the Trinitarians have used the Trisagion and its associated prayers. The prayers themselves are quite old, and may well have come to the Trinitarians from Byzantium through their connections in the Middle East. The Trisagion itself can be traced at least as far back as the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) and perhaps further.[15] The use of these particular prayers by the Trinitarians may very well date back to the beginnings of the Order.

A separate question is when beads began to be used to count these prayers. Reciting a certain number of prayers does not necessarily imply the presence of beads—prayers can be counted on one's fingers, by moving a peg from one hole to another, and so forth. It is possible that Trisagion beads were first seen in the 14th or 15th century—when other rosaries became popular, suggesting the concept of using beads as counters.

Secondly, the term "Trinitarian rosary" can refer to any set of Christian prayer beads on which prayers to the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are said.

A trinitarian rosary of this type can comprise the same basic form[17] as the traditional Marian rosary with 5 decades of 10 beads and introductory prayers, et cetera. Or such prayers may be said with the Anglican or other variants[18] of the beads.

There are several of these trinitarian rosaries, all of relatively recent origin. One, for instance, uses the prayer: "Almighty God, Almighty God, Heavenly King, You are the Lord! Blessed art thou in heaven, and blessed is thy sacred word! Holy Jesus, eternally begotten son of God, send your Holy Spirit upon us and kindle in our hearts the fire of your divine love!".[19][20]