Dear Parishioners,
Only last week, we concluded our Easter Triduum with the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection. Yet almost immediately we begin to hear talk about Divine Mercy Sunday. Is it an accident that Divine Mercy is so close to our celebration of the resurrection of our Lord? Probably not.
We experienced the first and most profound Divine Mercy on Good Friday when Jesus cried out as He hung in agony on the cross, “Father Forgive them For they Know Not What They Do.” In a sense, this was the first and greatest Divine Mercy because despite being scorned and rejected by the very people He loved, Jesus’s only desire was to forgive us.
Thousands of years later, Jesus is again calling out to us with the same message. This time, Sister Faustina Kowalska became the means by which we are reminded of the intense desire Jesus has to forgive us.
St. Faustina of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, was miraculously visited by Jesus in the 1930’s and asked to carry His wish to all who would listen. Sister Faustina recorded these words spoken by Jesus, in her diary:
“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. The graces of My mercy are drawn by the means of one vessel only, and that is –- trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive.”
She was asked to portray the image which is now forever engraved in our minds, of Jesus pointing to His heart which is gushing forth with blood and water and beckoning us to receive His mercy.
Catholics around the world celebrate Divine Mercy in many ways. Many recite the Divine Mercy chaplet for nine consecutive days beginning on Good Friday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday. Special masses are celebrated on Divine Mercy Sunday (April 24, 2022) followed by reciting the Divine Mercy chaplet and partaking in the sacrament of confession. But the message of Divine Mercy Sunday is as powerful today as it was 2000 years ago when our Lord used His ounce of energy to ask His Father to forgive us. We only have to listen to Him and believe. Jesus I trust in you.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Lito