Divine Mercy

On the Sunday after Easter we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, instituted, at Jesus' request, by Saint Pope John Paul II, who died on the eve of this day, in 2005. In 2001 he spoke of Divine Mercy as, "...the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity...". On April 30, 2000, he had canonised Saint Faustina Kowalska, the Polish Nun to whom Jesus had appeared, asking her to spread devotion to His Mercy, telling her of Mankind's urgent need of Mercy and His great desire, in Love, of forgiving those who repented of their sins. He asked that, at 3 o’clock, the hour of His Death on the Cross, we pray and meditate on His Death. There is even a special prayer for this hour.
 
Saint Faustina, at Christ's request, kept a diary of His appearances and Teachings; He told her, "Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy." (Diary, 300). Great promises were attached to the day itself: “I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My Mercy” (Diary, 1109).

Christ also, as we will readily understand from praying, "....forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...", expects us to show mercy to others.
 
We must, of course, regularly seek God's Mercy in Confession, so increasing (or, indeed, restoring) the Grace we need in order to avoid sin and attain Heaven. Is regular Confession a priority in your life? How about saying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as part of your preparation? Find out more about Divine Mercy HERE, and read what our Holy Father has said to us about it. This November, Month of the Holy Souls, we come to the close of the Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis. Let us ever have before our eyes the beautiful Image of our Merciful Lord, His right hand raised in Blessing, the left indicating the rays issuing from His Pierced Heart, and say the Prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You”. Jesus explained the meaning of these rays as follows: “The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls…” (Diary, 299).  Loving Mercy is continually and freely offered to us. We are in great need of It! How eager are we to repent of our sins and to ask for and accept Divine Mercy?
 
Extracts from Saint Faustina's diary: Used with permission of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.
The image above, entitled Divina Misericordia, was painted by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski in 1934. This is the only painting which was done under the indications of Sister Faustina