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CHURCH SOCIAL TIPS
This April marks the 20th anniversary of the proclamation by Pope John Paul II of the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. The pope’s declaration coincided with his canonization of Polish saint St. Faustina Kowalska. Her visions of Jesus inspired the image and have become synonymous with devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus under the title Divine Mercy.
Jesus appeared to St. Faustina with his right hand raised in a blessing and his left touching his garment above his heart. Red and white rays emanate from his heart, symbolizing the blood and water poured out for our salvation. The Lord requested that “Jesus, I trust in You” be inscribed under his image. He asked that his image be painted and venerated throughout the world.
The celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday offers us an opportunity to reflect on the power of God’s mercy to overcome sin. As the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship states, Divine Mercy Sunday is “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.”
Here are three things you can do to invoke the mercy of our Lord when facing life’s challenges.
Venerate the image
In this time when so many are suffering, appeals for mercy from our Lord are fitting. Leaning on our Catholic prayer practices to provide consolation and healing during the COVID-19 pandemic is the perfect antidote. St. Faustina wrote in her diary that the Lord Jesus told her, “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish” and “By means of this image I will grant many graces to souls.”
Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Here is how you pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:
“You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.”
(Repeat three times) “O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!”
Recite the Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostle’s Creed.
On each “Our Father” bead of the rosary, pray: “Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”
On each of the 10 “Hail Mary” beads, pray: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Recite this concluding prayer three times: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Holy hour on Divine Mercy
Spend an hour in quiet reflection, virtual adoration or benediction with the intention of God pouring out his mercy on the entire world. This practice is traditionally done at 3 p.m., deemed an hour of “great mercy.” With so many families, friends, healthcare workers and first responders impacted by the suffering associated with the coronavirus, let us pray for his mercy especially for them.
“Lord, who reveals the Father’s love by your death and resurrection, we believe in you and confidently repeat to you today: ‘Jesus, I trust in You, have mercy upon us and upon the whole world.’” (St. John Paul II, “Regina Caeli” message for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 3, 2005)
