| 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 Sr. Faustina on 30 April 2000. In a decree dated 23 May 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 St. Faustina.
Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said:
Whoever approaches the
Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins
and punishment. (Diary 300)
I want the image solemnly
blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated
publicly so that every soul may know about it. (Diary 341)
This Feast emerged from
the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of
my tender mercies. (Diary 420)
On one occasion, I heard
these words: 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.*
[our emphasis] On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace
flow are opened. 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 forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul
in its relation to Me will I 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. (Diary
699)
Yes, the first Sunday
after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy,
which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors
always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve
yourself from it. (Diary 742)
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)
As you can see the Lord's desire for the
Feast includes the solemn, public veneration of the Image of Divine
Mercy by the Church, as well as personal acts of veneration and mercy.
The great promise for the individual soul is that a devotional act of sacramental
penance and Communion will obtain for that soul the plenitude of the divine
mercy on the Feast.
*The Cardinal of Krakow, Cardinal Macharski,
whose diocese is the center of the spread of the devotion and the sponsor
of the Cause of Sr. Faustina, has written that we should use Lent as preparation
for the Feast and confess even before Holy Week! So, it is clear that the
confessional requirement does not have to be met on the Feast itself. That
would be an impossible burden for the clergy if it did. The Communion requirement
is easily met that day, however, since it is a day of obligation, being
Sunday. We would only need confession again, if received earlier in Lenten
or Easter Season, if we were in the state of mortal sin on the Feast.
Diary, Saint Maria
Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul (c) 1987 Congregation of Marians
of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge, MA 01263. All rights reserved.
Used with permission.
For More Information:
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Divine
Mercy - official U.S. web site
by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception
home of the National Shrine of the Divine
Mercy
Stockbridge, Massachusetts |
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The
Divine Mercy Devotion - from the EWTN web site |
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| St.
Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) said: |
"I
feel certain that my mission will not come to an end upon my death, but
will begin.
O doubting souls,
I will draw aside for you
the veils of heaven to convince you of God's goodness."
(from her Diary, page 281) |
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