Divine Mercy Sunday will be celebrated throughout the whole Church on April 8, 2018.
This Feast was instituted by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000, in response to a direct request by the Lord Jesus to a Polish nun, St. Faustina Kowalska, whom Pope John Paul II canonized that year.
Beginning in 1931, Jesus began to appear to St. Faustina in her convent in Krakow and asked her to become his "secretary," and take down what he revealed to her for the good of the Church and the world. He revealed to her the message of his divine, merciful love. She wrote down what the Lord said and it filled in her diary — what turned out to be 689 pages in the English translation. The Lord talked about how he wanted to pour out on the world his mercy, how he wanted people to trust in his mercy and ask for it, and how he wanted them to share his merciful love with others.
Jesus didn't teach us anything new about his merciful love; he just reiterated it. What was new was that the Lord Jesus asked the Church, and that means each one of us, to grow in his Divine Mercy by five practices:
a) The Lord said, "I want... the first Sunday after Easter ... to be the Feast of Mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and specially for poor sinners. On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.
The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow." The Holy Father, four years ago, said, "It is important that we accept in its entirety the message that comes to us from God's Word on this second Sunday of Easter. From now on, throughout the whole Church, this day will take the name of 'Divine Mercy Sunday.'" But we have to live it, seek confession within eight days of the feast and properly receive Holy Communion.
b) To pray to the image of Divine Mercy — The Lord revealed to St. Faustina an image that he desired to be made: "One night when I was in my cell, I perceived the presence of the Lord Jesus dressed in a white tunic. One hand was raised in blessing, the other rested on his chest. From an opening in the tunic in the chest, two great rays were coming out, one red and the other clear... After some time, Jesus said to me, "Paint an image in accordance with what you see, with the inscription, "Jesus, I trust in you."
A little later, Our Lord explained to her the meaning of the two rays: "The two rays represent the Blood and the Water. The white ray represents the Water [baptism], that justifies souls; the red ray represents the Blood that is the life of souls [the Eucharist]. Both rays flow from the depths of my Mercy when, on the Cross, my Heart in agony was opened by the lance."
c) To pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy — This is something that people can pray on Rosary beads. It is a devotion that is happily becoming more and more popular today.
St. Faustina heard an interior voice that taught her this prayer. On the larger beads of the Rosary, one says, "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 for those of the whole world." On the ten smaller beads, we pray, "For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."
You pray five "decades" in this way, after which, one prays three times the "Holy, Holy, Holy" from the Good Friday reproaches, "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One," "have mercy on us and on the whole world." What we're doing in this beautiful prayer is offering Christ's own sacrifice during the Triduum, to the Father.
We're lifting up the Eucharist — Christ's body, blood, soul and divinity — and making Christ's prayer our own. There is no more powerful prayer!
Jesus promised, "It pleases me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet... if it be compatible with my Will." This is especially true at the moment of death. Jesus specifically asked priests — to "recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once [with an attitude of trust, humility and sorrow for sin], he would receive grace from my infinite mercy."
d) To pray particularly at three in the afternoon, the time in which Jesus died on the Cross, invoking the Mercy of the Lord — Jesus said to St. Faustina, "At three in the afternoon, implore my Mercy, especially for sinners, or at least briefly reflect on my Passion, especially on the abandonment I felt at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great Mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to penetrate my mortal sadness. In that hour, I will deny nothing to the soul that asks me in the name of my Passion. Jesus gave three indispensible conditions to hear prayers made at the hour of Mercy: the prayer has to be directed to Jesus, take place at three, and invoke the value and merits of his passion.
e) To make a novena between Good Friday and Divine Mercy Sunday to implore divine mercy. He gave St. Faustina an intention for each day of the novena. He said, "I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fount of My mercy, that they may draw from there strength and refreshment and whatever graces they need in the hardships of life and, especially, at the hour of death.
On each day you will bring to my Heart a different group of souls, and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy, and I will bring all these souls into the house of My Father. The groups, for each of the days, are all humanity, specially sinners; priests and religious; the pious and faithful; those who do not believe in Jesus and who don't yet know him; our separated Christian brothers and sisters; the meek and humble and children; those who venerate the mercy of Jesus; those in Purgatory; and the lukewarm.
Let us all say.
