Misericordiae Vultus - BULL OF INDICTION OF THE EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY

Our Holy Father is giving the world an incredible gift!  As you may have already read, he has proclaimed December 8th, 2015 as the start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.  I hope that we all take the time to read this most recent Papal Bull in its entirety.  Many graces will be available to us during that jubilee year and we should do everything in our power to ensure we don't waste or squander any of them.  Let us become apostles of mercy by spreading the word, by putting into practice the corporal and spiritual acts of mercy, by evangelizing not by our words, but by our actions.

Misericordiae Vultus

Divine Mercy Sunday

I just wanted to wish you all a very happy and blessed Divine Mercy Feast Day.  I thank God for our dear Saint Pope John Paul II for this day!  It is now part of the official liturgical calendar and every single Mass, in any part of the world will celebrate it!  Imagine how many souls will be saved!


DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

Message to Priests Regarding Divine Mercy

The following is from St. Faustina's diary, page 543 #1521.  This is a powerful message from Jesus Himself.  Please share with all the priests you know.

"...tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart.  To priests who proclaim and extol my Mercy, I will give wondrous power; I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak. "

Feast of Divine Mercy - Ocean of Mercy Movie

Happy Feast Day!



This is a very beautiful documentary on Divine Mercy through the lives of St. Faustina, St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. John Paul II.

Mahalo to H.L. for sharing.

Pope John Paul II Encyclical on Divine Mercy

DIVES IN MISERICORDIA

Mary is also the one who obtained mercy in a particular and exceptional way, as no other person has. At the same time, still in an exceptional way, she made possible with the sacrifice of her heart her own sharing in revealing God's mercy. This sacrifice is intimately linked with the cross of her Son, at the foot of which she was to stand on Calvary. Her sacrifice is a unique sharing in the revelation of mercy, that is, a sharing in the absolute fidelity of God to His own love, to the covenant that He willed from eternity and that He entered into in time with man, with the people, with humanity; it is a sharing in that revelation that was definitively fulfilled through the cross. No one has experienced, to the same degree as the Mother of the crucified One, the mystery of the cross, the overwhelming encounter of divine transcendent justice with love: that "kiss" given by mercy to justice. No one has received into his heart, as much as Mary did, that mystery, that truly divine dimension of the redemption effected on Calvary by means of the death of the Son, together with the sacrifice of her maternal heart, together with her definitive "fiat."

Mary, then, is the one who has the deepest knowledge of the mystery of God's mercy. She knows its price, she knows how great it is. In this sense, we call her the Mother of mercy: our Lady of mercy, or Mother of divine mercy; in each one of these titles there is a deep theological meaning, for they express the special preparation of her soul, of her whole personality, so that she was able to perceive, through the complex events, first of Israel, then of every individual and of the whole of humanity, that mercy of which "from generation to generation" people become sharers according to the eternal design of the most Holy Trinity
.

Divine Mercy for America

This post is long overdue.  A big mahalo to Lois for sharing!  The following is from their website:

To pray for our country as St. Faustina prayed for hers.

Prompted by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in response to the New Evangelization, and in support of the Year of Faith, Divine Mercy for America is an initiative driven to radically increase awareness of and devotion to Jesus, The Divine Mercy as a sure means of providing great benefit to souls in our country and those throughout “the whole world.”

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) did her best to do as the Lord commanded, keeping a diary during the last four years of her life. Several times she recorded that Jesus requested prayers and entreaties for her country. She was shown how these efforts not only appeased God’s anger, but also resulted in blessings. Jesus also gifted us with several specific promises attached to devotion to His mercy that have been changing the lives of countless souls since they were first revealed to St. Faustina. It is through trust in this message and these promises that we, too, can grow in holiness and become empowered to save souls and our country.

My daughter, be diligent in writing down every sentence I tell you concerning My mercy, because this is meant for a great number of souls who will profit from it. (Jesus to St. Faustina, Diary, 1142)

All references to Diary: Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul © 1987 Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M, Stockbridge, MA 01263. www.marian.org. www.thedivinemercy.org

For more information, please visit their site.

REMINDER - Divine Mercy Novena Begins this Good Friday

This upcoming Good Friday we begin the Divine Mercy Novena. The novena can be found here. I can't stress enough how vital it is for everyone to join in praying this special novena in preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday following Easter Sunday).


The Promise.  
According to St. Faustina, Our Lord promises to those who go to confession and communion on this day, the remission of the guilt and the punishment of sins.

