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“We should never tire of seeking the Risen Christ who gives life in abundance to those who meet Him. To find Christ means to discover peace of heart. Jesus lives; Love has conquered. May this be our joy as well!” — Pope Francis
FROM YOUR PASTOR
And that brings us to today…Divine Mercy Sunday…and the lifelong impact of the Divine Mercy of Jesus on Pope Saint John Paul II.
In 1980, on the Sunday after the Octave of Easter, Pope John Paul II instituted Divine Mercy Sunday…and it has a profound backstory!
Pope John Paul II spoke on the Divine Mercy of Jesus on November 22, 1981. “I considered this message my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present situation of man, the Church, and the world.”
Val Conlon tells us the story…
“The knowledge of St. Faustina and the revelations bestowed on her coming from Jesus became known to Pope John Paul II early in 1940. It was at the time when he was studying for the priesthood secretly, in a seminary in Krakow. The first he heard of these revelations was from another seminarian, Andrew Deskur, who later became a Cardinal. Andrew told him about Saint Faustina Kowalska and the message of Divine Mercy she claimed she had received from the Lord.”
“It was during the time that she received the messages from Our Lord, that Karol Wojtyla was forcibly working under the Nazi occupation forces in the factory, which was in view of the convent and can still be seen today from the convent cemetery where St. Faustina was first buried. Karol Wojtyla visited the convent frequently, first as a priest and then as a bishop. He went there often to pray and in later years gave retreats there as well. It was Karol Wojtyla, as Archbishop of Krakow, who after St. Faustina’s death, was the first to consider bringing St. Faustina’s name before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for consideration as a figure worthy of being put forward for beatification.”
In his mystical way, he may have foreseen the trials of the new century and millennia. “In one of the most extraordinary homilies of his pontificate, on the Occasion of Her Canonization,” Val Conlon goes on, “Pope John Paul II repeated three times that Saint Faustina is, “God’s gift to our time.” She made the message of Divine Mercy the “bridge to the third millennium.” He then said, “By this act of canonization of Saint Faustina I intend today to pass this message on to the third millennium. I pass it on to all people, so that they will learn to know ever better the true face of God and the true face of their neighbour. In fact, love of God and love of one’s neighbour are inseparable.””
For those who have been praying the Nine Days of the Divine Mercy Novena, what you have experienced are the individuals Jesus indicated to Saint Faustina upon whom He wanted to Shed His Mercy and Open His Heart Of Compassion: all mankind, especially all sinners; the souls of priests and religious; all devout and faithful souls; those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know Jesus; the souls of those who have separated themselves from the Church; the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children; the souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus’ mercy; the souls who are detained in Purgatory; and souls who have become lukewarm.
In June 2002, John Paul II granted indulgences to Catholics who recite specific prayers on Divine Mercy Sunday.
In St. Faustina’s Diary, Jesus tells St. Faustina:
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. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet (699).
The National Shrine of Divine Mercy tell us to do three things on Divine Mercy Sunday with the intention to turn away from sin in your life: Make a Good Confession; Receive Holy Communion; Say a prayer like this: Lord Jesus Christ, You promised St. Faustina that the soul that has been to Confession and the soul that receives Holy Communion will receive the complete forgiveness of all sins and punishment. Please, Lord Jesus Christ, give me this grace.
Everyone can ask for this grace to wipe their slate clean of not only all sin, but all punishment due to sin. Normally, the punishment is not remitted unless one has absolute perfect contrition.
And unlike a plenary indulgence, there is no requirement of having perfect detachment from sin. In other words, as long as we have a desire for this grace and intention to amend our lives, we can be completely cleansed with grace similar to our original Baptism. It is an excellent way to start over in our Spiritual Life!
In these Pandemic Times, I would suggest that we also pray for those affected by the following: Domestic Violence; Child Abuse; Suicide; Clinical Anxiety and Depression; and Random Acts of Violence. Please also Pray for an End to Racism, for Refugees and Immigrants, for the Imprisoned and Enslaved, and for Equity in Healthcare.
GIVE your suffering — Spiritual, Emotional, Psychological, Physical, or Financial — to the Divine Mercy of Jesus…and HE WILL WORK MIRACLES!
“Merciful Jesus, I trust in you”
+May God Bless You and Keep You+
