The Rosary – It Is Like Carrying the Gospel in Your Hands!

Religious Life and the Rosary – The Carthusian Way

Mary is considered principal Patron of the Carthusian Order.

Over the past several months I have been doing some in-depth study into religious life and the life of the Church. Many of the devotions and customs in the Catholic faith come from religious communities of monks and nuns who devote their entire life to prayer in service of the Lord. The standard rosary was handed down from Saint Dominic and the Dominican order. The Franciscan, Servite and Brigittine orders developed other versions of the rosary. There are shorter “chaplets” that concentrate specifically on the Passion of our Lord contributed by the Camaldolese (a Benedictine order). A chaplet that has expanded beyond the beads is the Way of the Cross. This devotion is illustrated in all Catholic Churches and some Protestant denominations as the Stations of Cross and incorporates prayers, readings and meditations for each scene of the Crucifixion.

One version of the rosary fascinated me and has expanded my personal devotion to Christ and His blessed Mother. This devotion is called, ‘The Life of Christ Rosary,’ also known as the Carthusian Rosary. The Carthusian religious order is one of the strictest observing religious orders in the world. The order has remained almost the same in their religious observance for the past 900 years. The rosary that is associated with this order is attributed to Saint Dominic of Prussia (not to be confused with Saint Dominic of the Dominicans). “The primary difference between the Life of Christ Rosary and the Dominican . . . are the structure of the mysteries. The Dominican has 20 mysteries, divided into four sets of five.” The Life of Christ Rosary consists of 50 mysteries prayed along with 50 Hail Mary prayers. It is prayed on the same 5-decade rosary. Each mystery is inserted into the Hail Mary prayer. For example, the first prayer would go as follows;

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed in the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, conceived in you by the Holy Spirit during the annunciation of the angel. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

Each bead has its own mystery. Every decade is a meditation on the events of the life, passion and resurrection of our Lord.

First Decade (His birth)

Second Decade (His youth and public ministry)

Third Decade (His passion)

Fourth Decade (His crucifixion)

Fifth Decade (His resurrection)

This rosary takes longer than one might think. There are, of course, the prayers that proceed and follow the decades. This version of the rosary is like carrying the gospel in your hands.

I will go into greater detail in a future post. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free. I hope you all have had a happy Thanksgiving. Have a blessed Advent as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ave Maria!

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Jesus and Mary, protect and save the unborn!

Reference: Frattarelli, Daniel, 2012, The Life of Christ Rosary (also known as the Carthusian Rosary). 

Addendum: The following is a link to a webpage with a list of meditations for the Life of Christ Rosary.