St. Pope John Paul II selected the Second Sunday of Easter because it coincides beautifully with the Gospel reading of the Second Sunday of Easter, which informs us that the Risen Christ gave his Apostles the gift of the Holy Spirit and then instructed them, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained”.
Inherent in the message of the resurrected Christ to his Apostles upon meeting them in the upper room is Divine Mercy. St. Thomas Aquinas quotes St. Augustine that mercy is “heartfelt sympathy for another’s distress, impelling us to succor [furnishing relief] him.”
St. Thomas further explains God’s mercy. God only acts with selfless generosity, pouring out good gifts out of his abundance on his creatures. When God shows mercy, he offers it not as humans do, but reflects His infinite perfection, infinite abundance, and generosity. Thomas concludes, “If we consider a virtue in terms of its possessor, however, we can say that mercy is the greatest of the virtues only if its possessor is himself the greatest of all beings, with no one above him and everyone beneath him.”
Our fallen human natures need God’s mercy, for we often act contrary to the love he continuously bestows on us. St. Pope John Paul II knew this problem well and wished the Universal Church to implore the never-ending invitation of God’s mercy. He drew on one of his fellow Poles, Sr. Faustina Kowalska, a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, who was said to have been visited by the Risen Lord, who told her to promote His Divine Mercy.
Hopefully, you have seen the picture of Divine Mercy. A picture depicting the Resurrected Jesus with two rays of light emanating from his heart, one red representing blood and the other a lighter color representing water. The two fluids flowing from the dying Christ become the source of the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist.
At the bottom are the words “Jesus, I trust in you.” Jesus told her to record the visions in her diary, along with the message, “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish.” St. Faustina, a poorly educated Polish woman, compiled a 600-page diary of the apparitions she received. Part of the message from the Lord was His desire for a Feast of Mercy to be a refuge and shelter for souls.
It has also been reported that St. Faustina Kowalska had an encounter with St. Therese of Lisieux, which shaped the message of the need to trust Jesus. Apparently, during a tough spot in her life, St. Faustina began a novena to St. Therese for help. On the fifth day of the novena, St. Therese advised St. Faustina to trust in the Lord. Trusting in the Lord is the central theme of Divine Mercy and is at the bottom of every picture of Divine Mercy.
From the Diary of St. Faustina, 699, Jesus said of Divine Mercy Sunday: “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. . .My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.”
What a powerful message, what a powerful promise. Some time today, take time to pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy so that the mercy of God may be alive in you during this Easter Season. Below is the link to the chaplet. It is modeled after the rosary, where we pray the mantra for five decades. The prayers can be found in the link below.
Start including the Divine Mercy chaplet in your prayers year-round, pleading for His mercy and a desire to be with Him for all eternity.
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