Rev. Gus Puleo: Divine Mercy Sunday reaches humanity ...

Divine Mercy Sunday, often known as the Feast of the Divine Mercy, is well known on the Sunday after Easter all over the Octave Day of Easter, but greater especially on the eighth day of Easter. On this special occasion we celebrate the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ as published through Christ himself to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our girl of Mercy. within the convent this spiritual sister contemplated the mystery of the mercy of God in the words of the Bible as well as in her each day activities which varieties the groundwork for her spirituality. In her spiritual life she exotic herself with a very good love of the Eucharist and a deep devotion to Mary, the mom of Mercy. Sister Faustina had a definite infant-like have confidence in God in addition to having mercy for others. She wrote in her famous Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska that “I need to replicate your compassionate heart, crammed with mercy, Jesus. I wish t o glorify it. Let your mercy, O Jesus, be impressed upon my coronary heart and soul like a seal, and this should be my badge during this and the long run lifestyles.” Her life spent within the convent was crammed with unbelievable presents akin to revelations, visions, a hidden stigmata and even participation within the ardour of Jesus Christ. in a single imaginative and prescient she noticed two rays of gentle shining from the heart of Jesus and illuminating the world. Jesus, himself, explained to her one day that these lights symbolize “blood and water.” On hearing or analyzing these words, we immediately believe of the testimony of Saint John the Evangelist describing when a soldier pierced the coronary heart of Jesus, and water and blood got here spilling out of his facet. At that vital second, we consider the sacrifice of the pass, the groundwork of the Church, the Holy Eucharist and of course, Baptism. Divine Mercy reaches humanity through the coronary heart of Christ crucified as Jesus tells Sister Faustina, “My daughter, say that i am love and mercy personified. each soul believing and trusting in my mercy will obtain it.”

The mission of St. Faustina changed into three-fold. First, she turned into charged with reminding the world of the fact of our religion printed within the Bible concerning the merciful love of God toward everyone. Secondly, her writing showed God’s mercy for the complete world and especially for sinners via new forms of devotion presented by using the Lord, himself. These acts of widely wide-spread piety consist of veneration of the photo of Divine Mercy with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You; the feast day celebrated on the primary Sunday after Easter and the praying of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3 p.m., the hour of mercy. These promises by way of Christ deliver us with our existence entrusted to God and to loving our neighbor. The third project of the saint’s mission became in starting an apostolic circulate of Divine Mercy through proclaiming God’s mercy for the entire world. As apostle and scribe of Jesus, Sister Faustina changed into asked to describe and record her encounters him. Jesus Christ’s words to her were: “Secretary of my most profound secret, recognize that your assignment is to jot down down every little thing that I make conventional to you about my mercy for the benefit of those that by using studying these items will be comforted in their souls and may have the courage to approach Me.”

In these tricky days of this exceptional virus, my pleasure is really remarkable in offering the existence and phrases of St. Faustina. through Divine providence, this humble spiritual sister is linked to us, witnesses and participants in at the present time of horrible sufferings, affliction and even death from the coronavirus. Jesus prophetically told Sister Faustina, “Humanity will not ever locate peace until it turns with have faith to Divine Mercy. Divine Mercy! here's the Easter reward that the Church receives from the Risen Christ and presents to humanity.” Divine Mercy from God is additional underscored through the hole prayer of the Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday because it emphasizes that mercy is the key point within the plan of God for our salvation and the entire world: “ Heavenly Father and God of Mercy, We no longer look for Jesus among the many useless, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life.” Divine Mercy is our beacon of gentle right thr ough this terrible pandemic we live.

John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina on April 18, 1993 and he or she now rests in the sanctuary of the Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland. In April of 2005 Pope John Paul II died on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday and he himself changed into beatified on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2011 by using his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. Three years later, John Paul II become canonized in conjunction with Pope John XXIII on Divine Mercy Sunday by way of Pope Francis.

For us who're quarantined nowadays, on Divine Mercy Sunday we may additionally attain a Plenary Indulgence with the recitation of 1 Our Father and the Creed before the photograph of Divine Mercy with the words “Merciful Jesus, I trust in you.” One may still also pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and plan to meet the sacramental requirements of Confession and Communion at a later date.

These words of Sister Faustina that she wrote in her Diary are rather acceptable nowadays: “I suppose enormous pain when I see the sufferings of my neighbors. All my neighbors’ sufferings reverberate in my own heart. I lift their soreness in my heart in such a method that it even physically destroys me. handiest the love and mercy of God will retailer us.” nowadays, focusing our gaze on the statue of Divine Mercy, allow us to make our personal the prayer of St. Faustina trusting in God with company hope: “For sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” Jesus, I have faith in you.”

The Rev. Gus Puleo is pastor of St. Patrick Church in Norristown and served as an adjunct professor of Spanish at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. he is a graduate of Norristown high faculty and attended Georgetown institution, the place he got B.A. and B.S. in Spanish and linguistics. He has master’s levels in Spanish, linguistics and divinity from Middlebury faculty, Georgetown institution and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from the tuition of Pennsylvania.