www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Considering the thread on the Chaplet to St. Michael, I was wondering if any Eastern Catholics (or Orthodox) pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

If I remember correctly, the last three prayers of the Chaplet seem to be directly from the Divine Liturgy ("Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One have mercy on us and on the whole world" is repeated three times at the end of the Chaplet for those who do not know). Interestingly, the Chaplet is the result of a series of visions that Sr. Faustina, a polish nun, received.

(Perhaps Poland is a place where the Eastern and Western traditions of the Church meet and influence one another freer than other places given this and the Pope's ove for the Eastern Churches.)

Dear Ignatius,

I certainly pray this Chaplet.

I didn't know it's proper name until recently. My grandmother, who was a Presbytera and of Polish background (Jablonowskie) prayed it daily and taught me to do so. I was initially very impressed by its use of the Trisagion.

Poland's first taste of Christianity was, of course, from the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition, as obtained also in Bohemia.

There are still sites of the early Polish Byzantine Rite Churches that are being studied by archaeologists today.

St Hyacinth of Cracow (and of Kyiv/Kiev) was a Polish missionary who visited Kyiv where he said Mass before a rather large alabaster statue of the Virgin Mary.

The Tatars then attacked the city. St. Hyacinth took the large statue and went through the River Dnieper with it. The Tatars then fled.

St. Hyacinth is still called "of Kyiv" in Poland and his statue, which is still around, is called the miraculous statue of "Our Lady of Kyiv."

The Black Madonna of Czestochowa was, of course, taken by the Polish Duke Vladislav Opolskie from its Shrine in Belz. It was originally brought to Kyiv from Constantinople.

Certainly, being surrounded by so many Eastern Rite Slavs has had its impact on Poland and a number of its Marian Shrines are of Byzantine origin.

Unfortunately, and I say this as someone of Polish ancestry myself, Polish Roman Catholics have not always appreciated the Eastern Church, especially during the time of the Polish Kingdom.

Attacks against Orthodox Churches and even against Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky, when alive and now, have marred Eastern-Western Church relations there.

But there are many Poles who do appreciate the Eastern Church.

An ancestor of mine was taking his oral examinations in a Greek Catholic seminary in Ukraine in the presence of Met. Andrew Sheptytsky and one Polish Catholic priest.

The priest then asked him, "Which Rite is more beautiful, the Roman or the Byzantine?"

To this, my relative, wanting to get "good marks" said, "Why, the Roman, of course."

The Polish Catholic priest then shook his head and said, "The Roman Rite, my son, is very poor indeed by comparison to the glorious Byzantine Rite."

Go figure . . .

Alex

Dear Ignatius,

Just one more point about Chaplets.

The Eastern Church has them too.

For example, there are different lengths and types of prayer ropes.

There are 33 knot varieties on which the Jesus Prayer is said 33 times in honour of the Holy Trinity and the years in which Christ lived on Earth.

It is the Old Rite Orthodox Believers who have the most beautiful rosary that is called a "Lestovka" or a "Ladder" which is comprised of a series of what could be called "Chaplets."

Their leather ladder begins with 12 "steps" in honour of the 12 Apostles.

Then there are 38 steps or rungs that represent the weeks Christ spent in the Womb of the Virgin Mary.

Following this are 33 steps for the years Christ spent on Earth.

Then there are 17 steps in honour of the 16 Prophets + St John the Baptist.

Six large rungs on the bottom end, with three extra as to separate the smaller rungs, add up to nine rungs in honour of the nine choirs of Angels.

The four surfaces of the flats of the triangles at the bottom also represent the Four Evangelists, but no prayer is associated with them.

The Old Believers also make a leather rosary of 150 rungs for the 150 Hail Mary's of the "Rule of the Mother of God."

My prayer rope is divided by larger knots every ten for this purpose as well.

God bless,

Alex

Alex,

Thanks for the information. Ithink that there have been countless beautiful prayers developed over the centuries in both the East and the West and it is interesting to discover new ones.

One of my favorites is the prayer from the Divine Liturgy that is prayed by the faithful before receiving the Eucharist. It talks about not reveiling the Lord's secrets to His enemies and not betraying Him with a kiss like Judas. It is awesome. (If you know where I could get a copy online I'd really appreciate it.) I also enjoy praying the Anima Christi after receiving during Mass.

Both of these prayers really demonstrate that the Church is, at the bottom line, Eucharistic in the sense that it is the Body of Christ and that we receive the Body of Christ ourselves.

Dear Ignatius,

I know I'm not Alex, but I think this is the prayer you're looking for...I found it online, and I may have copied too much, but I trust you'll enjoy it.

+++++++

O Lord, I believe and profess that You are truly Christ, the Son of the living God, Who came into the World to save sinners, of whom I am the first. Accept me as a partaker of your mystical supper, O Son of God, for I will not reveal Your mysteries to our enemies, nor will I give you a kiss as did Judas, but like the thief will I confess to You.

Remember me, O Lord, when You shall come into Your kingdom.

Remember me, O Master, when You shall come into Your kingdom.

Remember me, O Holy One, when You shall come into Your kingdom.

May the partaking of your holy mysteries, O Lord, be not for my judgment, or condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body.

O Lord, I also believe and profess that this, which I am about to receive, is truly Your most precious Body and Your life-giving Blood, which, I pray, make me worthy to receive for the remission of all my sins and for life everlasting. Amen

O God, be merciful to me a sinner.

God, cleanse my sins and have mercy on me.

O Lord forgive me for I have sinned without number.

Mor Ephrem,

Thanks a lot! That was exactly the prayer I was thinking of!

Pax et Bonum

Dear Ignatius,

Mor Ephrem is wonderful, isn't he?

FYI, the prayer that Mor Ephrem shared with you is actually connected to the Orthodox Cross of Calvary that one sees on cupolas etc.

I am referring to the slanted foot-rest "subpedalion" which comes up on our left and goes down on our right.

The prayer from the Byzantine Lenten Ninth Hour explains why it is shaped this way.

The foot-rest is seen as a kind of scale, or as the Psalms say, "Come let us worship at the place where the God's feet were."

The Good Thief ("Thief" really meaning "Partisan" in Roman times or "Insurgent") defended and confessed Christ, as in the prayer.

The raised portion on Christ's right celebrates the Thief being raised to Paradise, while the lowered portion on the other side means, well, we know what it means . . .

By saying the prayer Mor Ephrem shared with you, we too become partakers of the joy of the Good Thief!

Believe it, or . . .

Alex

Glory to Jesus Christ ! Glory forever!

Bishop Michael of the Chicago Eparchy (Ukr.) was a featured speaker at a recent conference on the Divine Mercy. He believes that it can be prayed by Byzantine Catholics.