Divine Mercy Sunday - First Sunday After Easter

Divine Mercy Sunday
First Sunday After Easter

Sacrament of Confession
Plenary Indulgence
The Connection

What is Divine Mercy Sunday?

Divine Mercy is God’s desire to forgive our sins and to reconcile us with the Father and with one another. God’s unconditional love and divine mercy was communicated by Jesus Himself to a Polish nun, Sr. Faustina Kawalska. In one message to Sr. Faustina Jesus said, “I desire that there be a feast of mercy I want this on the first Sunday after Easter, that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.”

Our Lord made several revelations to St. Faustina during the thirteen years she lived in the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. In one our Lord asked for special prayer and meditation on His Passion each afternoon at the three o’clock hour, the hour that recalls His death on the cross. This was the hour of His greatest mercy. St. Faustina kept a record of Our Lord’s words in her Diary.

On February 22, 1931 St. Faustina saw Jesus “clothed in a white garment. One hand [was] raised in the gesture of a blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment….there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale……Jesus said to me, ‘Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, ...throughout the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory…..I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy….on the first Sunday after Easter….I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of Mine towards souls of sinners. Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me.’” (St. Faustina Diary, 47, 48, 49)


Jesus spoke again to St. Faustina on September 24, 1936 saying, “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. …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.” (St. Faustina Diary, 699)

Sr. Faustina was canonized a saint by Pope John Paul II, the second Sunday of Easter April 30, 2000, becoming the first person canonized in the 3rd millennium. During his homily, John Paul II declared: “It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church, will be called ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.’”

By “the whole message,” Pope John Paul II was referring to the connection between the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and the unconditional divine mercy of God, or in other words the connection between the Easter Mystery of the Redemption and the Feast of Divine Mercy on the Octave Day of Easter.

There are two decrees issued by the Holy See regarding the Feast of Divine Mercy. The first states that the normal readings for that Sunday are always to be used. The readings already used on that Sunday were perfect, reflecting mercy, trust and the forgiveness of sin.

In Pope John Paul II homily that first Divine Mercy Sunday he quoted from the Responsorial Psalm and Gospel read that day, "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love [unconditional love or mercy] endures forever" (Ps 118:1). So the Church sings on the Octave of Easter, as if receiving from Christ's lips these words of the Psalm; from the lips of the risen Christ, who bears the great message of divine mercy and entrusts its ministry to the Apostles in the Upper Room[institution of the Sacrament of Confession]: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.... Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (Jn 20:21-23).

The second decree issued August 3, 2002 by Apostolic Penitentiary is for the plenary indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday, and it is the duty of priests to inform parishioners of this plenary indulgence and hear confessions.

“A plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honor of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus.”

“For those who cannot go to church (soldiers, seriously ill, or those who care for them)….may obtain a plenary indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday, if totally detesting any sin and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, will recite the Our Father and the Creed before a devout image of Our Merciful Lord Jesus.” (Apostolic Penitentiary August 3, 2002)

Lord You meet me in my pain and suffering

You heal my wounds

You cover my sins

You release me from my bondage

and You flood me with your love

Thank You for Your incredible gift of Mercy
Jesus I Trust in You

Divine Mercy Sunday a Momboisse Family tradition since 2008

Divine Mercy Sunday Part 2: Why Confess to a Priest?
Divine Mercy Sunday Part 3: Indulgences
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet

For items related to Divine Mercy Sunday

 please visit Lynn's Timeless Treasures.

