Pope Francis Daily

         THE FEAST OF JESUS’ MERCY

The World was in the midst of the Great Depression in 1931 and the memories of World War I were still very much alive in the minds of Europeans in 1933, when a Polish nun, Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) in Poland was said to be personally visited by Jesus who presented himself as the “King of Divine Mercy” wearing a white garment with red and white rays coming from his heart. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God’s mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God’s plan of mercy for the world. Saint Faustina had a vision of an impending punishment. In the vision, an angel of the Lord was to strike at an unnamed city. Saint Faustina began praying earnestly for the disaster not to strike this city. She could see that her prayers were useless in holding back the angel of chastisement or punishment. Suddenly, she found herself in front of the Holy Trinity, and found herself praying these words that she heard interiorly: “Eternal father, I offer you the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins, and those of the whole world; for the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” Saint Faustina, while praying this prayer over and over, saw that the angel’s hands were stayed; the angel could not carry out the punishment that was justly due to this city. The next day, Jesus taught Saint Faustina how to pray what would later be known as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Jesus told her, “He longs to pour out his mercy on sinful and disobedient humankind. Therefore, proclaim this mercy as it is the greatest attribute of God.” Jesus also told her, “Humanity will never find peace until it turns with trust to Divine Mercy”. She kept writing her apparitions on diary for years.

On October 5, 1938, St. Faustina passed away and was buried on October 7 and currently rests at the Basilica of Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland. She was beatified on April 18, 1993 and canonized on April 30, 2000, both by Pope St. John Paul II. Her feast day is celebrated on October 5 and she is the patron saint of Mercy. Pope St. John Paul II referred her diary and said: “Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for humankind.” Thus, the Sunday after Easter was officially designated as the Sunday of the Divine Mercy and was preceded by a Divine Mercy Novena which would begin on Good Friday at 3.00 pm corresponding to the hour at which Jesus died on the cross. This hour is called today the “hour of Divine Mercy” or the “hour of great mercy”. This devotion was instituted and actively promoted by Pope St. John Paul II. Saint Faustina, in an entry in her diary, stated that ‘anyone who participates in theMass and receives the sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist on this day (Second Sunday of Easter) is assured by Jesus of full remission of their sins and punishments.’ She also saw Jesus standing with one hand outstretched in blessing, the other clutching the side wounded by the spear, from which proceed beams of falling light, coloured red and white. An explanation of these colors was given to Saint Faustina by Jesus himself saying, “The two rays represent blood and water”. These colors of the rays refer to the “blood and water'” of the Gospel of John (John 19:34) which are also mentioned in the optional prayer of the Chaplet. The words “Jesus, I Trust in Thee” usually accompany the image.

The two main themes of the ‘Divine Mercy’ devotion are to trust in Jesus’ endless goodness, and to show mercy to others as a conduit or a channel for God’s love towards them. There are three ways of exercising mercy towards our neighbours and enemies: the first-by deeds, the second-by words, and the third-by prayers. On the Easter Sunday, three Christian churches across Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital Colombo were targeted in a series of coordinated suicide bombings, shaken Sri Lanka and sadden the Church at large. According to BBC News: Sri Lankan authorities blamed a local Islamist extremist group, National Tawheed Jamath, for the attacks, although the Islamic State group (IS) has also claimed it played a role. (https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-48076873/sri-lanka-bombings-i-invited-the-bomber-into-the-church). Firstly we pray that may God have mercy upon the martyrs. Secondly, we pray that may God comfort their families. St. Paul says, “Jesus is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.” Colossians 1:18. Those martyred gained the heaven during the Divine Liturgy as they gave the first place to Risen Jesus on the Easter Sunday gathered around the Altar for celebration. Those terrorists will never ever succeed to cause a sectarian conflict. They are agents of devil as they aimed destructions of others. But God aims other things that are more valuable and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. Whenever and in whatever ways we face persecutions, our love will be stabletowards Jesus who gave us a new commandment on his last supper: “to love one another as I have loved you.” Thirdly, we pray that may God forgive those who still don’t know what they do, especially, those who are directly responsible for their inhumane act. Divine Mercy is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity.

Peace be with you!

FR. HENRY PETER MSFS

ST. PETER’S CHURCH

RAIDHI, ODISHA, INDIA.