Our Dear Friend,
Pope John Paul II,
gave us a great gift in
instituting the
Universal Feast of
Divine Mercy Sunday.
Please don't underestimate the heroic effort required to champion the message of Sister Faustina Kawalska. The message of Jesus sharing his desire to empty Himself out to the world suffered many setbacks. It was poorly translated, misunderstood and suppressed; but all good things follow God's Will and now we know the Jesus' desire to grant us the mercy we all need.
As Pope John Paul II prepared to celebrate the canonization of Sister Faustina and announced the institution of First Divine Mercy Sunday on April 30th, 2000, he shared that this was "the happiest day of my life!"
Truly, the path of God's Will had been a bumpy one as John Paul II had worked to bring the gift of the Divine Mercy message to the world.
Read more about the Message of Divine Mercy and the life of Sister Faustina Kowalska in the book,
Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul
Available through many sources and your local Catholic bookstore.
The 2nd Sunday of Easter
is
Divine Mercy Sunday!
The Gifts granted on Divine Mercy Sunday
will bring you to your knees, with gratitude.
Sister Faustian's diary says it best :
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. (Diary 699)
Please, Celebrate this Feast!
Pull up a chair, sit down and open the gift that Jesus has prepared for you
It is easy -
- Go to Confession (Today or this week will work!)
- Be in a State of Grace
- Pray for the Holy Father
For more information of indulgences, I think EWTN is the best source. Please click on the General Conditions to go to the link or read below from their site.
General Conditions for Plenary Indulgences
The following "General remarks on Indulgences" from Gift of the Indulgencesummarizes the usual conditions given in the Church's law (cf. Apostolic Penitentiary, Prot. N. 39/05/I):
1. This is how an indulgence is defined in the Code of Canon Law (can. 992) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471): "An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints".
2. In general, the gaining of indulgences requires certain prescribed conditions (below, nn. 3, 4), and the performance of certain prescribed works ..... [in this case, those granted for the Feast of Mercy]
3. To gain indulgences, whether plenary or partial, it is necessary that the faithful be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed. [i.e. one must be a Catholic, not excommunicated or in schism.]
4. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. In order to obtain it, the faithful must, in addition to being in the state of grace:
- have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin;
- have sacramentally confessed their sins;?receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required);
- pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.
5. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope's intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope's intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an "Our Father" and a "Hail Mary" are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father's intentions are required for each plenary indulgence.
6. For the sake of those legitimately impeded, confessors can commute both the work prescribed and the conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even venial sin).
7. Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth