THE BRIGITTINE ROSARY
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It is well known that Saint Teresa of Jesus/Avila
prayed the Rosary daily. It is believed that while she was traveling throughout
Spain, she enjoyed the hospitality of at least one Brigittine Monastery,
and from the Brigittines, learned to say their six-decade Rosary. The
six-decade Rosary was later adopted as the Rosary of the Discalced Carmelite
habit, with a large medal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in addition to,
or even in place of, the crucifix found on the Dominican Rosary. Only
six of the eighteen decades are worn, as opposed to the entire fifteen
decades of the Dominican Rosary, worn with the religious habits of some
other Orders.
The Brigittine (or "Saint Bridget") Rosary looks similar to a regular Rosary, but with an extra decade. The resultant seven Pater beads honor the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the sixty-three Ave Maria beads commemorate the sixty-three years it is believed the Blessed Mother lived on this earth before her Assumption. In praying the Brigittine Rosary, there are a total of eighteen decades: In the six Joyful Mysteries, the first is the Immaculate Conception; the sixth of the Sorrowful Mysteries commemorates when the Body of the Lord was placed in the Arms of His Sorrowful Mother; and the sixth of the Glorious Mysteries is recited in honor of the Patronage of Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace (and, for the Carmelite, Mary, Queen and Beauty of Carmel). The other mysteries are the same as in the Dominican Rosary. However, at the end of each decade, the Apostles Creed, not the Glory be, is recited. |
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