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

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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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