ALLELUIA, Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, the Octave Day of Easter! This personal devotion to Divine Mercy was added to the calendar of the universal Church in 2000, the year St. John Paul II canonized St. Faustina Kowalska. St. Faustina was a nun who, in the 1930s, received a series of private revelations centered on God’s mercy. She recorded those experiences in her diary, including the institution of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy Prayer: “On this day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy....Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet” (Diary, # 699). John Grondelski, author for Crisis Magazine, writes: “Divine Mercy is nothing less than God’s Will to save us, which is what the central events of the Paschal Mystery are all about ...and what we prepare for throughout Lent, celebrate intensively in the Triduum, and celebrate superabundantly in 50 days of Easter.
Far from being an intrusion, the celebration of Divine Mercy stands at the core of what these 93 days—more than a quarter of the Church year—are explicitly about.” Even if you aren’t aware of this devotion, most of us have seen a tender image of Jesus associated with The Divine Mercy devotion. It is a reminder of how His “Sacred Heart” has given us everything: redemption, salvation, sanctification. Saint Faustina Kowalska saw coming from His Heart two rays of light which illuminates the world. The two rays, [according to what she heard Jesus tell her], denote blood and water (Diary, 299). The blood recalls the sacrifice of Golgotha and the mystery of the Eucharist; the water, according to the rich symbolism of the Evangelist John, makes us think of Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Spirit (See Jn 3:5; 4:14). Through the mystery of His wounded and Sacred Heart, the restorative tide of God’s merciful love continues to spread over the men and women of our time. Here alone can those who long for true and lasting happiness find any hope. May the words of St. Faustina echo in our hearts during these 50 days of Easter:
“Jesus, I trust in You!”
Two reminders for this week: Remember Monday, April 9th, is our transferred day of the Annunciation of the Lord (formerly March 25, but transferred since it fell on Palm Sunday this year). We will offer our usual 8:15a & 6:30p Mass times, plus our day school will be celebrating a Mass at 9:00 a.m. Also, pray for our eighth graders who will be sealed in the Gift of the Holy Spirit though the Sacrament of Confirmation this
Tuesday evening with Bishop Perez. May they continue to be a witness of Jesus’ Resurrection!
ALLELUIA, Jesus Christ Is truly Risen! Fr. Bline
