The universal church always has recognized that the almighty triune God — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit — is merciful. Our risen Lord Jesus Christ, during the 1930s, shared with Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament Kowalska (1905-38), a Polish nun, his message of merciful love. St. Faustina’s work, “Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul” is readily available and remains excellent spiritual reading. She was beatified April 18, 1993, and canonized April 30, 2000, (the first saint to be canonized in the third Christian millennium) by Pope John Paul II, who, on that very day of her canonization, extended the feast of Divine Mercy to the universal church. The feast of St. Faustina is Oct. 5.
How each of us is in need of Christ’s mercy. Let us avail ourselves of it by praying daily, receiving the sacraments worthily and often, having regular recourse to Our Lady and performing genuine acts of charity and self-denial.
The sacred image of Divine Mercy, which displays the blood and the water gushing from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is a treasure that we should venerate in our parishes and homes. And, as so many of the saints have urged, let us never forget to consider prayerfully the passion of Jesus Christ daily at 3 p.m. — “The hour of great mercy.”
Jesus requested that the feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a novena that begins on Good Friday. Our Lord told Sister Faustina that on the feast of Divine Mercy, “The soul that will go to confession and receive holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” (Diary, 699) Confession may be made shortly before, on or after the feast. Again, our Messiah said: “I want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to confession and receive holy Communion on the feast of My mercy.” (Diary, 1109) Imagine “complete forgiveness” of our sins and the temporal punishment due to them.
During the novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is offered daily as well as the novena to the Divine Mercy (Diary, 1209-29) for each day’s special intention.
Good Friday — All mankind, especially all sinners
Holy Saturday — The souls of priests and religious
Easter Sunday — All devout and faithful souls
Easter Monday — Those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know me
Easter Tuesday — The souls of those who have separated themselves from my church
Easter Wednesday — The meek and humble souls and the souls of little children
Easter Thursday — The souls who especially venerate and glorify my mercy
Easter Friday — The souls who are in the prison of purgatory
Easter Saturday — The souls who have become lukewarm
God loves us. Let us receive his infinite mercy as never before and radiate it to all. May we never refuse to accept and diffuse his Divine Mercy.
In these days of horrible degradation of the human person in Ukraine and the continuing disrespect for innocent human life in the womb as seen in the finding of the remains of 115 aborted babies in Washington, we need to implore God, as we pray in the Divine Mercy Chaplet, to “have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Our risen Lord Jesus Christ, who is Divine Mercy, have mercy on us. Our Lady, who is the Mother of Divine Mercy and the joyful Queen of Heaven who stood faithfully at the cross, pray for us. St. Joseph, the foster father of Divine Mercy, pray for us. St. Maria Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy, pray for us. St. John Paul II, the pastor of Divine Mercy, pray for us.
Msgr. Mangan is on the faculty of Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.
Corpus Christi