This Sunday, we celebrate the feast of the Divine Mercy. And we come to know this feast through St. Faustina Kowalska who had many encounters with Jesus through private revelations while she was a religious sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. And thanks also to her spiritual director and confessor, Fr. Michael Sopocko, because he was the one who encouraged Sr. Faustina to write in her diary all her encounters with the Lord. Had it not been for this diary, we would not know all the details of the messages from Our Lord about the Divine Mercy and how it is to be observed and celebrated.
In the diary of Sr. Faustina, it was written that on February 22nd, 1931, while she was in her cell, Jesus visited her and presented himself as the “King of Divine Mercy”, wearing a white garment with red and pale rays coming from His heart. She was asked to be the apostle and secretary of God’s mercy and instrument for reemphasizing God’s plan of mercy for the world. Then she was asked to paint an image according to the pattern that she saw with the inscription below, “Jesus, I trust in Y ou” and was to be blessed on the first Sunday of Easter. Because she did not know how to paint, she asked around her Plock convent for help but was denied until 1934 when the first painting was done by Eugene Kazimierowski. And on Good Friday, April 19th, 1935, Jesus told her that He wanted the Divine image to be publicly honored. On April 26th, 1935, Fr. Sopocko delivered the very first sermon regarding the Divine Mercy.
In September 1935, Sr. Faustina wrote about her vision of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, used to obtain mercy, trust in Christ's mercy, and to show mercy to others.
During the following year, Faustina attempted to set up a new congregation for Divine Mercy, but was reminded that she was perpetually vowed to her current order and was sent back to Warsaw. She reported that Jesus said to her, "My Daughter, do whatever is within your power to spread devotion to My Divine Mercy. I will make up for what you lack."
In 1936, Faustina fell ill. She moved to the sanatorium in Pradnik, Krakow and continued to spend most of her time in prayer.
In July 1937, the first holy cards with the Divine Mercy image were created and Faustina provided instructions for the Novena of Divine Mercy, which she reported was a message from Jesus. Throughout the rest of 1937, the Divine Mercy image continued to be promoted and grow in popularity.
Faustina's health significantly deteriorated by the end of 1937. Her visions intensified and she was said to be looking forward to the end of her life. On October 5th, 1938, Faustina passed away. She was buried on October 7th and currently rests at the Basilica of Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland.
On April 30th, 2000, St. Pope John Paul II canonized her as a saint and recognized all the messages of the Lord in her diary as authentic and thus officially designated the second Sunday of Easter as the feast of the Divine Mercy.
And this is what we are observing this Sunday with the image of the Divine Mercy being venerated and the chaplet being recited.
The entire message of the Divine Mercy can be summarized into three main points:
A - Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.
B - Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.
C - Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.
Thus, to fittingly observe the Feast of Mercy, we should:
1. Celebrate the Feast on the Sunday after Easter
2. Sincerely repent of all our sins
3. Place our complete trust in Jesus
4. Go to Confession, preferably before that Sunday
5. Receive Holy Communion on the day of the Feast
6. Venerate the Image of The Divine Mercy
7. Be merciful to others, through our actions, words, and prayers on their behalf