Divine Mercy Sunday - Indulgences

                                          

Divine Mercy Sunday

Sacrament of Confession

Plenary Indulgence
The Connection

The Indulgence Connection

Those who claim that indulgences are no longer part of Church teaching having been “thrown out” during the time of the Protestant Reformation because of abuses regarding the “buying and selling” of indulgences will find they are wrong . The claim that indulgences are not part of Church teaching today is false. The devout use of indulgences can be traced back to the early years of the Church and to the Bible. It is not the purpose of this writing to address those issues or any other question about indulgences except a simple explanation suitable to understand what they are in terms of Divine Mercy Sunday.
At Baptism all stain of original sin, all eternal punishment for actual sins committed and all temporal punishment for those sins is removed. During the Sacrament of Confession only the eternal punishment for sin is removed. The Catholic doctrine and practices of indulgences are closely linked to the effects of this sacrament. “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.” (CCC 1471)

In other words you can be forgiven of your sin through a sacramental confession but not be off the hook as far as the temporal punishment goes. In order to remit or pay the temporal punishment due to sin, we must do penance. We may also remit for our sins by gaining indulgences. At the time of our death if we have not paid for all of the temporal punishment due us because of our sin and we die in a state of grace we will do this in purgatory.

Sin has a double consequence, “grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life….on the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures [something], which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory.” (CCC 1472)

Indulgences give full (plenary) or partial remission of the temporal punishment due to sacramentally forgiven sins. “The Christian who seeks to purify himself of his sin and to become holy with the help of God’s grace is not alone.” (CCC 1474)

 We are part of the Communion of Saints “a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, an abundant exchange of all good things.” (CCC 1475) This Communion of Saints is the Church’s treasury, a treasure chest overflowing with graces [Indulgences].

 “This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary….the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them.” (CCC 1477)

An indulgence can be plenary (full) or partial. A plenary indulgence remits all the temporal punishment for sin. That means that if you were to die in a state of grace, having obtained a plenary indulgence, and not sinned since obtaining the indulgence, you would go straight to Heaven. A partial indulgence can be obtained whenever we have a pious thought, pray or do good works, but does not remit all the punishment for sin.

How does this apply to Divine Mercy Sunday? 

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Art
Return of the Prodigal Son - Rembrant
Communion of Saints Icon
Our Lady of the Rosary

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Divine Mercy Sunday - Sacrament of Confession

Divine Mercy Sunday
First Sunday After Easter

Sacrament of Confession
Plenary Indulgence
The Connection  

Why confess to a priest?

During the second week of Lent I explored the Sacrament of Confession and how to examine your conscience in Why Confession?.  As we approach Divine Mercy Sunday I want to take another look at Confession and attempt to address the question, Why confess to a priest?

On the night of the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles who were hiding out of fear of the Jews, in the upper room behind shut doors. Jesus appeared standing among them and showed them his wounds. Then Jesus said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” (John 20:21)

How did the Father send Jesus? In Matthew 9:1-8 we read that Jesus forgave the sins of a paralyzed man. The scribes knowing that God alone could forgive sins accused Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus told them that he had forgiven the sins of this man in order for all to “know that the Son of man* has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Matthew 9:6) Saint John finishes this passage in verse 8 by expressing, “When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”

So “as the Father has sent” Jesus with the     authority to forgive sins, on the evening of the resurrection, Jesus gave a share of this power to forgive sins (“even so I send you”) to his apostles. Jesus “breathed on them” and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:22-23)

With this action on the evening of his resurrection, Jesus “instituted the Sacrament of Penance when, after being risen from the dead, he breathed upon his disciples and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ The consensus of all the Fathers [of the Church] has always acknowledged that by this action so sublime and words so clear the power of forgiving and retaining sins was given to the Apostles and their lawful successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after Baptism.” (Council of Trent, De Paenitentia, Chapter 1)

The same Spirit that made an orderly universe out of primordial chaos in Genesis Chapter 1 and 2; the same Spirit that overshadowed the Virgin Mary so that she would conceive the Son of God in Luke 1:35; is the same Spirit that is breathed upon the apostles and passed on to their successors, our priests and bishops, in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Confession to a priest is not a man made rule, it is a God Breathed Spiritual act of Mercy instituted by Jesus.

How could the apostles or their successors our priests retain or forgive sins they had not heard? They couldn’t. This meant that we have to humble ourselves and confess or tell our sins to someone who has the authority to forgive.

