The Divine Mercy Devotion

by Various

The Feast of The Divine Mercy

Celebrated on the Sunday after Easter

Jesus said to Blessed Faustina Kowalska a Polish nun who died in 1938:

My daughter, Tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially 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. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy.

Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the fount of my Mercy.

We can celebrate this "Mercy Sunday" by going to Confession (preferably before that Sunday) and by receiving Communion on that day. We can honor the mercy of the Lord by venerating the Image of The Divine Mercy, and by our prayers and works of mercy.

The Image of The Divine Mercy

Jesus appeared to Blessed Faustina with rays of red and pale light streaming from the area around His heart. His right hand was raised in blessing, recalling the scene of Easter Sunday night (see Jn 20: 19-23).

He asked Blessed Faustina to have this vision painted signed with the words, Jesus, I trust in You!

I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: "Jesus, I trust in you. (Diary, 327).

Jesus explained that the rays represented the blood and water which flowed from His pierced side, and He taught Blessed Faustina the prayer:

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You (Diary, 84).

Jesus told Blessed Faustina that this image was to be venerated first in the Sisters' chapel, and then throughout the world (Diary, 47).

The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy

Our Lord taught Blessed Faustina a prayer for mercy that she was to pray unceasingly: The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy.

He told her that, if she prayed in this way, her prayers would have great power for the conversion of sinners, for peace for the dying, and even for controlling nature (Diary, 687, 811, 1731, 1791).

We, too, can pray this chaplet, using ordinary rosary beads of five decades. We begin with the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed.

Then on the large beads we pray:

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.

On the small beads we pray:

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

And at the end, we pray three times:

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (Diary, 476).

The Three O'Clock Hour

In His revelations to Blessed Faustina, Jesus asked for special, daily remembrance at three o'clock, the very hour He died for us on the cross:

At three o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony: This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion. (Diary, 1320).

At 3:00 o'clock we can pray:

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fountain of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. (Diary, 1319).

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of mercy for us, I trust in You. (Diary, 84).

This item 138 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org