CATHOLICS SHOULDN'T IGNORE THE GRACE OF DIVINE MERCY
No Catholic should miss the great graces we receive on the Feast of Mercy
8th April 2018 - Divine Mercy Sunday
Our late great pope, now St. John Paul II at the canonisation of Saint Maria Faustina in Rome in April 2000 said, 'that by this act today I pass on the message of Divine Mercy to the new Millennium. I pass it on because I want people to know the better face of God and that of his Divine Mercy'.
In St. Peters square on Divine Mercy Sunday (22nd April 2001) John Paul II declared it as an official feast day for the first time. This approval was given to the Church on the 5th May 2000 in the form of a decree. As an official feast day it is a public feast with the approval of three Vatican congregations. Yet people still turn a deaf ear to this great feast day and the wonderful grace we can receive only on this day that any punishment our past sins may have incurred are completely wiped away. I have heard some say that the Church has always been about devotion to the Mercy of God, so why do we need a new devotion?
In todays world it is very clear that mankind has failed to listen to God and many have turned there back on God. The whole world is on the precipice of Divine intervention and Divine chastisement. This is obviously why Jesus is urgently appealing to us in a new way and has given us an extraordinary message revealed through St. Faustina with extraordinary promises attached to help attract modern man back to their faith and back to the Father.
On this Feast of Mercy we receive the Spirit of Divine Mercy
It is this Spirit of Divine Mercy that will heal the wounds of the human heart. The Spirit of Divine Mercy will pull down the barriers that separate us from God and will dispel the distrust that separates us from each other. The Spirit of Divine Mercy restores the Fathers love for us and our love for the Father. It amazes me that some priests still maintain that the Feast of Divine Mercy should not take place within the Octave of Easter, their opinion being that Divine Mercy devotions are still just private devotions which conflict with the Churches liturgy during the Easter Octave, but this is an opinion that does not understand the actual status of the feast of Divine Mercy and its message. Since the canonization of Saint Faustina this feast day is no longer just a private devotion but a public feast day that has been formally established by the Vatican through John Paul II.
Jesus chose this day the first Sunday after Easter because it is already a day of celebration of his Divine Mercy and therefore does not conflict with the liturgy of the day (read here Feast after Easter?) , and the scripture lessons on this day centre on Gods Divine Mercy, The Gospel for the day is of Jesus appearing in the upper room and bestowing authority to forgive sins. The Responsorial Psalm is 118 , and sings of the Mercy of God enduring forever.
In the writings of Saint Augustine (read theology of the feast) we can see in the early Church the Sunday after Easter was held as a great feast day in celebration of the Merciful Love of God. In fact it could be said that Divine Mercy Sunday is not a new feast that conflicts with Easter but is the renewal of an ancient feast day of the Church that celebrates Gods Mercy as the image of Divine Mercy displays a Risen Christ bringing everlasting life to all Mankind, which is Divine Mercy initself.
When we go to confession and communion on this feast day we not only receive forgiveness for all our sins as usual in confession (Download Confession Guide) , but we receive the grace of Divine Mercy which is the cancelling of all the punishment those sins may have incurred to satisfy the Divine justice. This great indulgence is only available one day a year - Divine Mercy Sunday – Please don't miss it! (See the details of our celebration of this feast day in Cardiff, Wales on our events page ).
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Our Lord told Sister Faustina 'At the hour of death I defend anyone who says this Chaplet and for anyone who is near to death for who this chaplet is being offered I will defend as my own glory'.
Jesus said to Sr. Faustina: 'Unceasingly recite this chaplet I have taught you, whosoever will recite it will receive Great Mercy at the hour of death. By means of it you can ask and obtain anything, if what you ask for is compatible to My Will. I want the whole world to know my infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy'. (Diary entry 687).
'Whoever says this chaplet I will guard through their life like a mother guards her infant and at the hour of their death I will not be the just judge for them but the merciful saviour'. My friends be active in works of love, forgiveness, mercy and a daily prayerful life. Only through the Christian life can this momentum of evil throughout the world today be brought to a halt. Repeat daily as many times as you can Jesus I Trust in You - Take Care of Everything.
SEND US YOUR PRAYER REQUESTS here and our Divine Mercy prayer groups will pray for your intentions.
By Philip Illsley





