Divine Mercy Sunday
"God heals us with an abundance of grace, mercy , and tenderness"
Pope Francis
The Sunday after Easter is the final day in the Octave of Easter. Since 2000, it is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday.
The Divine Mercy devotion originates in a series of apparitions in the 1930s, in which St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated religious sister in Poland, recorded that Jesus appeared to her.
St. Faustina said that during the apparitions, which were later approved by the Church as worthy of belief, Jesus asked her to spread the message of his great mercy toward the world.
The message St. Faustina received from Jesus is recounted in “The Diary of Saint Faustina.” The central message is that Jesus desires to grant his great mercy to souls. He wants people to trust in his mercy, to ask for it, and to allow themselves to be vessels of his mercy for others.
Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina on April 30, 2000. That same day, he also instituted Divine Mercy Sunday as a feast for the universal Church.
This weekend, Resurrection will pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet before every Mass. Your Church of the Home can continue celebrating Divine Mercy in various ways. Here are a few simple ways to celebrate from beaheart.com:
DRESS IN DIVINE MERCY COLORS
Wear red, pale blue, or white to represent the rays in the Divine Mercy image.
In St. Faustina’s Diary, she writes that Jesus said to her, “The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls” (Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska 299).
MEDITATE ON THE DIVINE MERCY IMAGE
Make the Divine Mercy image a centerpiece on your dining table or home altar.
"I promise that the soul that will venerate this image (of Divine Mercy) will not perish. I also promise victory over (its) enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory.” (Diary, 48)
MAKE DIVINE MERCY-INSPIRED OR POLISH FOOD
Divine Mercy Sundae
Ingredients:
Vanilla ice cream
Blue Sprinkles or Blueberries
Strawberry Sauce or Strawberry jam
Strawberry on top
Or decorate heart shaped sugar cookies with red, pale blue, and white.
Make a Polish meal in honor of St. Faustina and Pope St. John Paul II (the pope who canonized her!). Homemade Pierogi, Bigos, or Galumpkis would all make delicious dinners! A simple side dish or snack that could be whipped up quick are Polish potato pancakes (Placki)
MEDITATE WITH SONGS ABOUT GOD’S MERCY AND TRUSTING IN HIM
Top Picks
Trust In You by Lauren Daigle Loved By You by Travis Greene Mercy’s Shore by NEEDTOBREATHE Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus by Page CXVI Trust In You by Antoine Bradford Adonai by Chris Reczema Mercy by Bethel Music
Listen to a curated Spotify playlist called “Divine Mercy Sunday."
SET AN ALARM TO PRAY AT 3PM Whether it’s 15 mins or shorter (or longer!) “At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony…I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion.” (Diary, 1320; also, cf. Diary, 1572)
SHOW SOMEONE MERCY IN YOUR LIFE
Spend 5 mins reflecting on something you are holding a bitterness towards in your heart.
Have you hurt someone lately?
Has someone hurt YOU lately?
Think of ways you can show them mercy today.
Reach out to say you’re sorry.
Sometimes wounds are very deep and cannot be resolved simply. Maybe say a prayer for them and for yourself to be on the path towards forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing.
"My daughter, look into My Merciful Heart and reflect its compassion in your own heart, and in your deeds, so that you who proclaim My mercy to the world may yourself be aflame with it." (Diary, 1688)
REFLECT ON THE PROMISES MADE BY GOD TO ST. FAUSTINA
Our Favorites 1. The graces of My mercy are drawn by the means of one vessel only, and that is trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. (1578) 2. “Souls who spread the honor of My mercy…at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior.” (Diary, 1075) 3. “My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world.” (Diary, 1485) 4. “The souls that say this chaplet will be embraced by My mercy during their lifetime and especially at the hour of their death.” (Diary, 754)
Read all of The Promises of God’s Mercy here.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help
Divine Mercy Event
The Face of Mercy Documentary
Since his election to the papacy, Pope Francis has inspired millions by urging us to embrace Mercy, ultimately revealed in the face of Christ. Now comes an extraordinary new film on this powerful message that brings hope, healing and forgiveness to a broken world. Narrated by Jim Caviezel, The Face of Mercy explores the history and relevance of Divine Mercy in our turbulent times. Watch its story unfold, from an unpretentious Polish nun who experienced powerful visions of a merciful God, to her countryman Pope John Paul II who propelled the message of Divine Mercy onto the world stage, and now the "Year of Mercy" bestowed upon the Church by Pope Francis. Filmed in stunning 4K and seamlessly weaving together theology, and history with modern testimonials and visual effects, this stirring film creates a remarkable tapestry of what constitutes the face of mercy in our modern world.
Meet the woman who found freedom in forgiveness after seeing her family wiped out by genocide; the former-NFL linebacker who walked away from football to share Christ's mercy with the homeless; the baseball player who traded MLB ambitions for the monastery; the priest with a drug-dealing past, and the young widow who chose mercy towards her husband's killer. These moving testimonies will remind us all that Divine Mercy is not just a devotion of the past or some abstract theology - it is alive, it is present, and it will transform the world.
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Join us for Mass this weekend in person at 4:00 PM on Saturday, 8:30 or 10:30 AM on Sunday, on www.gbres.org/live, our YouTube channel, and our Facebook page.
READINGS FOR THIS WEEKEND’S MASSES
VIRTUALLY SUNDAY REFLECTION
Finding Blessings In Our Brokenness
Join Steve as he reflects on this Sunday's Scripture.
Find Christ in the beautiful messes of our lives.
Embrace the glory that we find when we learn to walk through the struggles of life.
Families
This Weekend's Bulletin
(click to read)
Recent Loss in Our Parish Family.
Announcements
Humor
What did the funny baby chick dream she'd become?
A famous comedi-hen!
Ruby and Res
Just too cute for words!
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