In Confession we meet that person who has been given that authority to forgive, he has been anointed with the Spirit of Mercy to stand in the place of Christ (in Persona Christi). This priest, himself is a sinner and in need of forgiveness and mercy, but at the moment of this Sacrament it is Christ Himself who speaks those precious words of absolution through the mouth of the priest, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

The first Sunday after Easter, our Lord Jesus, through St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, established Divine Mercy Sunday. This day falls on the Octave Day of Easter, a day that celebrates the merciful love of God shining through the whole Easter season. This day has been set aside to tell the world about God’s Divine Mercy.

On April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II acting on the words of Jesus to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska declared the second Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday. And on August 3, 2002 by Apostolic Penitentiary a plenary indulgence was granted for devotions in honor of Divine Mercy Sunday.

For items related to St Faustina or
Divine Mercy Sunday
please visit Lynn's Timeless Treasures.

 

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Art
Doubting Thomas - Caravaggio
* Son of man (Semitic idiom used to denote humanity)

The Road to Emmaus Opportunity – Stay with Us Lord

The Road to Emmaus Opportunity
Stay with Us Lord

“Stay with us, Lord, for it is almost evening” (cf. Lk 24:29). This was the insistent invitation that the two disciples journeying to Emmaus on the evening of the day of the resurrection addressed to the Wayfarer who had accompanied them on their journey. Weighed down with sadness, they never imagined that this stranger was none other than their Master, risen from the dead. Yet they felt their hearts burning within them (cf. v. 32) as he spoke to them and “explained” the Scriptures. The light of the Word unlocked the hardness of their hearts and “opened their eyes” (cf. v. 31). Amid the shadows of the passing day and the darkness that clouded their spirit, the Wayfarer brought a ray of light which rekindled their hope and led their hearts to yearn for the fullness of light. “Stay with us”, they pleaded. And he agreed. Soon afterwards, Jesus' face would disappear, yet the Master would “stay” with them, hidden in the “breaking of the bread” which had opened their eyes to recognize him.” (Pope John Paul II Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine, #1, October 7, 2004)

On the afternoon of the first Easter, two disciples walking to Emmaus encounter the risen Lord. The disciples are sad (Luke 24:17) and without hope (Luke 24:21). A Wayfarer [Jesus] joins them on their journey asking them about their conversation. “Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” (Luke 24:18) The two do not recognize Jesus as he walks with them. While they continue their journey, Jesus, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, explains to them everything “in the scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

As the three approached Emmaus, Jesus “appeared to be going further,” so the two asked if he would “stay with” them because evening was approaching. Jesus stayed and “when he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them.” At this time the eyes of the disciples “were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight.” (Luke 24:28-30)

On the road to Emmaus Jesus celebrated the first Mass after his resurrection. Jesus, our great high priest, his priesthood greater than that of the priests of the old covenant and the Mosaic Law (Hebrews 4:14-7:28) modeled for us the rubrics of the Mass. He spoke to us in the Liturgy of the Word, (Luke 24:25-27) and then he came to us in the breaking of the bread, the Liturgy of the Eucharist (Luke 24:30)

Then the disciple’s hearts and minds were opened as they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, understanding why their hearts were enkindled as he spoke to them on the road to Emmaus. (Luke24: 31-32)

As Saint Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you [God],” and St. Josemaria Escriva wrote in Friends of God, “You [God] alone can satisfy this longing that consumes us,” deep down we are all longing, searching, filling our days with anything, everything, just to fill the God sized hole in our heart. Jesus will never force us to open our eyes and see him, he loves us too much to take away our free will, yet he is always there, walking patiently at our side on our journey, each day offering us a “road to Emmaus” opportunity.

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Art
Road to Emmaus - Jacques Stella
Road to Emmaus - Duccio di Buonisegna
Meal at Emmaus - Carvaggio
Meal at Emmaus - Rembrandt

He Is Risen - Easter

He Is Risen