Have Mercy On Us: Divine Mercy Sunday
(Wikimedia Commons Photo)
By: Joanne Manfred Bovey with Dan Shier
(Scroll to bottom to see various Divine Mercy Devotion times at different parishes.)
February 22, 1932, Sister Faustina, of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, received a vision of the Lord Jesus who told her to have an image painted of Himself with a red ray and a white ray coming from His heart. He showed her what He wanted and asked that the words “Jesus, I trust in You” be placed at the feet of His image. This was finally done in 1934. Sister Faustina was sad because the image did not capture the beauty of God. She had many mystical experiences and in 1937, at the Lord’s request, a pamphlet with the Divine Mercy Novena was finally published in Poland.
Jesus made promises (recorded in the book: Divine Mercy in my Soul, by St. Faustina) to those who participate in the Novena. One was, “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 flows are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity … 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.” (#699)
World Wars I and II are but bad memories that our young learn about in school. They also learn about subsequent wars/conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As if those conflicts, and more, are not enough, we now face a war on the unborn in a world approving, indeed promoting, abortion. New figures from the National Right to Life Committee show that almost 64.5 million babies have been killed by abortion since the Supreme Court legalized it in Roe v. Wade in 1973(1). More humans have died by medically unnecessary abortion than in military conflict! Is there any doubt that we need help? Is there any doubt that we need God’s mercy?
The first saint canonized in the 21st Century was Sister Faustina Kowalska. As happens with many saints, her first conversations with heaven were doubted and heavily scrutinized. It took a while for her to be taken seriously. Sister Faustina passed away in 1938. In 1965, the Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, Karol Wojtyla, later to become Pope Saint John Paul II, opened the investigations into the Sister’s life and virtue. She was beatified by him on April 18, 1993 and canonized on April 30, 2000. Divine Mercy – the first Sunday after Easter – then became an official feast day to be celebrated every year since her canonization. Jesus asked her to promote the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. He promised great graces for those who participate.
When you confess your sins, your soul is cleansed. You may then participate in the Eucharist – Holy Communion. But there is something else that some overlook. We like to explain it this way: If you bat a baseball through the neighbor’s window and apologize for it, the neighbor often says, “I forgive you.” But there is usually a condition – you have to pay for the window! In confession, you are also forgiven, but you have to pay for your sins. We do this through prayers, acts of kindness, or other modes of penance and restitution. How about Divine Mercy?
Participation in the Divine Mercy Chaplet removes the punishment resulting from sin. St. Faustina’s book, Divine Mercy in My Soul, also explains the Chaplet’s blessings at other times: “Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and dying person, not as the just Judge, but as the merciful Savior.” (#1541) Wow!
After traveling to Idaho and to the Spokane Valley in the 1990’s to participate in the Divine Mercy Novena, Rose Mary Simpson and I decided it was time to bring this beautiful novena closer to home, to our Parish, St. Anthony (corner of West Montgomery Avenue and North Cedar Street) in Spokane. So in 2002 with the permission of our Pastor, Fr. Eugene Tracy, we launched our first Divine Mercy Novena, and have been hosting it ever since with the blessing of later Pastors, Fr. Jo Hien, Fr. Jose Millan, and Fr. Brian Sattler. This year will mark our 21st year. The Novena begins on Good Friday and concludes on the first Sunday after Easter. Year after year the feast is met with great enthusiasm. Why? Because the world needs God’s mercy!
What is involved the Divine Mercy Sunday? After praying the daily prayers of the Chaplet, starting on Good Friday, the culmination of the Novena happens on Divine Mercy Sunday with confession and Holy Communion. We at St. Anthony Catholic Parish in Spokane, invite you to join us on Sunday, April 16th this year, after the final Mass of the day. We will begin with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 12:45 PM and the Vietnamese will lead the Rosary beginning with the Joyful Mysteries. The Mysteries of Light and the Glorious Mysteries will follow in English. Confessions will be heard by multiple priests during the Rosaries. The celebration will conclude with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Benediction at 2:00 PM. If you complete the Novena and Divine Mercy rituals, your soul will be truly clean!
Pamphlets for the Novena will be in the back of the church, free for the taking. Again, the Novena begins on Good Friday and concludes on April 16, 2023, with Divine Mercy Sunday. While this article specifically invites all to join us at St. Anthony Parish, other parishes around the Diocese also promote this Novena. We hope you will participate.
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There will also be other events happening around the diocese to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday:
Divine Mercy Sunday - St. Francis Assisi, Spokane
Divine Mercy Sunday - St. Mary, Spokane Valley
Divine Mercy Sunday - St. Anthony, Spokane
Divine Mercy Sunday - St. Thomas More, Spokane
Divine Mercy Sunday - St. Paschal, Spokane Valley
