The Church recognizes this coming Sunday, The Second Sunday of Easter, as Divine Mercy Sunday. The Church first celebrated this glorious day on April 22, 2001, during the papacy of Pope Saint John Paul II.
On Divine Mercy Sunday, we celebrate and take advantage of the graces that Jesus promised St. Faustina Kowalska, the recipient of the visions in which Jesus revealed His message of mercy to the world.
Once, when Jesus appeared to St. Faustina, He said to her,
My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of 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 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. 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 Fount of My Mercy.
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Basically, what this means is that Jesus told St. Faustina that on the Second Sunday of Easter, anyone who goes to confession (or goes soon before or after that Sunday) and receives the Eucharist will be completely forgiven of all their sins and all temporal punishment will be taken away. Wow. As Jesus said, "My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity." He is so totally right. When I hear about the graces and mercy that Jesus is offering to the entire world, particularly on this Sunday, my mind is absolutely blown!!
His mercy is endless, friends. I encourage you, if you take nothing else from this website, if it inspires you to do nothing else, I pray that you will go to Jesus and receive the sacraments and graces He offers on this Divine Mercy Sunday. You will never regret it. Jesus' mercy is His greatest attribute. When we receive His mercy we console His wounded heart, and He, in return, heals our own. No sin is too great, no person is too broken for God's mercy.
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If you have questions about the Divine Mercy Devotion, visit thedivinemercy.org, leave a comment below this post with your question, or email me using the "contact" form on the home page of this website. I'll do my best to find you an answer!
If you participate in Divine Mercy Sunday this year (or have in previous years), I'd love to hear about your experience!
Read more of my posts about Divine Mercy:
(Note: Catholics are not required to believe in the visions of St. Faustina as they are private revelations)
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