Saint Michael the Archangel Parish

21 Manning St

Hudson, MA 01749

Saint Michael the Archangel

Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Boston.  Hudson, Massachusetts

Sunday of Divine Mercy

 ...when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit...

Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy.


What is celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter?

Each year, on the Second Sunday of Easter — the last
day of the Easter Octave — the Church celebrates the Sunday of Divine Mercy.

On this day, we contemplate the fullness of the Paschal Mystery — Christ’s Passion, death, and Resurrection.  The basis of the whole Easter Mystery is the merciful love of God.

 

From the beginning of creation, throughout Scripture, and most perfectly in the life, Passion, death and Resurrection of his Son, Jesus, God has been revealed as love itself.   In His infinite love for us, God desires nothing more than to forgive our sins and offer us His mercy.

What is the meaning of mercy?

In its simplest form, mercy is compassion or forgiveness. The person in need may have brought it upon themselves, by sin, or human failures of one kind or another, but to be merciful is not to leave them in that state, as this is how God treats us if we turn to Him in our need.

What is the meaning of God’s Mercy?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC, paragraphs 1846-1848) teaches us:

The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s mercy to sinners. The angel announced to Joseph: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The same is true of the Eucharist, the sacrament of redemption: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (CCC, 1846)

“God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.”  To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults.  “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (CCC, 1847)

As Saint Paul affirms, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”  But to do its work grace must uncover sin so as to convert our hearts and bestow on us “righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God, by his Word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin:

Conversion requires convincing of sin; it includes the interior judgment of conscience, and this, being a proof of the action of the Spirit of truth in man’s inmost being, becomes at the same time the start of a new grant of grace and love: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Thus in this “convincing concerning sin” we discover a double gift: the gift of the truth of conscience and the gift of the certainty of redemption. The Spirit of truth is the Consoler. (CCC, 1848)

What does Divine Mercy mean?

Divine Mercy is the reaching down of God out of Love, through the Incarnation and Pascal Mystery, in order to restore us to Himself.

 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)
 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Pope John Paul II cites the Paschal Mystery as the greatest evidence of this attribute of God.

". . . It is this mystery which bears within itself the most complete revelation of mercy, that is, of that love which is more powerful than death, more powerful than sin and every evil, the love which lifts man up when he falls into the abyss and frees him from the greatest threats." (Encyclical letter on the Eternal Father, Rich in Mercy, 15)

"...If you return to the LORD, your kinfolk and your children will find mercy with their captors and return to this land. The LORD, your God, is gracious and merciful and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him.” ( 2 Chronicles 30: 9)

What is the Origin of Divine Mercy Sunday?


In the 1930s, Jesus chose a humble Polish nun, Saint Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, to receive private revelations concerning Divine Mercy that were recorded in her Diary.


During the course of Jesus’ revelations to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy, He asked on numerous occasions that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and that this feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. The liturgical texts of that day, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and are thus already suited to the request of Our Lord.


This Feast, which had already been granted to the nation of Poland and been celebrated within Vatican City, was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the canonization of Sister Faustina on April 30th, 2000. 


In a decree dated May 23, 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stated that “throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience in the years to come." 


These papal acts represent the highest endorsement that the Church can give to a private revelation, an act of papal infallibility proclaiming the certain sanctity of the mystic, and the granting of a universal feast, as requested by Our Lord to Saint Faustina.

What does Jesus ask of Saint Sister Faustina?

 Saint Faustina’s Diary records 14 occasions when Jesus requested that a Feast of Mercy (that we now know as Divine Mercy Sunday) be observed. 


The Lord expressed His will with regard to this feast in His very first revelation to Saint Faustina. The most comprehensive revelation can be found in her Diary entry 699:


"My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. 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. 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. … Let no soul fear to draw near to Me. … 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."
(Diary, entry 699)

Liturgically the Easter Octave has always been centered on the theme of Divine Mercy and forgiveness.  Divine Mercy Sunday, therefore, points us to the merciful love of God that lies behind the whole Paschal Mystery — the whole mystery of the life, Passion, death, and Resurrection of Christ — made present for us in the Eucharist.  In this way, it also sums up the whole Easter Octave. 


As Pope John Paul II pointed out in his Regina Caeli address on Divine Mercy Sunday, 1995: "the whole octave of Easter is like a single day," and the Octave Sunday is meant to be the day of "thanksgiving for the goodness God has shown to man in the whole Easter mystery." 

"As a gift to humanity, which sometimes seems bewildered and overwhelmed by the power of evil, selfishness, and fear, the Risen Lord offers His love that pardons, reconciles, and reopens hearts to love. It is a love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much the world needs to understand and accept Divine Mercy!

Lord, who reveals the Father’s love by Your death and Resurrection, we believe in You and confidently repeat to You today: Jesus, I trust in You, have mercy upon us and upon the whole world."


