From the Pastor’s desk— April 7, 2024

 Divine Mercy Sunday

You might be surprised to know that the early Church celebrated Easter every Sunday, After the Council of Nicea in 325 (the first large council after Christianity was no longer illegal) is was assigned to be celebrated on one single day yearly.  By the end of that century it was made an octave, being celebrated for 8 days.  The last major modification to the Easter Octave happened in the year 2000 when (St) Pope John Paul II declared the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.

The feast of the Divine Mercy traces back to St Faustina Kowalska, a polish Sister of Mercy, who from her diary Is believed to have received apparitions from Jesus between the years of 1931 and her death in 1938.  Within these apparitions, Jesus shared, “I desire

that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of my tender mercy are open. … It is my desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter” (diary of St. Faustina, 699).  This celebration  is marked by a special prayer called the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which can be prayed with one’s rosary beads as follows :

1. The Chaplet begins with the Sign of the Cross (at the cross)

2. On the 2nd bead is an optional prayer by St Faustina.

3. The next 3 beads are Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Apostles’    Creed.

4. The 5 decades begins with the Eternal Father on the large beads (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)

5. One each of the little beads is said, “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

6. The final prayer is Holy God,

“Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”  The Chaplet may conclude with other optional prayers by St Faustina and ends with the Sign of the Cross.

In her apparitions, St Faustina mentions several promises Jesus made, namely, “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image (of Divine Mercy) will not perish. I also promise victory over (its) enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death.” “…by saying the chaplet, you are bringing humankind closer to Me”.  “Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.”  Jesus also promised, “At 3 O’clock implore My mercy…I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of me in virtue of my passion.” (1572) and perhaps the best-known promise, “The souls that say this chaplet will be embraced by My mercy during their lifetime and especially at the hour of their death.”

These prayers are not magical, but a call to faith in God’s abundant mercy open to all who open themselves to God’s will.

 

 

   

 

 

 

                     

 

With a heart for Mission,
Fr. Ray