FEAST OF THE DIVINE MERCY
Then the risen Christ appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord – Jn 20:19-20.
In a series of revelations to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Today, we know that feast as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Pope St. John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30, 2000.
The Lord expressed His will with regard to this feast in His very first revelation to St. Faustina. The most comprehensive revelation can be found in her Diary entry 699 which reads:
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 opened 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 it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come 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.
PRAYER
O Jesus, Divine Healer, Fount of Mercy, when we consider Your great love and compassion for us sinners, our senses fail to comprehend the unparalleled extent of Your love for us, whereby, You were born of flesh, made incarnate and suffered and died to free us from the shackles of evil and redeem and deliver us, for restoration of the Father’s glory. You humbled Your inconceivably pure majesty and lowered Yourself to save humankind. O King of kings, we join the angelic choruses in singing unceasingly, telling of Your great glory and blessing and worshipping Your Holy Name.
Lord Jesus, Your unconditional love and mercy for mankind is unfathomable and we adore You in continuous song, in front of Your tabernacle, Lord and Creator, dwelling in the Blessed Sacrament. We marvel at the works of Your hands, that reveal to us Your wisdom, goodness and mercy, O Lord. We magnify Your Name for the perfection of Your unblemished creation and the magnificence of Your glorious countenance which we hope to behold.
Our Merciful Lord and Creator, our hearts delight, knowing that You abide in us and we in You, through the Power of Your Holy Spirit, merging us into one body and one spirit, Lord Jesus, and no chasm can ever distance us as we increase our faith and hope in You. Your praise and glory resound in our hearts, and your mercy abounds forever. We long to be entirely transformed by the visions of Your illumined glory, and pray that we are always enveloped with Your brilliant light of love, clemency and the grace of our Heavenly Father, who grants our prayers and petitions in Your Name.
Amen