-Saint Pope John Paul II, Regina caeli message prepared for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 3, 2005

Saint Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska

Sister Faustina was a young, uneducated nun in a convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland during the 1930s.  She came from a poor family that struggled during the years of World War I.  She had only three years of simple education, so hers were the humblest tasks in the convent, usually in the kitchen or garden. 
However, she received extraordinary revelations — or messages — from our Lord Jesus. Jesus asked Sister Faustina to record these experiences, which she compiled into notebooks.  These notebooks are known today as the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, and the words contained within are God's loving message of Divine Mercy.

Though the Divine Mercy message is not new to the teachings of the Church, Sister Faustina's Diary sparked a great movement, and a strong and significant focus on the mercy of Christ.

Saint John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina in 2000, making her the "first saint of the new millennium."  Speaking of Sr. Faustina and the importance of the message contained in her Diary, the Pope called her "the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time."

How did the image of the Divine Mercy come to be?


In 1931, our Lord appeared to Saint Faustina in a vision.  She saw Jesus clothed in a white garment with His right hand raised in blessing.  His left hand was touching His garment in the area of the Heart, from where two large rays came forth, one red and the other pale.  She gazed intently at the Lord in silence, her soul filled with awe, but also with great joy.

Jesus said to her: 

Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: 'Jesus, I trust in You.'  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, 47, 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). 

I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world (Diary, 47). 

At the request of her spiritual director, Saint Faustina asked the Lord about the meaning of the rays in the image.  She heard these words in reply: 
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 depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (Diary, 299). By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works (Diary, 742). 

These words indicate that the Image represents the graces of Divine Mercy poured out upon the world, especially through Baptism and the Eucharist. 

Many different versions of this image have been painted, but our Lord made it clear that the painting itself is not what is important. When Saint Faustina first saw the original image that was being painted under her direction, she wept in disappointment and complained to Jesus: "Who will paint You as beautiful as You are?" (Diary,313). 

In answer, she heard these words: "Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace" (Diary,313). 

So, no matter which version of the image we prefer, we can be assured that it is a vehicle of God’s grace if it is revered with trust in His mercy.



-Marians of the Immaculate Conception

The Origin of the Divine Mercy Chaplet

Among the requests made by Our Lord of Saint Faustina was the Divine Mercy Chaplet:

"My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When hardened sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one.


Write this for the benefit of distressed souls; when a soul sees and realized the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother..."  (Diary, 1541)


The Chaplet was given to Saint Faustina with this promise: 

“Say unceasingly the Chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it, they will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will 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, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy." (Diary, 687)

What is a Chaplet?


A chaplet is a devotional form which uses beads to count out the prayers as they are being prayed. The Marian Rosary is the most famous example.


The Divine Mercy Chaplet uses the rosary beads for this purpose. 


The Divine Mercy Chaplet focuses on Jesus’ Sacrifice and the depth of the Divine Mercy.

“All grace flows from mercy, and the last hour abounds with mercy for us. Let no one doubt concerning the goodness of God; even if a person’s sins were as dark as night, God’s mercy is stronger than our misery. One thing alone is necessary; that the sinner set ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God’s merciful grace, and then God will do the rest.” (Diary, 1507)

How do you pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet?


1.) Optional Opening Prayers:
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls,
and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.



2.)  Repeat the following 3 times:  O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

3.) Pray: the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostles' Creed

4.) For each of the five decades 
(On each “Our Father” bead of the rosary, 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 each of the 10 “Hail Mary” beads, pray)
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

5.)  Concluding prayer (Repeat 3 times)
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

6.) Optional Closing Prayer
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

What does the Divine Mercy prayer mean?


Here are the three main prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet:

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.
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

With all three of these prayers, we are admitting to God that we are all unworthy.  It is only through Jesus’ sacrifice, only through God’s power, only through His Mercy that we can ask for anything. 

Do we offer ourselves?  No, we offer Jesus.

Do we ask for our “sake”?  No, we say “for the sake of His sorrowful Passion”?

 

Through this prayer, we are asking God to grant us our intentions due to His Greatness.

What is the Divine Mercy Novena?


The Divine Mercy Chaplet can be said anytime, but the Lord specifically asked that it be recited as a novena. He promised, "By this Novena (of Chaplets), I will grant every possible grace to souls."

"I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fountain of My mercy, that they may draw therefrom strength and refreshment and whatever grace they have need of in the hardships of life, and especially at the hour of death" (Diary, 1209).

Where is the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy?


The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy is a Catholic shrine located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.


The Catholic priests and and brothers of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary have resided on Eden Hill in Stockbridge, since June 1944. 

Where is the original painting of the Divine Mercy?


The original painting is displayed at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the convent where Saint Faustina was residing when Our Lord appeared to her under this form.

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