A SHORT HISTORY
THE ICON OF THE DIVINE MERCY
In 1931 our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to a poor nun, Sister Faustina Kolwaska in a vision. From His Sacred Heart, He shines forth two rays of light, one in red, the other in white. His right hand is lifting up on high as in the motion of the High Priest granting a blessing of forgiveness for all our sins; and His left hand is pointing at His Sacred Heart urging us to trust in Him Who is the source of our salvation and sanctification. Gazing at the Divine-Mercy Jesus in silence, Sister Faustina feels a profound joy overflowing in her soul. She hears the Lord commanding her:
“Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: “Jesus, I trust in You.” I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that venerates this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies, who are already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend that soul as My own glory (Diary 47,48).”
At the request of Fr. Michael Sopocko, her spiritual director, Sister Faustina asked Jesus the meaning of the two rays of light. He explains:
“The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes soul righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls… These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Blessed is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him” (Diary 299).
The two rays shining forth from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Divine Mercy, symbolizes the graces pouring down upon us from the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Eucharist.
There is a variety of paintings on the Divine Mercy. Each represents a certain aspect of Jesus’ Mercy. Some even misrepresent the true authentic Divine Mercy which St. Faustina saw in her vision. To resolve this confusion, Jesus clearly explains to us that what is important does not lie in the many representations of the Divine Mercy, but rather it all depends on the graces which Jesus has promised to grant those who place their trust in Him. When Saint Faustina saw the artist’s drawing of the Divine Mercy for the first time, she broke down and wept! The artist did not do justice to what she saw in her vision of the Divine Mercy. Saint Faustina later asked the Lord: “Who will paint You as beautiful as You are?” The Lord answered: “Not in the beauty of the color nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace” (Diary 313).
HOW TO PRAY
THE DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET
Use the Rosary beads
1. Sign of the Cross: In the Name of the Father, * and of the Son, * and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2. Pray Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostles’ Creed: I believe in God, * the Father almighty, * Creator of heaven and earth: * and in Jesus Christ, * his only Son, our Lord, * who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, * born of the Virgin Mary; * suffered under Pontius Pilate, * was crucified, died and was buried; * he descended into hell; * on the third day he rose again from the dead; * he ascended into heaven, * and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; * from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. * I believe in the Holy Spirit, * the holy catholic Church, * the communion of saints, * the forgiveness of sins, * the resurrection of the body, * and life everlasting. * Amen.
3. Pray: 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.
4. Pray 10 times: For the sake of His sorrowful passion, * have mercy on us and all the whole world.
5. Repeat numbers 3 and 4 until the end of the Rosary beads.
6. To conclude, pray 3 times: O Holy God,* O Holy Almighty One, * O Holy Immortal One,* have mercy on us * and on the whole world.
7. End with Hail Holy Queen: Hail, * holy Queen, * Mother of mercy,* our life, * our sweetness and our hope.* To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve:* to thee do we send up our sighs,* mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.* Turn then, * most gracious Advocate,* thine eyes of mercy toward us,* and after this our exile,* show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, * Jesus,* O clement,* O loving,* O sweet Virgin Mary!*
Pray for us, * O Holy Mother of God * – that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. * Amen.
THE PERPETUAL NOVENA
TO THE DIVINE MERCY
"I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fountain of My mercy, that they may draw therefrom strength and refreshment and whatever grace they have need of in the hardships of life, and especially at the hour of death" (Diary, 1209).
What is a Novena? Typically, it is nine days of prayer in preparation for the celebration of a feast.
When time is available, each person may pray the Novena everyday for nine consecutive days. However, the following Perpetual Novena to the Divine Mercy is composed in such a way that a community of devout Catholics can pray nine days altogether at one gathering. This should be done everyday.
Our Lord Jesus promised, “By this Novena, I will grant every grace to souls” (Diary 796).
__________
FIRST DAY
For all humankind, especially all sinners
Today bring to Me all humankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Forgive us our sins (3 times).
__________
SECOND DAY
For the souls of priests and religious
Today bring to Me the souls of priests and religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave Me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Sanctify your priests and religious (3 times).
__________
THIRD DAY
For all devout and faithful souls
Today bring to Me all devout and faithful souls, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. The souls brought Me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Increase our devotion to you (3 times).
__________
FOURTH DAY
For those who do not believe in God, and
those who do not yet know Jesus
Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God * and those who do not yet know Me. I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Give faith to those who do not know and follow You (3 times).
