In paragraph 965 of her Diary, Jesus said to St. Faustina:
Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity. Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice is near.
Now that Lent is over, and the Easter season has begun, we can look back and reflect. What did we want to “get” out of Lent? A deeper prayer life? A stronger faith? Freedom from some pattern of sin? These are all noble goals, and the disciplines of Lent—prayer, fasting and almsgiving—will certainly help us achieve them.
Lent ends with the commemoration of the supreme sacrifice Jesus made for us starting in the Garden of Gethsemane and ending on the Cross at Calvary. After Holy Saturday and our vigil at the Tomb, the Holy Triduum ends with the great Easter Vigil amidst rousing tintinnabulation and the foremost Alleluias of the liturgical year. Christ is Risen!
Nothing can top this celebration, but as Our Lord’s generosity knows no bounds, the following Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy. Like an exclamation point on the 50-day feast of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday reminds us in a special way that Jesus’ saving work for us on the Cross is personal. It is for each one of us. Our need for His salvific work is absolute, and Jesus has absolutely provided for all.
We have walked the desert road of Lent with Jesus. We have remained with Him through the events of Holy Week and especially the Triduum. We have rejoiced on Easter Sunday that Jesus’ saving sacrifice is a once-and-for-all work that has undone the bonds that chained us, if we so choose to enter into those graces. Now Divine Mercy will flow to the deepest recesses of our souls if we avail ourselves of the graces by celebrating the Feast as Jesus described to St. Faustina.
Perhaps you have celebrated the Feast in prior years, but it has been a while. Perhaps you never miss it. Perhaps you have never celebrated it in your life. It doesn’t matter. This year, now, is the moment to open yourself up to the graces Jesus has for you, the ones only He knows that you need, through the font of mercy that is the celebration of this Feast.
Our world is in a very perilous position, fighting a “piecemeal World War III” as the late Pope Francis once said. The darkness seems to grow deeper with each passing day. No one knows the exact timeline of Jesus’ words to St. Faustina, “the day of My justice is near.” But the incalculable graces of Divine Mercy Sunday (April 12th this year) put that growing darkness in eternal perspective.
On one occasion, I heard these words: 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. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.
The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet…The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary of St. Faustina, Paragraph 699)
The simple requirements to obtain these incalculable graces are:
- Making a sincere confession between 8 days prior and 8 days after the Feast
- Going to Mass on the Feast
- Receiving Holy Communion in the state of grace
- Trusting in Jesus’ mercy
- Publicly venerating the Divine Mercy Image on the Feast
The fruits of satisfying these requirements are explained by Jesus in St. Faustina’s Diary:
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. (Paragraph 1109)
Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Paragraph 300)
The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Paragraph 699)
These graces, truly “unmerited favors,” go far beyond a plenary indulgence, and yet they are readily available. To not avail ourselves of them borders on foolishness. And at this perilous time in world history, not allowing these graces to flow into humanity through us goes beyond those borders of foolishness into the realm of selfishness. We pray for peace, for mercy, for grace to change our world. It’s high time we do our part with a trusting dive in this annual font of mercy.
Praying for peace in your heart? Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Praying for peace in your family? Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Praying for peace in the world? Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday! It isn’t a matter of whether we need grace and mercy; we all need it. It’s a matter of moving ourselves into the flow at the right time, and the time of Mercy is NOW.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep [Gate] a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” (John 5:2-7)
We have no such excuse. Every year the font is open, the pool is full, the waters are stirred up. Jesus desires to heal us and all humanity in ways we don’t even know we need healing. This Divine Mercy Sunday dive into Jesus’ mercy and grace for yourself, for those around you, and for the world. Dive in out of love for the heart of our beloved Lord who longs to pour mercy and grace upon poor, ailing humankind.
We don’t know when the Time of Mercy will be over. This year may be all we have. Let’s make the most of it.
Photo by Harshit Mahabale on Unsplash
Image from Wikimedia Commons
