On Easter Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death – we celebrate our Risen Lord. The following week, Divine Mercy Sunday, we celebrate the gift of Jesus’ victory – His unfathomable mercy.

The message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote approximately 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God’s mercy; Diary of St. Faustina: Divine Mercy in My Soul. 

The message of mercy is that God loves us – all of us – no matter how great our sins. He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Jesus’ message of mercy to St. Faustina was not a new revelation, but a reminder of those timeless truths of our faith about God’s merciful love for all mankind and his desire for us to turn to Him with trust. What was new were the forms of devotion that Jesus requested, and the powerful promises attached to them.

The Divine Mercy Image

The earliest element of the Devotion to the Divine Mercy revealed to St. Faustina was the Image. On February 22nd, 1931 Jesus appeared to her with rays radiating from His heart and said, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus I trust in You.  I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and throughout the world. (Diary 47) I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as My own glory. (Diary 48) 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) The two rays denote Blood and Water. the pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. (Diary 299) Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush, lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace. (Diary 313) By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls.”

 The Hour of Great Mercy 

Jesus asked Saint Faustina, and through her us, to celebrate this Hour of Great Mercy, promising tremendous graces to those who would pray, both for themselves and on behalf of others. Jesus’ words to St. Faustina were “at three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners and, if only for a moment, immerse yourself in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion. (Diary 1320) As often as you hear the clock strike the third hour immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it, invoke it’s omnipotence for the whole world, for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole word – mercy triumphed over justice.”

 The Chaplet of Divine Mercy 

Dictated to St. Faustina by Our Lord himself, the chaplet is prayed on ordinary rosary beads. Jesus instructed her to pray it “unceasingly,” and promised to souls who recited it devoutly great graces throughout life and particularly at the hour of death.

Don’t miss this opportunity to call upon the great graces Jesus is offering to us. This is a wonderful opportunity for our parish to call upon God’s mercy as a community. There is no better time for us to pray for peace than Divine Mercy Sunday.

Click Here to learn more about the Feast of Divine Mercy