Divine Mercy Sunday
Encyclopedia
Divine Mercy Sunday is a Roman Catholic solemnity
Solemnity
A Solemnity of the Roman Catholic Church is a principal holy day in the liturgical calendar, usually commemorating an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, or other important saints. The observance begins with the vigil on the evening before the actual date of the feast...

 celebrated the Sunday after Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

. It is based on the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy
Divine Mercy
The Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion to the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through one's own heart towards those in need of it...

 due to Saint Faustina Kowalska, and is associated with specific indulgence
Indulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...

s.

Background

Faustina Kowalska, a Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

 nun had stated that she had visions of Jesus
Visions of Jesus and Mary
Since the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary until today, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. Discussions about the authenticity of these visions have often invited...

 and conversations with him. In an entry in her diary
Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul
Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul is a book by Roman Catholic saint Faustina Kowalska. The book is based on the contents of her diary from 1934 until her death in 1938....

, Faustina stated that in a vision she was told by Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 that anyone who participates in the Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

 and receives the sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...

s of Confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...

 and the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

 on this day is assured of full remission of their sins and punishments.

On March 23, 1937, Faustina wrote in her diary (Notebook III, item 1044) that she had a vision that the feast of Divine Mercy would be celebrated in her local chapel, and would be attended by large crowds, and that the same celebration would be held in Rome attended by the Pope. She wrote:


The crowd was so enormous that the eye could not take it all in. Everyone was participating in the celebrations.


Divine Mercy Sunday is also the culmination of the novena
Novena
In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of a prayer repeated on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. The prayers may come from prayer books, or consist of the recitation of the Rosary , or of short prayers through the day...

 of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion based on the visions of Jesus reported by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska , known as "the Apostle of Mercy." She was a Polish sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and canonized as a Catholic saint in 2000.Faustina...

. Faustina wrote that in her visions Jesus instructed her that the Feast of the Divine Mercy (the Sunday after Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

) be preceded by a Divine Mercy Novena which would begin on Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

.

In her diary
Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul
Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul is a book by Roman Catholic saint Faustina Kowalska. The book is based on the contents of her diary from 1934 until her death in 1938....

 (Notebook 1, item 49) Faustina wrote that Jesus told her that he wanted the Divine Mercy image to be "solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy."

The first Mass during which the Divine Mercy image was displayed was on April 28, 1935, the second Sunday after Easter and was attended by Faustina. April 28, 1935 was also the celebration of the end of the Jubilee of the Redemption by Pope Pius XI. Father Michael Sopocko
Michael Sopocko
Blessed Father Michal Sopocko was a Roman Catholic priest, and professor of pastoral theology at Stefan Batory University in Vilnius, Lithuania...

 (Faustina's confessor) celebrated the Mass that Sunday and obtained permission to place the image within the Gate of Dawn church
Gate of Dawn
The Gate of Dawn is a city-gate of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.- History :It was built between 1503 and 1522 as a part of defensive fortifications for the city of Vilnius, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania...

 in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

 during the Mass.

Vatican approval

The devotion was actively promoted by Pope John Paul II, who on April 30, 2000 as he canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...

 Faustina designated the Sunday after Easter as the Sunday of the Divine Mercy (Dominica II Paschae seu de divina misericordia) in the General Roman Calendar. A year after establishing Divine Mercy Sunday, on April 22, 2001 Pope John Paul II re-emphasized its message in the resurrection
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...

 context of Easter:


Jesus said to Sr Faustina one day: "Humanity will never find peace until it turns with trust to Divine Mercy". Divine Mercy! This is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity.


In June 2002 John Paul II granted indulgences (involving specific conditions) to Catholics who attend Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, or recite specific prayers on that day, which were then formally decreed by the Apostolic Penitentiary
Apostolic Penitentiary
The Apostolic Penitentiary, formerly called the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, is one of the three tribunals of the Roman Curia. The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tribunal of mercy, responsible for issues relating to the forgiveness of sins in the Catholic Church.The...

. The "Duties of Priests" for celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday are found in the plenary indulgence decree.

The devotion to Divine Mercy Sunday grew rapidly after its designation by Pope John Paul II and is now widely celebrated by Catholics. The Divine Mercy image is often carried in processions on Divine Mercy Sunday, and is placed in a location in the church so that it can be venerated by those who attended the Mass.

The liturgical celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday reflects the devotional elements of Divine Mercy
Divine Mercy
The Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion to the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through one's own heart towards those in need of it...

 - the first prayer of that Mass beginning with:

"Heavenly Father and God of Mercy, We no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for He is alive and has become the Lord of Life".


This opening prayer refers to Divine Mercy as the key element in the plan of God for salvation and emphasizes the belief that it was through mercy that God gave his only son for the redemption of mankind, after the fall of Adam.

John Paul II, who died in April 2005 on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday, was himself beatified
Beatification and canonisation of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City for almost 27 years. Since his death on 2 April 2005, many thousands of people have been supporting the case for beatifying and canonising the late Pope John Paul II as a saint...

 on Divine Mercy Sunday, May 1, 2011, by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

.

Further reading

  • Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul
    Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul
    Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul is a book by Roman Catholic saint Faustina Kowalska. The book is based on the contents of her diary from 1934 until her death in 1938....

    by Faustina Kowalska 2003 ISBN 1596141107 (online version)
  • Pope Benedict's Divine Mercy Mandate by David Came 2009 ISBN 9781596142039
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