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. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace 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, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. (Diary of Sr. Faustina, 699)

Many take this to mean that they must go to Confession ON Mercy Sunday. This is not true. To receive the benefits of the Promise one must be in the state of grace. The Lord does not promise the absolution of grave sin on Mercy Sunday, but points us to the Sacrament of Penance. To receive the grace we should be disposed. This is done by a confession near the time of Mercy Sunday. According to the Cardinal of Krakow, the confession which a Catholic makes during Lent in preparation for Easter is sufficient. Priests do not have to provide confession on Mercy Sunday so that Catholics can satisfy this condition. Since it is a Sunday the condition of Communion can be easily satisfied (including at the Saturday Vigil Mass). Our Communion, as our Confession, should be especially devout.






Read more about Divine Mercy Sunday here.

St. Faustina's Description of Hell and What We Must Remember about the Feast of Divine Mercy

Picture source

The following description is from St. Faustina's diary (741):

First Torture in Hell - The loss of God

Second Torture - The perpetual remorse of conscience

Third Torture - One's condition will never change

Fourth Torture - "The fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it - a terrible suffering since it is purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger".

Fifth Torture - "The continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell and, despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own".

Sixth Torture - The constant company of Satan

Seventh Torture - "The horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies"

"There are special tortures destined for particular souls. These are torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner on which it has sinned...Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin. I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like.

I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence...The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw, But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell... How terribly souls suffer there! Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the conversion of sinners. I incessantly plead God's mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, than offend You by the least sin.

On Monday Father Khahn gave a very powerful homily of how we can really benefit from the Feast of Divine Mercy's graces. That is: We must show mercy...we must be kind...and we must be forgiving. Because, Father reminded us, we will need that at the end of our life.

The Vital Importance of Divine Mercy Sunday

Not too long ago I remember reading something written by a Catholic blogger that he didn't understand all (and I'm paraphrasing here) the hullabaloo concerning Divine Mercy Sunday. That is what I remember reading.

Read the following excerpt from Saint Faustina's Diary regarding the Feast of Divine Mercy (699)[Emphasis added is mine]:

"...tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Divine Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. 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 found of My Mercy. The soul that will go to confession and receive Holy Communion shall obrtain COMPLETE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND PUNISHMENT. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace 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, be it man or angel, will be able to fathom it through all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My Most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Found of My Mercy."

Our God, our creator sacrificed His only begotten and most beloved Son so that we could be saved and not suffer the fires of eternal perdition. Miserable sinners that we are, we need to make reparation for even the slightest sins we have committed. On this great Feast of Divine Mercy, He is going to forgive ALL our sins! Not only that but we be not be punished for these offenses!

Keep in mind that God's unfathomable Mercy is not only reserved for Catholics but to all of mankind!

How can we not put all our trust in such a loving and merciful God? How can we continue to sin and cause Him constant much pain when He loves us so much?

"O, how sorely Jesus is hurt by the ingratitude of a chosen soul!...imagine, a miserable particle of dust scorns that love!..." (698)

Jesus enjoined Sister Faustina the important task of spreading the devotion of Divine Mercy. He warned her that she would be help accountable for souls in this regard. (Unfortunately, I did not note the citation in the diary.) Shouldn't we too take this direction to heart? We must start spreading this devotion to everyone...not just to those we feel comfortable talking about spiritual matters but everyone...Catholics and non-Catholics alike...before it is too late.

Reminder: Divine Mercy Novena

In preparation of Divine Mercy Sunday next week, the Divine Mercy novena began yesterday on Good Friday. If you missed the first day prayers, you can do both prayers today (the first and second day)


The entire novena can be found here.

Saint Faustina's Prayer to be Completely Transformed into God's Mercy

The following is an excerpt from Themes of Divine Mercy: Way of Life, found in the Divine Mercy app for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad.

It is a very beautiful prayer that Saint Faustina wrote in her diary. We pray to see God's mercy in every aspect of our lives, through our human bodies and thereby transforming ourselves into His mercy.

I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.

- Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearences, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue.

Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.

Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.

Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.

Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me (...).

O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself , for you can do all things. (163)

Text source.

Divine Mercy Message

"Even if a sinner were most hardened, if only once he will recite this chaplet (Divine Mercy) he will obtain grace from My infinite mercy" (Diary, 687)

Source: prayer card from the Association of Marian Helpers.

