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Martha in VA
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As is evident by my signature line, I'm on my way into the Church. Much of the Catholic way of life is new for me. I feel a bit as if I'm standing under a waterfall trying to get a drink!  There's just so much richness an depth.
Please help me understand some of the forms of prayer better.
A novena - 9 of something (days, Mondays, etc.) right? It can be prayed anytime or some are specific to certain times of the year?
A chaplet - I have no idea what this is. Help me with this one...
Divine Mercy Chaplet - Some form of prayer that utilizes Rosary beads but is different from the Rosary.
Thanks in advance for being a "safe place" to ask my questions. 
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Helen
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Thank you Martha for asking this question. (It helps to make a reflection on our Catholic practices.)
A novena (coming from the Latin word for nine) refers to nine continuous days of prayer. It is based on the first novena prayed by the apostles at the feet of the Blessed Virgin between the Ascension of Our Lord and the first Pentecost. I think a novena is usually nine consecutive days but there are also novenas (St. Joseph or St. Anthony) which are nine Sundays or WEdnesdays or Tuesdays.
(There is also the 52 day Rosary novena.)
One can pray a novena at any time but the more important "Solemnities" usually are accompanied by a special novena.
I'll look up a Mercy Chaplet site ... but the Mercy Chaplet is a beautiful devotion to Our Lord' Mercy.
On each of the Hail Mary beads one prays:
For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion...
Have Mercy on us and on the whole world.
(I should check my wording and give a site with all the details.)
I think devotees prefer to sing these verses. The prayer is usually said around 3:00 to commemorate Our Lord's death on the Cross. (It can be said at any time.)
There is a special novena associated with this chaplet begun on Good Friday and ending on the second Sunday of Easter (Mercy Sunday.)
St. Faustina, a Polish nun, received visions of the Lord in the 1930s (?) to promote this devotion. It is fundamentally a devotion to the Lord's Sacred Heart.
I believe a chaplet is a small set of prayers - sort of a small rosary.
St. Therese suggested the chaplet of 24 Glory Be's.
There is the St. Michael Chaplet
nine sets of prayers in honor of the nine choirs of Angels.
Ann Ball has a lovely book of devotions of this type. I can look for the title.
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alicegunther
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Martha, I love these questions.
In addition to all of Helen's wonderful answers, you might like looking at a few sample chaplets.
A favorite: The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy. (If you click on the left hand links, EWTN answers many questions about this devotion. It is said on a standard set of Rosaries. Pope John Paul II did a great deal to promote this devotion and died on the Eve of the Feast of Divine Mercy.)
The Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel (I love this one because it reminds us of the Nine Choirs of Angels. We once made these chaplets in preparation for the Feast of the Archangels in September.)
Chaplet of the Infant Jesus of Prague (My daughter, Agnes, reading over my shoulder, reminds me that we once made these too. The Infant of Prague Chaplet is a beautiful prayer, especially for children.)
There are many, many chaplets, and most Catholics are only familiar with one or two of the more popular ones, but these groups of special prayers are very inspiring and well worth considering, particularly as you celebrate special feasts. Thanks to your question, I was able to find A Treasury of 56 Chaplet Devotions online.
Novenas may be prayed at any time, but usually we begin nine days before special feasts. For example, we started a Novena to Mary, Mother of God nine days ago, and right now, we are in the middle of a Novena to the Holy Name. Here is a sample of some of the many Novenas you might want to say at different times of the year:
EWTN Novena Index
It helps to choose a few each year and put them on your calendar in advance of Feast days. Or, you might begin a Novena anytime, especially if there is a specific intention you want to bring before Our Lord.
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MichelleW
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A chaplet is a collection of prayers. My recollection (from several years ago when I first became interested in the history), is that the first collection of prayers was a string of 100 Pater beads used for saying the "Our Father" 100 times during the early Middle Ages. The Rosary is the most popular collection of prayers and is strung in a circle. Chaplets are collections of prayers and the beads may be strung in circle or in series, the numbers of beads vary.
We sing the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every Friday at 3 pm. We enjoy doing it this way because we have Donna Cori Gibson's lovely CD and we get to sing along with her.
My other favorites are the Sacred Heart Chaplet (I am stringing some of these right now for Valentine's Day). And the Chaplet of the Precious Blood.
A novena is a collection of days of prayer. My favorite is the novena to the Holy Spirit before Pentacost.
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Mrs.K
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Here is a link that has many chaplet prayers listed:
More Chaplets
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Martha in VA
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| Posted: Jan 03 2007 at 4:56pm | IP Logged
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Wow! Thanks, ladies, for all the wonderful explanations and links. That's plenty to keep me busy for a while!!
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Blessed wife & mom to
4dds,miracle son 4/09, 2 in heaven
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Novenas? Chaplets? Help me understand..
