Pray like a Carthusian

Carthusian Brothers praying the Rosary in Choir.

The Holy Rosary is an incredibly popular method of prayer. Although praying with beads or knotted ropes are is nothing especially new or groundbreaking in the Christian tradition (or in other religions for that matter) this particular form was given to St Dominic in a vision by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. It was a method that was especially useful in teaching illiterate peasants how to pray and also for the conversion of pagans to the prayers of Christianity, the repetitive nature helping to cement them in the mind. The combination of repetition and the use of the hands, keeping them occupied and therefore helping to lessen distraction, has helped to popularise the use of the Rosary to pray. 

The, what has become ‘standard’ form, or the Dominican Rosary consists of sets of mysteries, the Glorious, Joyful and Sorrowful, helping to meditate on particular key moments in the life of Christ. The Glorious mysteries focus on events post resurrection, including the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her crowing as Queen of Heaven. The Joyful surround the Annunciation and the birth of Jesus Himself and the Sorrowful, as the name suggests, focus upon the events of the Passion. These are repeated on different days. These mysteries had remained the central aspect of the devotion, untouched for 400 years until 2002. In the 25th year of his pontificate Pope John Paul II published an Apostolic Letter called Rosarium Virginis Mariae which declared a year of the rosary until October the following year and introduced one new set of five mysteries, on a Thursday, called The Mysteries of Light, or the Luminous Mysteries. These mysteries focused on the public life of Jesus Christ as the source of the meditation. 

The Rosary is, in my opinion, one of the most helpful methods of prayer. Especially if, like me, you are prone to playing with objects that are laying around or find that your mind wanders easily. As the beads pass through your fingers and click together or against the chain that links them, it is easy to calm the body and breathing, to blend the words together so they become an stream almost unable to be differentiated between the very breaths that you take.

If you have never prayed the Rosary before and you would like to learn, I highly recommend this website http://www.learntherosary.com – Father Matthew will guide you, in video form, how to pray this wonderful meditative prayer,and you can also download and print of resources that you may need to get you started. Also, if you do not have a Rosary and would like one, please get in touch with me through this blog and I would be delighted to bless one and post it to you to help you get praying. (free of charge)

Because of the popularity of the Rosary in this classic form it did not take long for other Religious Orders and, indeed, other denominations to develop their own version. The Franciscans have their own version entitled Crown of Seven Joys and the Servites Order have the Seven Sorrows. St Thérèse of Lisieux prayed a version very similar to the Dominican Rosary but with an additional mystery in each set. The Anglicans, to avoid the use of the Hail Mary, have a version grouped in 4 beads of seven and uses the Cruciform of Holy God, Holy Almighty, Holy Immortal One, Have Mercy upon me (or us if praying with others)

Praying with the Carthusians

Dom Dominic of Prussia (not to be confused with Saint Dominic, it seems Our Lady likes speaking to Dominics) a brother of the Chaterhouse of St Alban, composed a set of fifty meditations of the Life of Christ and linked them to the praying of the Hail Mary. 

Unlike the Dominican Rosary, which groups the mysteries into decades of Hail Mary’s, the Carthusian Rosary prays one Hail Mary for each mystery. So each decade of the beads has ten mysteries, rather than one. The Hail Mary is said first and then the mystery is said. When praying one should feel free to pause, to go over the mystery again, to repeat prayers on that mystery if one is so drawn to do. The purpose of the Rosary, especially in the Carthusian form is the draw the person praying into contemplation, therefore there is no set ‘correct’ method to pray, just a loose structure which can be shed should true contemplation occur. 

When Dom. Dominic wrote his meditations the Hail Mary had not yet been developed into the form that is known today. The second part of the prayer was yet to be added and so the Carthusian Rosary only uses the first half. ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord if with thee, Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of they womb Jesus’ – and then the mystery is said. However, it is perfectly fine to use the full Hail Mary as it is now known and insert the mystery at the end of the full prayer. 

Beginning the Carthusian Rosary 

Begin at the Crucifix and make the sign of the cross, beginning as usual ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’

The Apostles Creed is then recited, in the same way as it would be in any other Rosary form. 

The first change occurs on the next three beads. Rather than three repeated Hail Mary prayers as in the Dominican form, the Carthusian begins by inserting three clauses relating to the virtues of Our Lord, for example;

Jesus, source of our salvation.
Jesus, lover of the soul.
Jesus, hope of nations. 

This is then followed by a return to the Dominican pattern with a Glory Be prayer followed by the Our Father.

The First Decade (The Birth of Christ)

1 Jesus, conceived in you by the Holy Spirit during the annunciation of the angel
2 Jesus, with whom you visited Saint Elisabeth in the hill country, and whom John the Baptist recognized while yet in his mother’s womb
3 Jesus, to whom you, perpetually virgin in body and soul, gave birth with joy
4 Jesus, whom you wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger
5 Jesus, whose birth the angels celebrated singing “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will”, and whom the shepherds visited in Bethlehem
6 Jesus, who was circumcised on the eighth day and given the name which is above every other name
7 Jesus, who was sought for and worshiped by the Magi
8 Jesus, whom you carried to the Temple and presented to God, His Father
9 Jesus, who was lovingly received in the arms of old Simeon, and recognised by the holy prophetess, Anna
10 Jesus, with whom you fled into Egypt as directed by the angel, to avoid Herod’s persecution

This is followed by one Glory be, one Fatima Prayer, and one Our Father. 