EWTN: Powerful Docudrama on St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy Devotions; Divine Mercy Novena Begins Good Friday

By Michelle Laque Johnson

The special graces promised by Our Lord to those who receive Communion devoutly on Divine Mercy Sunday (the first Sunday after Easter) are extraordinary: complete forgiveness of sins and the punishment due them. It’s as if the soul were newly baptized. Who wouldn’t want such graces?

Perhaps that’s why the Divine Mercy devotion has spread so rapidly since Sister Faustina was canonized on April 30, 2000. But many questions remain: Why did Our Lord grant such graces? Why did He pick a Polish nun who had the most menial jobs in her convent to tell the world about these devotions? Does Our Lord expect the faithful to do anything in return for such graces?

Find out all this and more in “The Life and Times of Sister Faustina,” which airs at 10 p.m. ET, Wed., April 7, 5 a.m. ET, Sat., April 10, and 5 a.m. ET, Sun., April 11.

To prepare for this amazing feast, viewers may want to say the Novena to the Divine Mercy, which begins on Good Friday, read the “Diary of St. Faustina,”, a spiritual masterpiece; or dip into the devotion gradually through “Mercy Minutes,”, which offers small gems from the “Diary” for daily reading.

If nothing else, consider learning to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet, because of the amazing promises associated with its recitation. According to the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, the Order which promulgates this devotion, Our Lord told then-Sister Faustina:

“Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death (687). When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the Merciful Savior (1541). Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy (687). I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy (687). Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will. (1731)

Of course, in addition to prayer, Our Lord also asks souls to perform deeds of mercy, Divine Mercy Devotion.

Learn all about St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy devotions in the coming weeks -- only on EWTN Global Catholic Network.

God bless Family!

Feast of Blessed Michael Sopocko

"This is the visible help for you on earth.

He will help you to carry out My will on earth" (Diary, 53).

Divine Providence entrusted a very important role in St. Sister Faustina's mission to her confessor and spiritual director Fr. Michael Sopocko. During Sister Faustina's stay in Vilnius (Lithuania)
in the years 1933-1936, he was for her an irreplaceable help in discerning interior inspirations and visions. Obedient to his orders, she wrote a DIARY, which is an now an extraordinarily valuable document of Catholic mysticism. In the DIARY one can also find evidence of Fr. Sopocko's extraordinary character and his work in fulfilling the desires of the Lord Jesus.

"He is a priest after My own Heart
(...) Through him it pleases Me to proclaim
the worship of My mercy" (Diary, 1256).

"His thought is closely united with Mine, so be at peace about
what concerns My work. I will not let him make a mistake,
and you should do nothing without his permission" (Diary, 1408)

Source: St. Mary Faustina Kowalska: The Divine Mercy

Loving Him to Folly

I have come to understand today that even if I did not accomplish any of the things the Lord is demanding of me, I know that I shall be rewarded as if I had fulfilled everything, because He sees the intention with which I begin, and even if He called me to himself today, the work would not suffer at all by that, because He himself is the Lord of both the work and the worker.

My part is to love Him to folly; all works are nothing more than a tiny drop before Him. It is love that has meaning and power and merit. He has opened up great horizons in my soul-love compensates for the chasms.

Saint Faustina Kowalska

Thank you to Ed for sharing the above meditation with me. Be sure to check out the other wonderfully inspirational posts at his blog.

On Our Repentance and God's Infinite Mercy

The Sorrow of the Student

There lived in the great city of Paris a young student who had committed many sins. God gave him the grace of sincere repentance. He went to the monastery of St. Victor in that city, and asked to be conducted to the Father Superior. As soon as he had entered the room he fell down at the feet of the priest, and began to make his Confession. But he had scarcely uttered a few words when he stopped. His sorrow was so great, and his tears so abundant, and his signs so continuous that he could not utter another word.

"Perhaps, my child." said the Father to him, "if you were to write down your sins on a piece of paper, you would be better able to confess them"

The student did this, and, going to a tablet wrote down the sins he had committed, and then returned to the priest.

As soon as he began to read them his tears again choked him, and he could not pronounce a word. The Confessor asked him to give him the paper, that he might know the sins he had committed. He gave it to him. But as there arose in his mind certain doubts about some things that were written there, he asked the permission of the penitent to go to the Father Abbot to obtain his advice.

This permission the penitent gave very willingly, and the Confessor went to the Abbot with the paper in his hand.

