Chaplet

What it is

A chaplet is a devotion of prayers counted on a string of beads. The Rosary is the greatest and best-known form; other chaplets exist for particular intentions or saints—the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the St. Michael Chaplet, and others approved or long used in the Church. The beads are a tool for attention: the hands keep count so the mind and heart can pray.

What it is not

A chaplet is not a talisman. The power is in the prayer and the mercy of God, not in the cord. It is not "the Rosary" by another name unless it is the Rosary; different chaplets have different structures. It is not required for salvation, but it is a serious school of perseverance for men who want to pray when feelings fail.

How a Catholic encounters it

You encounter chaplets in the pocket, the car, the walk before work. Learn one well—especially the Rosary—before collecting many. Pray it slowly enough to mean the words. If a chaplet comes from a private revelationGlossaryRevelations given to individuals after the close of public revelation—never equal to Scripture or dogma, even when Church-approved. (as Divine Mercy does), use Church-approved texts and keep the devotion ordered under the SacramentsGlossaryOne of seven efficacious signs of grace instituted by Christ: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing, Orders, Matrimony. and the MagisteriumGlossaryThe Church's teaching authority, exercised by the Pope and bishops in communion with him, guarding and handing on the deposit of faith..