During the Great Jubilee Year 2000, now twenty-five years ago (April 30, 2000, specifically) Pope St. John Paul II instituted the great feast of Divine Mercy Sunday. By his declaration, the feast is to be celebrated throughout the Church on the Second Sunday of Easter each year. On that same day, he canonized Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish consecrated nun who received a private revelation from the Lord to become His Secretary of Mercy. The blessed pontiff made both these declarations at the inception of the new millennium to remind the Church the dire need for mercy, and to share the bright spark that would prepare the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Although I do not know exactly the reasons, I must admit that I have struggled to engage with this devotion. I certainly have known the powerful historical context; I have learned the progression of particular prayers associated with it; I have sporadically prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, revealed to St. Faustina and explicated in her Diary; I have attempted several Divine Mercy Novenas, almost all ending in miserable failure within a few short days. But, as this significant anniversary has drawn near, I have sought to participate anew in what it offers, to find practical ways to access the abundance of graces that are so obviously available.
During my search, God’s merciful providence led me to find the Society and Shrine of St. Faustina of the Divine Mercy. The Society is the community of people operating in the charism of St. Faustina. They pray and work to facilitate God’s redemptive process in souls. Spanning the globe, the members of the Society engage in a perpetual effort to call down more of God’s mercy on our world. They seek to build a spiritual storehouse for souls, a treasury of graces that will bring people to the very heart of God’s revelation. Members of the community engage in round-the-clock Chaplets of Divine Mercy, and a perpetual Novena to the Divine Mercy, on behalf of the individuals on their prayer list. (They also commit to “emergency Chaplets” for those who request them.) The essence of their prayer effort is to assist in the healing and conversion of people who might, in turn, offer prayer and sacrifice for others.
In addition to this worldwide Society of prayer for healing and conversion, the Shrine operates within a parish just outside Memphis, Tennessee. The Shrine displays an authorized, full-scale replica of the original image that St. Faustina described in her Diary, and two first-class relics of the saint. It hosts a daily holy hour with Eucharistic Adoration at 3:00pm, the Hour of Mercy, during which the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Rosary are recited. On the thirteenth day of each month, the holy hour is offered specifically for the reparation of sins, which was called for in the Marian apparition at Fatima. Confessions are offered weekly on Wednesdays and on the first Friday of each month. Each year, on Divine Mercy Sunday and on the memorial feast of St. Faustina (October 5th), the Shrine hosts healing Masses. All this reveals that the Divine Mercy devotion and this Shrine, specifically, have the Eucharist and the sacraments at the center of their life.
During my search, one point has been particularly beneficial for understanding the grace that this devotion offers. Surely this significant point is made known among the plethora of online and print resources about this devotion. It may have even been told to me before, but I just did not realize it. As one of its focal points, the Divine Mercy devotion engages in deep and constant prayer for the conversion of sinners. Given my own bemired past and return to the Father’s prodigal mercy, this aspect of the devotion really resonates in my heart. I have an affinity for assisting those who are (or have been) distant from God and His Church.
St. Faustina’s diary, which now bears the title (in English) Divine Mercy In My Soul, is rife with Jesus speaking about the effect that His grace and mercy can and will have on repentant sinners. The transformation of sinners is prevalent from the very first page of Faustina’s recorded conversation with the Lord. She tells Him that “a soul all black will turn into snow,” and reminds Him, “From Your open Heart, as from a pure fount, Flows comfort to a repentant heart and soul” (#1). Nearer to the end of the Diary, Jesus revealed to Faustina: “The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered” (#1397, emphasis added). Examples abound, revealing that God’s primary objectives is to shower His mercy on sinners who have strayed from His heart.
More specifically, St. Faustina’s Diary recommends a particular prayer for the conversion of sinners. In her visions, Jesus told her, “When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. . . . ‘O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You’” (#186-187). What a gift that Jesus has revealed through Faustina a way to pray for people’s conversion! Even better, He tells us He will not fail to answer this prayer!
Jesus’ words to Faustina bring great consolation. I know myself, and I know other people; I know that every one of us needs mercy . . . desperately. All of us who are, or who have been, spiritually dead because of sin can be brought to life again, and a devotion to the Divine Mercy is the means for making it happen.
I sought a new way to understand and apply this devotion in my life. God, in His unfathomable mercy, has once again provided what I sought. Now, my desire for the conversion and salvation of souls, those I know and those I do not, can be aligned with my Lord’s deepest desire with these specific tools. Now, I can connect more fully and fruitfully, through this beautiful devotion, to the deepest desire of Jesus’ Merciful Heart.
Original Image from Wikimedia Commons. In-article photos provided by the author.