The Fatima Prayer is this;

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy. 

The Second Decade (Youth and Public Ministry)

1 Jesus, with whom you returned home after seven years, when directed by the angel
2 Jesus, left in Jerusalem when He was twelve years old, and found in the Temple after three days
3 Jesus, who each day grew further in wisdom and grace before God and man
4 Jesus, whom John baptised in the Jordan and called the Lamb of God
5 Jesus, who fasted forty days in the desert and overcame the temptations put to Him by Satan
6 Jesus, who called the disciples and proclaimed the kingdom of God
7 Jesus, who healed the sick, freed the possessed, and raised the dead to life
8 Jesus, whose feet Mary Magdalene washed with her tears, dried with her hair, and anointed with her perfume
9 Jesus, who was transfigured on Mt. Tabor in the presence of Peter, James, and John10 Jesus, who raised Lazarus to life after he had been dead for four days

Followed by one Glory, one Fatima Prayer and one Our Father.

The Third Decade (The Passion of the Lord)

1 Jesus, who was welcomed as the Messiah as He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
2 Jesus, who at the Last Supper instituted the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist
3 Jesus, who prayed in agony in the garden of Gethsemane
4 Jesus, who, betrayed by Judas and abandoned by His friends, willingly placed Himself in the hands of His captors
5 Jesus, who, captured and roughly bound, was before the high priest
6 Jesus, who was denied three times by Simon Peter and was falsely accused, mocked, beaten, and spat upon by the crowd
7 Jesus, who was scourged at the pillar on orders given by Pilate
8 Jesus, who was wrapped in a purple robe, crowned with thorns, and hailed as king by mocking soldiers
9 Jesus, who before Caiaphas and Pilate was condemned to a wicked death 
10 Jesus, who was given the burden of the cross to bear like a criminal to the hill of Golgotha

Followed by one Glory Be, one Fatima Prayer and one Our Father.

The Fourth Decade (His Crucifixion)

1 Jesus, nailed to the cross beneath the inscription “This is the King of the Jews”
2 Jesus, who prayed for His murderers, saying “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”
3 Jesus, who said to the thief at His right  “Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in paradise”
4 Jesus, who said to you, His Mother, “Woman, behold thy son”, and to John “Behold thy Mother”
5 Jesus, who cried out upon the cross:  “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
6 Jesus, who said “I thirst”, and after having tasted the vinegar offered to Him said “It is consummated”
7 Jesus, who at the ninth hour cried out “Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit”
8 Jesus, who for us, poor sinners, suffered a cruel and painful death. Alleluia.
9 Jesus, whose side was pierced with a spear and from whose Sacred Heart Blood and Water poured out for the forgiveness of our sins
10 Jesus, whose sacred body was taken down from the cross and lovingly received in your arms 

Followed by one Glory Be, one Fatima Prayer, and one Our Father

The Fifth Decade (His Resurrection)

1 Jesus, whose body was wrapped in a shroud and laid in the tomb by holy men
2 Jesus, whose tomb was sealed and guarded by Pilate’s soldiers 
3 Jesus, whose holy soul descended into Hell to preach the good news and conduct the holy patriarchs to Heaven
4 Jesus, who rose from the dead on the third day, filling you with ineffable joy
5 Jesus, who after His Resurrection appeared frequently to His disciples and friends to strengthen their faith
6 Jesus, who, before you and His apostles, ascended into Heaven on the fortieth day and was seated at the right hand of the Father
7 Jesus, who, as He had promised, sent the Holy Spirit to you and to His apostles on the day of Pentecost
8 Jesus, who finally called you, His dearest Mother, to Himself, seating you at His right hand and crowning you with glory as Queen of Heaven
9 Jesus, who wants to call us, His servants and yours, to Himself after this life and through your intercession, we pray, receive us into the joy of His Father’s Kingdom
10 Jesus, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and with you most Holy Mother, reigns triumphant and glorious forever

Followed by one Glory Be, one Fatima Prayer, and one Our Father

Concluding Prayers 

The first concluding prayer is unique to the Carthusian Rosary and was, again, composed by Dom Dominic;

Prayer to Our Lady

Oh Immaculate, ever blessed, and glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God; oh Temple of God, the most beautiful of all temples; oh Doorway of the Kingdom of Heaven through which the whole world has been saved, do hear me mercifully and become my sweet protectress, for me a poor and wretched sinner.  Be my help in all my needs.  Amen.

Then the usual Rosary Prayers are used;

Hail Holy Queen Prayer

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. 

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Rosary Prayer

Let us pray. O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

The end occurs with a kiss of the Crucifix and a sign of the cross whilst saying; In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.