Sunday, April 11, is the Feast of Divine Mercy. This feast represents the most important form of devotion to Divine Mercy among all those revealed by Jesus to Saint Faustina, a Polish nun and apostle of Divine Mercy who had numerous visions of the risen Jesus between the First and Second World Wars.
WHERE WAS THIS FEAST CELEBRATED FOR THE FIRST TIME?
From the pages of the Diary, we know that Sister Faustina Kowalska was the first to celebrate this feast individually, with the permission of her confessor. Devotion to Divine Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter was already present in 1944 at the sanctuary in Kraków-Lagiewniki.
Cardinal Franciszek Macharski introduced the feast in the Archdiocese of Kraków through the Pastoral Letter for Lent in 1985 and, following his example, bishops in other Polish dioceses did the same in the following years.
At the request of the Polish Episcopate, the Holy Father John Paul II introduced this feast in all Polish dioceses in 1995.
On the day of Sister Faustina's canonization, April 30, 2000, the Pope extended the feast to the entire Church.
WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF THE FEAST?
On February 22, 1931, Jesus conveyed to Saint Faustina Kowalska his desire for a Feast of Mercy to be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, asking her to announce the extraordinary graces he would grant. He appeared to her in a white garment, with his right hand raised in blessing and his left resting on his chest, from which two large rays emerged, one red and the other pale.
Jesus instructed her to paint an image according to that model and include the inscription: “Jesus, I trust in You.” He also told her: “I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want the image, which you will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; this Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy” (Diary 49). On that same day, the Lord made her a solemn promise: “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already on this earth, but particularly at the hour of death. I Myself shall defend it as My own glory.”
After February 22, 1931, as proof of the importance of the Feast of Divine Mercy in the plan of salvation, Jesus reminded the Saint of his request in 14 other apparitions, each time providing new elements: precisely defining the feast's date in the Church's liturgical calendar, the reason and purpose of its institution, how to prepare for and celebrate it, as well as the graces associated with it.
In this way, Jesus develops an educational path that grows progressively, proposing a devotion in which prayer, word, and action become inseparably connected realities.
WHY WAS THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER CHOSEN?
The choice of the first Sunday after Easter indicates the close link between the Paschal Mystery and the Feast of Mercy. In his encyclical Dives in Misericordia, John Paul II writes: “The Paschal Mystery is the culmination of this revelation and enactment of mercy” (no. 7). The Resurrection of Christ is the “sign that crowns the entire revelation of merciful love in the world subject to evil (no. 8).” Sister Faustina wrote in her Diary: “Now I see that the work of Redemption is connected with the work of Mercy requested by the Lord.” This bond is made even more evident by the novena preceding the feast, which begins on Good Friday. Jesus said: “Souls perish, in spite of My bitter Passion,” because of their rejection of divine Love. Through the Feast of Mercy, he wished to offer another great possibility of salvation. “Mercy: it is the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us” (Pope Francis). Divine Mercy is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity. The Son's Passover is therefore the full revelation of the Father's mercy, testified to by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into people's hearts (Rom 5:5).
Sister Faustina Kowalska saw, in fact, two rays of light emerging from Christ's heart and illuminating the world: “The two rays,” Jesus himself explained to her one day, “represent the blood and the water.” It then becomes clear that the pierced heart of Jesus is the great historical sign of the Trinity's merciful love for sinful humanity, given by God to human beings at the very moment of the redemptive event.
WHAT DOES THE FEAST OF DIVINE MERCY CONSIST OF?
Regarding how to celebrate the feast, Jesus expressed two wishes:
– that the image of Mercy be solemnly blessed and publicly, that is, liturgically, venerated on that day;
– that priests speak to souls about this great and unfathomable divine mercy and thereby awaken trust in the faithful. “No soul will find justification until it turns with confidence to My Mercy and therefore the first Sunday after Easter is to be the Feast of Mercy, and on that day priests are to speak to souls about My great and unfathomable Mercy” (Diary 570).
The importance of this feast is measured by the extraordinary promises Jesus attached to it.
“On that day, anyone who approaches the Source of Life will receive complete remission of sins and punishment” (Diary 300). And he added: “On that day the depths of My Mercy are open; I pour out an entire ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Source of My Mercy. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet” (Diary 699).
To obtain these great gifts, one must fulfill the conditions of devotion to Divine Mercy (trust in God's goodness and active charity toward one's neighbor), be in a state of grace (by going to Confession on the days before the Feast or on the day itself), and receive Holy Communion worthily.
It is therefore a day on which the faithful can hope for very rich spiritual fruits.
In Saint Faustina's Diary, we read these words of Jesus: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the depths of My Mercy are open; I pour out an entire ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Source of My Mercy. The soul that approaches Confession and Holy Communion receives complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the channels through which divine graces 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, neither angelic nor human, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity, despite making every effort. Everything that exists has emerged from the depths of My Mercy. Every soul will reflect throughout eternity on My love and My Mercy toward it. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths; I desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Humanity will not find peace until it turns to the Source of My Mercy” (Diary 699).
These words take on particular weight and meaning in this time of anxiety, anguish, unrest, and uncertainty about the future because of the pandemic.
HOW DOES ONE OBTAIN A PLENARY INDULGENCE ON THE FEAST OF MERCY?
On June 29, 2002, the Apostolic Penitentiary promulgated the decree granting a plenary indulgence on the occasion of the Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday:
A plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or oratory, with their hearts completely detached from affection for any sin, even venial sin, participate in devotions held in honor of Divine Mercy, or at least recite, in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, publicly exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout invocation to the merciful Lord Jesus (for example, “Merciful Jesus, I trust in You”).
May your journey be blessed, and may you have a happy Feast of Divine Mercy.