Having unfolded it, he was surprised to find that there was no writing on it at all. "This is most strange," he said. "A few moments ago I read his whole confession written on this paper."

They both examined the paper, and there was not the least mark or letter on it. It was pure and white. Then they knew that God had been pleased to show by this wonder that He had blotted out the sins from the man's soul, as He had blotted them from the paper they held in their hands.

- The Catechism in Examples by Rev. D. Chisholm
NAS Letter December 2009

Feast Day of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

Born: August 25, 1905

Died: October 5, 1938

Canonized: April 30, 2000, by Pope John Paul II

Feast Day: October 5

Patron Saint of: mercy

Source

Prayer of St. Faustina before the Eucharist

I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I adore You for all the works of Your hands, that reveal to me so much wisdom, goodness and mercy, O Lord. You have spread so much beauty over the earth and it tells me about Your beauty, even though these beautiful things are but a faint reflection of You, incomprehensible Beauty. And although You have hidden Yourself and concealed Your beauty, my eye, enlightened by faith, reaches You and my soul recognizes its Creator, its Highest Good, and my heart is completely immersed in prayer of adoration.

My Lord and Creator, Your goodness encourages me to converse with You. Your mercy abolishes the chasm which separates the Creator from the creature. To converse with You, O Lord, is the delight of my heart. In You I find everything that my heart could desire. Here You light illumines my mind, enabling it to know You more and more deeply. Here streams of graces flow down upon my heart. Here my soul draws eternal life. O my Lord and Creator, You alone, beyond all these gifts, give Your own self to me and unite Yourself intimately with Your miserable creature.

O Christ, let my greatest delight be to see You loved and Your praise and glory proclaimed, especially the honor of Your mercy. O Christ, let me glorify Your goodness and mercy to the last moment of my life, with every drop of my blood and every beat of my heart. Would that I be transformed into a hymn of adoration of You. When I find myself on my deathbed, may the last beat of my heart be a loving hymn glorifying Your unfathomable mercy. Amen.

Prayer Source EWTN

Apostle of Divine Mercy - Bl. Father Michael Sopocko

Divine Providence entrusted a very important role in Saint Faustina's mission to her confessor and spiritual director Fr. Michael Sopocko.

During Saint Faustina's stay in Vilnius (Lithuania) in the years 1933-1936, he was for her an irreplaceable help in discerning interior inspirations and visions.

Obedient to his orders, she wrote a DIARY, which is an now an extraordinarily valuable document of Catholic mysticism. In the DIARY one can also find evidence of Fr. Michael Sopocko's extraordinary character and his work in fulfilling the desires of the Lord Jesus.

Divine Mercy Sunday

This is the Divine Mercy image at Blessed Sacrament Church. I caught my mom praying prior to Mass.

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday Everyone!

Divine Mercy Sunday

Before and after photos of the Vilnius Image after the restoration process in 2003 by the Archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania.

"Jezu Ufam Tobie"

Today there are many variations of the Divine Mercy Image around the world, the most famous being the Hyla, Vilnius, and Skemp Images. The Vilnius Image, featured on this page, is the original and only Divine Mercy Image painted under Sister Faustina's direction. It was painted in 1934 by Vilnius artist Eugene Kazimirowski, who was retained by Fr. Michael Sopocko, Sister Faustina's spiritual director. This image is named after the town where the Image was painted and first hung for public display. Both the Hyla and the Skemp are named after the artists who painted them...

Vilnius Image and the Shroud of Turin

Because Sister Faustina was not an artist, her spiritual director, Father Michael Sopocko, took her to a local Vilnius artist named Eugene Kazimirowski, who painted this Image directly under Faustina’s supervision. From the time Sister received the vision in 1931 to paint this Image, to the time it was finished, three and one-half painful years had elapsed. Painful because of the many conflicts Sister Faustina had to endure. Sadly remarking, “Lord, who will paint You as beautiful as you are” (Diary 313), Faustina had the artist change the face at least 10 times. Finally, Our Lord told Faustina that it was good enough - to leave it in the state it’s in. In the mid 1990's it was accidentally discovered that the face on this Image perfectly matched the one on the Holy Shroud of Turin...

I will save those cities and houses in which this Image will be found. He also said: I will likewise protect the persons who will honor and trust in My Mercy."

To learn more about the history of this original image of the Divine Mercy, please visit Mercy Images

Divine Mercy Sunday Videos