Do you own a rosary? Many Catholics receive rosaries as gifts for their Baptism, First Communion, or Confirmation, or purchase one themselves so they can pray this special devotion anytime.

But many people, even many Catholics, don’t know that you can use your rosary beads to pray more than just the Holy Rosary. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a prayer that uses the rosary beads as well!

Recently on Go Ask Your Father™, Monsignor Stuart Swetland explained the difference between the Holy Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and how both of them can help us know and love Christ in a deeper way. Msgr. Swetland said:

“Regarding the difference between the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Holy Rosary, for both we use the rosary beads, but it’s a different focus.

For the Rosary we use Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Be’s to mark time as we meditate on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the role Our Lady played in His life, death, and resurrection. And those various mysteries are meditated on for 3-5 minutes as we do each decade of the Rosary.

In the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a relatively modern devotion given to us by St. Faustina in that mystical experience she had with the Lord, we really emphasize the mercy of God. It’s a quicker prayer, though we use the same counting device of the Rosary. But we focus on just how merciful God is to us, and pray that this mercy be extended to all the world. In a way, we pray that it be extended through us, as we embrace our mission of mercy.

Pope Francis has recently said that all Christians should view their life as a mission, and that mission is a mission of mercy. See, the vocation of Jesus was to reveal to the world the merciful love of the Father. And we carry on the mission of Jesus through our baptism. We all share in the same mission of Jesus – to reveal to the world the merciful love of the Father.

So we pray in thanksgiving for the mercy we have received, but then commit ourselves to praying it forward as we go through each of the beads, praying that we may experience that mercy, and be a sign of that mercy.

There’s so much anger out there, so much bitterness, so much hatred, so much division. And it’s because people don’t allow themselves to feel the mercy of God, to experience the mercy of God, and don’t then pay it forward, especially those most in need of God’s mercy.

So there are two different ways of using the rosary beads to pray for, if you will, a different focus of God’s love for us. In the Rosary, we look at the historical reality of His life, death, and resurrection, and Our Lady’s role in it. To remind us of His love, His teaching, and His mission.

And in the Divine Mercy Chaplet, in a particular way, we give thanks to God for the mercy we have received and commit ourselves to pay it forward and be merciful to others.”

If you would like to pray along with us on Relevant Radio®, the Family Rosary Across America airs weekdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern/5:00 p.m. Pacific and the Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed weekdays at 4:00 p.m. Eastern/1:00 p.m. Pacific during The Drew Mariani Show™.

You can also pray the Holy Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet with us anytime by downloading the Relevant Radio App and tapping on the Pray tab in the top right corner.