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU."
Credits : Catholic Culture
This Feast was instituted by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000, in response to a direct request by the Lord Jesus to a Polish nun, St. Faustina Kowalska, whom Pope John Paul II canonized that year.
Beginning in 1931, Jesus began to appear to St. Faustina in her convent in Krakow and asked her to become his "secretary," and take down what he revealed to her for the good of the Church and the world. He revealed to her the message of his divine, merciful love. She wrote down what the Lord said and it filled in her diary — what turned out to be 689 pages in the English translation. The Lord talked about how he wanted to pour out on the world his mercy, how he wanted people to trust in his mercy and ask for it, and how he wanted them to share his merciful love with others.
Jesus didn't teach us anything new about his merciful love; he just reiterated it. What was new was that the Lord Jesus asked the Church, and that means each one of us, to grow in his Divine Mercy by five practices:
a) The Lord said, "I want... the first Sunday after Easter ... to be the Feast of Mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and specially for poor sinners. On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.
The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow." The Holy Father, four years ago, said, "It is important that we accept in its entirety the message that comes to us from God's Word on this second Sunday of Easter. From now on, throughout the whole Church, this day will take the name of 'Divine Mercy Sunday.'" But we have to live it, seek confession within eight days of the feast and properly receive Holy Communion.
b) To pray to the image of Divine Mercy — The Lord revealed to St. Faustina an image that he desired to be made: "One night when I was in my cell, I perceived the presence of the Lord Jesus dressed in a white tunic. One hand was raised in blessing, the other rested on his chest. From an opening in the tunic in the chest, two great rays were coming out, one red and the other clear... After some time, Jesus said to me, "Paint an image in accordance with what you see, with the inscription, "Jesus, I trust in you."
A little later, Our Lord explained to her the meaning of the two rays: "The two rays represent the Blood and the Water. The white ray represents the Water [baptism], that justifies souls; the red ray represents the Blood that is the life of souls [the Eucharist]. Both rays flow from the depths of my Mercy when, on the Cross, my Heart in agony was opened by the lance."
c) To pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy — This is something that people can pray on Rosary beads. It is a devotion that is happily becoming more and more popular today.
St. Faustina heard an interior voice that taught her this prayer. On the larger beads of the Rosary, one says, "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 for those of the whole world." On the ten smaller beads, we pray, "For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."
You pray five "decades" in this way, after which, one prays three times the "Holy, Holy, Holy" from the Good Friday reproaches, "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One," "have mercy on us and on the whole world." What we're doing in this beautiful prayer is offering Christ's own sacrifice during the Triduum, to the Father.
We're lifting up the Eucharist — Christ's body, blood, soul and divinity — and making Christ's prayer our own. There is no more powerful prayer!
Jesus promised, "It pleases me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet... if it be compatible with my Will." This is especially true at the moment of death. Jesus specifically asked priests — to "recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once [with an attitude of trust, humility and sorrow for sin], he would receive grace from my infinite mercy."
d) To pray particularly at three in the afternoon, the time in which Jesus died on the Cross, invoking the Mercy of the Lord — Jesus said to St. Faustina, "At three in the afternoon, implore my Mercy, especially for sinners, or at least briefly reflect on my Passion, especially on the abandonment I felt at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great Mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to penetrate my mortal sadness. In that hour, I will deny nothing to the soul that asks me in the name of my Passion. Jesus gave three indispensible conditions to hear prayers made at the hour of Mercy: the prayer has to be directed to Jesus, take place at three, and invoke the value and merits of his passion.
e) To make a novena between Good Friday and Divine Mercy Sunday to implore divine mercy. He gave St. Faustina an intention for each day of the novena. He said, "I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fount of My mercy, that they may draw from there strength and refreshment and whatever graces they need in the hardships of life and, especially, at the hour of death.
On each day you will bring to my Heart a different group of souls, and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy, and I will bring all these souls into the house of My Father. The groups, for each of the days, are all humanity, specially sinners; priests and religious; the pious and faithful; those who do not believe in Jesus and who don't yet know him; our separated Christian brothers and sisters; the meek and humble and children; those who venerate the mercy of Jesus; those in Purgatory; and the lukewarm.
Let us all say.
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU."
Credits : Catholic Culture
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