Divine Mercy Sunday
“My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners…[I]t is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy. For them I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy” (Diary, 367).
11:30 am Mass celebrated by Bishop Schlert
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Exposition of Blessed Sacrament
2:40 pm – Short Reflection from Bishop Schlert
3:00 pm – Divine Mercy Chaplet
3:20 pm – Benediction
Divine Mercy Sunday celebrates God’s loving mercy toward all people. It falls on the Sunday after Easter, also known as the Octave of Easter, and is based on the visions of and conversations with Jesus reported by St. Faustina, who was a Polish nun in the early Twentieth Century.
In her Diary, St. Faustina records a special promise given to her by Jesus. He told her to communicate it to the whole world:
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. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy (699).
Jesus promised to St. Faustina an extraordinary gift for all humanity on the Feast of Divine Mercy:
Complete forgiveness of sin and punishment due to sin. He simply asks Catholics to receive the Sacrament of Confession and the Holy Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday. (Diary, 1109, 300, 699). This grace is equivalent to a second Baptism! So much does Jesus desire union with every person, that He invites us to encounter Him in the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion.
To receive the special grace of the day, one should receive Holy Communion worthily on Divine Mercy Sunday (or the Vigil celebration) by making a good confession beforehand, remaining in the “state of grace” and trusting in His Divine Mercy.
Through the words to St. Faustina, Jesus also asks for acts of mercy and service (Diary, 742, 1578).
Learn More:
- For those who cannot go to church and the seriously ill.
- The Divine Mercy Chaplet opens with two prayers from St. Faustina’s Diary. For a how-to guide on praying along with the Divine Mercy Chaplet, click here.