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FIFTH DAY
For the souls of those who have separated themselves from the Church
Today bring to Me the souls of those who have separated themselves from my church,* and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church, My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Unite all Your people and make us one (3 times).
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SIXTH DAY
For the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children
Today bring to Me the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. Only the humble soul is capable of receiving My grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Make us meek and humble like You (3 times).
__________
SEVENTH DAY
For the souls who especially venerate and glorify the Divine Mercy
Today bring to Me the souls who especially venerate and glorify my mercy,* and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Make us love You as Our Mother Mary loves You (3 times).
__________
EIGHTH DAY
For the souls in purgatory
Today bring to Me the souls who are detained in purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Bring all souls into heaven (3 times).
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NINTH DAY
For the souls who have become lukewarm
Today bring to Me souls who have become lukewarm,* and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are rich in mercy –
Inflame our hearts and destroy all the coldness in us (3 times).
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PRAYER TO BE MERCIFUL TO OTHERS
O Most Holy Trinity! * As many times as I breathe, * as many times as my heart beats, * as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, * so many thousand times * do I want to glorify Your 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. * You Yourself command me to exercise * the three degrees of mercy. * The first: * carry out the Work of Mercies. * The second: * speak Words of Mercy — * if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, * I will assist by my words. The third: * pray — * if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, * I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically. * O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself, for You can do all things (163).
WHAT IS THE DIVINE MERCY?
It is God loving us to the extreme. Graphically speaking, it is God tearing out His Sacred Heart to give us His love. It is God outloving our sinfulness. He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than all our guilts, fears and doubts. Thus, we must place all our trust in Him and receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. Then all may come to share in His joy.
The Divine Mercy message can be summed up in three letters TDM: Trust the Divine Mercy.
T – Trust in our Lord Jesus Christ with all our heart, soul, mind and spirit for He is good. He knows us, loves us, dies for our sins and saves us from eternal damnation. Contrariwise, the devil gives us nothing that is true, good or beautiful. He keeps saying, “I hate you, I despise you, I want you to go to hell, I want you to be damned, but you love me, obey me and serve me better than your God!” What a mockery! But why? Why don’t we trust in God’s Mercy?! Make a commitment to trust in Jesus. Submit yourself to Him. Trust in His Divine Mercy.
D – His Divinity is all-powerful. In a word, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Almighty God. His Mercy is also almighty. It is above and beyond our sins and sinfulness. Jesus wants us to pray to Him with confidence, to repent for our sins and to receive His Divine Mercy so that we may be forgiven and in turn bring His Mercy to the whole world. With Jesus, we can do all things. Pray to Him for nothing is impossible to His Divinity.
M –His Mercy is the essence of His Divinity. It is loving kindness overflowing. It is God outloving all our sins, shames and guilts. He wants us to let His mercy possess our life and let it flow through us to others. As the Lord has promised in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7). This is His command: “Be merciful, even as Your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
HOW TO BE MERCIFUL?
According to the teaching in the PRAYER TO BE MERCIFUL TO OTHERS, we can do three things: DO, SPEAK and PRAY.
1. DO the Works of Mercy. One concrete way is to distribute this Novena.
2. SPEAK Words of Mercy by ENCOURAGING and BLESSING each other everyday with a smile.
3. PRAY this Novena and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
THE WORKS OF MERCY
Our Holy Mother, the Roman Catholic Church, has taught us fourteen ways to love ourselves. We are to be merciful to our body seven times and to our soul seven times in the work of serving our neighbors. Serving others is loving ourselves. This is called Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.
Seven Corporal Works of Mercy:
Feed the hungry.
Give drink to the thirsty.
Clothe the naked.
Welcome the stranger.
Heal the sick.
Visit the imprisoned.
Bury the dead (e.g., the aborted babies).
Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy:
Counsel the doubtful.
Instruct the ignorant.
Admonish the sinners.
Comfort the afflicted.
Forgive offences.
Bear patiently those who do us ill.
Pray for the living and the dead.
This list of the Works Of Mercy is taken from our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his Bull of Indiction of The Extraordinary Jubilee Of Mercy, MISERICORDIAE VULTUS, given in Rome at Saint Peter’s Square, on the 11th of April, the Vigil of The Second Sunday of Easter or The Divine Mercy Sunday in the year of our Lord 2015.
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