How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet

The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, also called the Divine Mercy Chaplet, is a Christian devotion to the Divine Mercy, based on the Christological apparitions of Jesus reported by Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), known as "the Apostle of Mercy." She was a Polish religious sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and canonized as a Catholic saint in 2000.

Faustina stated that she received the prayer through visions and conversations with Jesus, who made specific promises regarding the recitation of the prayers.^[2] Her Vatican biography quotes some of these conversations.

As a Roman Catholic devotion, the chaplet is often said as a rosary-based prayer with the same set of rosary beads used for reciting the Rosary or the Chaplet of Holy Wounds. As an Anglican devotion, the Divine Mercy Society of the Anglican Church states that the chaplet can also be recited on Anglican prayer beads. The chaplet may also be said without beads, usually by counting prayers on the fingertips, and may be accompanied by the veneration of the Divine Mercy image.

A. Begin by making the Sign of the Cross

B. Say this prayer:

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You! (3 times)

C. Say these 3 prayers:

1. Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

2. Hail Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

3. I believe in God,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and life everlasting. Amen.

D. For the large (Our Father) beads, say this prayer:

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

E. For the small (Hail Mary) beads, say this prayer:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (10 times)

F. Repeat D and E for the remaining decades:

G. After the 5 decades, say this prayer:

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (3 times)

H. Closing prayer (optional)

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Additional optional:

O greatly Merciful God, Infinite Goodness,today all makind calls out from the abyssof its misery to Your mercy---to Your compassion,O God; and it is with its mighty voice of misery that it cries out.Gracious God do not reject the prayer of this earth's exiles!O Lord, Goodness beyond our understanding,Who are acquainted with our misery through and through,and know that by our own powerwe cannot ascend to You,we implore You; anticipate us with Your Graceand keep on increasing Your mercy in us,that we may faithfully do Your holy willall through our life and at death's hour.Let the omnipotence of Your mercyshield us from the darts of our salvation's enemies,that we may with confidence,as Your children await Your final coming- that day known to You alone.And we expect to obtain everything promised usby Jesus in spite of all our wretchedness.For Jesus is our Hope:Through His merciful Heartas through an open gate we pass through to heaven.

I. Finish with the Sign of the Cross