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Good Friday
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Divine Mercy Sunday
Our Lord's Mercy
grants forgiveness of all sins and punishment on Feast of Divine Mercy, Mercy
Sunday, mercy for even the most hardened sinners! (Divine Mercy
Sunday)
During the course
of Jesus' revelations to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy He asked on
numerous occasions that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and that
this feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. The liturgical texts of
that day, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of the Sacrament of
Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and are thus already suited to the
request of Our Lord. This Feast, which had already been granted to the nation
of Poland and been celebrated within Vatican City, was granted to the Universal
Church by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the canonization of Sr. Faustina
on 30 April 2000. In a decree dated 23 May 2000, the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stated that "throughout the
world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a
perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine
benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience in the
years to come." These papal acts represent the highest endorsement that
the Church can give to a private revelation, an act of papal
infallibility proclaiming the certain sanctity of the mystic, and the granting
of a universal feast, as requested by Our Lord to St. Faustina.
Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said:
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Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this
day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary
300) I want the image solemnly blessed
on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so
that every soul may know about it. (Diary 341) This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy,
and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary
420) 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.* [our emphasis] 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. My mercy is so great that no mind,
be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.
Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender
mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy
throughout eternity. 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 699) Yes, the first
Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of
mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our
neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to
absolve yourself from it. (Diary 742) I
want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and
receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. (Diary 1109) |
As you can see
the Lord's desire for the Feast includes the solemn, public veneration of
the Image of Divine Mercy by the Church, as well as personal acts of veneration
and mercy. The great promise for the individual soul is that a devotional act
of sacramental penance and Communion will obtain for that soul the plenitude of
the divine mercy on the Feast.
*The Cardinal of Krakow, Cardinal
Macharski, whose diocese is the center of the spread of the devotion and the
sponsor of the Cause of Sr. Faustina, has written that we should use Lent as
preparation for the Feast and confess even before Holy Week! So, it is clear
that the confessional requirement does not have to be met on the Feast itself.
That would be an impossible burden for the clergy if it did. The Communion
requirement is easily met that day, however, since it is a day of obligation,
being Sunday. We would only need confession again, if received earlier in
Lenten or Easter Season, if we were in the state of mortal sin on the Feast.
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/feast.htm
How to celebrate Mercy Sunday leaflet
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