Celtic Rosary?

The Rosary used by the Roman Catholics of today was a late development designed to replace the reading of the Psalms of the Breviary. The Roman rosary is not the same as the beads used by Celtic Christians. One reference from a Breton source describes a chaplet of thirty-three beads said when God's protection and aid were needed. Thirty three is the number of years Jesus Christ walked upon the earth.

We are not told what prayer was used, but a chaplet with thirty-three knots or beads is used by the Eastern churches. That includes the church of the Sinai from which Celtic communities claimed they received their practices.

Those communities say the same prayer on each bead or knot: "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, have mercy upon me, a sinner." This fits the Breton reference where the Celtic rosary is described as a means for asking for God's merciful help and protection.

This is a meditation on our relationship to God. We are saved by His Mercy through the Incarnation of His Son. This is the constant thought of Christians. It does not replace any prayer from the day. It does not replace the Breviary or participation in the Sacraments. It is supposed to remind us that we need them.

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