What is Divine Mercy Sunday?
“I’ve been a Catholic all my life and
never heard of Divine Mercy. What’s it?” That
question from a 68-year old parishioner was a
challenge for Sam. He was trying to introduce
the devotion to the parish by canvassing some
support to it and eventually decided to explore
the subject more.
In the Catholic Church there are
liturgical celebrations connected with the
Sacraments. Holy Eucharist is the summit of all
these liturgies. Then, the Church has
sacramentals which often bear a semblance to
the sacraments. They often include a prayer, a
specific sign etc. Dedication of a church and
the blessing of a home are examples of
sacramentals. Besides these, there are forms of
piety called devotions among the faithful.
These extend the liturgical life of the church,
but do not replace it. The Rosary, the Stations
of the Cross, pilgrimages etc are devotions;
some of them are public while others are
private in nature. Prudence is required on the
part of the pastors in fostering these devotions
so that they harmonize with the liturgical
seasons and lead people to the knowledge of
the mystery of Christ.
In the early part of the twentieth century
the movement of the Divine Mercy was
initiated by a Polish nun named Faustina
Kowalska in Krakow. It spread soon due to the
sanctity of Sister Faustina who left a Diary of
hers when she died in 1938. The Diary spoke of
innumerable appearances of Jesus to her at
which he asked for the Feast of Divine Mercy
be instituted on the second Sunday of Easter.
The picture of the Divine Mercy portraying
Jesus with the rays of light coming from his
heart signifying His merciful love, is reported
to be from a vision of Jesus to Sr Faustina. The
Chaplet of the Divine Mercy composed by Sr
Faustina herself was to be prayed on the beads
of the Rosary. All these devotions began to
spread after Sr Faustina’s death. In some parts
of the world the second Sunday of Easter began
to be celebrated as the Feast of Divine Mercy.
But these devotions based purely on the private
revelations to Sr Faustina remained at the
private sphere.
In the year 2000 Holy Father Pope John
Paul II canonized Sr Faustina and established
the Sunday after Easter as ‘Divine Mercy
Sunday’ for the universal Church. It changed
the nature of things. The importance of private
revelations to St Faustina was enhanced by her
canonization and, extension of the feast to the
universal church made it spread faster. The
celebration fits in with the liturgical season.
Pope John Paul II said, “In a special way, it is
the Sunday of thanksgiving for all goodness
that God has shown us in the whole Easter
mystery” (April 23, 1995). The devotion
corresponds to the most authentic revelations of
the scriptures. As Christians we extol the mercy
of God and ask for His mercy for us. St
Faustina prayed the prayer which Jesus himself
had taught her: “Jesus, I trust in you.” We trust
in him since we know that he is our savior. The
mercy of God passes through the Sacred Heart
of Jesus and reaches every one of us.
According to the revelations to St
Faustina, participation in the Holy Mass,
reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation
and Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday are
means to obtain full remission of sins.
Recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet and
veneration of the image of Divine Mercy are
components of this devotion. It is also
prescribed to have a novena in preparation for
the feast, starting on Good Friday.
Greater knowledge of the devotion put
Sam in a better position to work for the spread
of the devotion and he began reading the Diary
of St Faustina, which fascinated him. At the
Divine Mercy Sunday celebration, he read the
Psalm 118, the antiphon of which became his
daily prayer. “Give thanks to the Lord for he is
good for his mercy endures forever.”
Fr Xavier Thelakkatt