Keep Us in Your Divine Heart

Oh my Jesus, bless us and keep us in Your divine Heart, permit us not to offend you or separate ourselves from you in any way. Free us from daily distractions, especially those that lead us to sin, that we may only focus on You, Your mercy and Your will for us. Amen.

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina,

Write: I am Thrice Holy, and I detest the smallest sin. I cannot love a soul which is stained with sin; but when it repents, there is no limit to My generosity toward it. My mercy embraces and justifies it. With My mercy, I pursue sinners along all their paths, and My Heart rejoices when they return to Me. I forget the bitterness with which they fed My Heart and rejoice at their return.

Tell sinners that no one shall escape My Hand; if they run away from My Merciful Heart, they will fall into My Just Hands. Tell sinners that I am always waiting for them, that I listen intently to the beating of their heart... when will it beat for Me? Write, that I am speaking to them through their remorse of conscience, through their failures and sufferings, through thunderstorms, through the voice of the Church. And if they bring all my graces to naught, I begin to be angry with them, leaving them alone and giving them what they want. (Diary entry 1728)

Psalm 62 - Trust in God Alone

Have unshaken confidence in the Lord, for true strength comes not from earthly power but from God's grace.

Psalm 62:1-3, 6-7, 9

Only in God is my soul at rest;
from him comes my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be

disturbed at all.

Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.

He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be

disturbed.

Trust in him at all times, Oh my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!

Make Time to Pray the Chaplet

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina in 1936,

Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. (Diary entry 687)

How to pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy.

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Mother of Mercy

Give thanks to God for the gift of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, for she is full of love and hope for us.

O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy,

you are the refuge of sinners and the comfort

of the afflicted.

Look with mercy on us.

By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
you gave the world hope.

Your Son has healed many, thanks

to your compassionate intercession.

Therefore, I come humbly before you

to ask for your motherly intercession
for all who are sick in body, mind and spirit.

Holy Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of death.

Amen.

Today's Responsorial Psalm

Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Psalm 131 - Humble Trust in God

A song of ascents. Of David.

O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;

I busy myself not with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted

my soul like a weaned child.

Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
[so is my soul within me.]

O Israel, hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.

Pray for Us

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself upon us. (Diary entry 1319)

Happy Feast Day!

Share in the joy and hope of Divine Mercy by proclaiming, "Jesus, I Trust in You!"

Jesus said to Saint Faustina,

That whoever approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.

Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.

Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hands are crowned with mercy. (Diary entry 300)

Today is the most holy and glorious feast day of Divine Mercy, celebrated each year on the second Sunday of Easter, concluding the Easter Octave.

It was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the day of canonization of Saint Faustina.

In the pope's homily, he said: "It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person. Thus the message of divine mercy is also implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is precious in God's eyes; Christ gave his life for each one; to everyone the Father gives his Spirit and offers intimacy."

In a decree on May 23, 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said "throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience in the years to come."

Today, go to Jesus with a humble and contrite heart, repent of all your sins:

• Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance.
• Receive Holy Communion.
• Venerate the image of Divine Mercy.
• Rejoice, for His Mercy is endless.

Preparation for the Feast of Divine Mercy

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina,
Behold, the treasures of grace that flow down upon souls, but not all souls know how to take advantage of my generosity. (Diary entry 1687)

* * *

Don't wait any longer to accept the Lord's help. He sees you, your faults, your struggles, your love, your goodness. He knows you and loves you. His Divine Heart is open for you to obtain great grace. Just ask Our Lord. Jesus wanted Saint Faustina to make His great Mercy known and desired. Now is your time to receive His Divine Mercy.

Our Lord asked Saint Faustina that a feast day be dedicated to His Divine Mercy celebrated the first Sunday after Easter. To observe this most wonderful feast and receive holy grace:

• Firmly trust in the Divine Mercy of Jesus.
• Start a Novena to the Divine Mercy, using the Chaplet, on Good Friday.
• Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance. Go to Jesus with a humble and contrite heart, repent of all your sins on the feast day, otherwise seven days before or after the feast, as approved by the Church.
• Receive Holy Communion on the day of the feast.
• Venerate the image of Divine Mercy.
• Practice works of selfless love and mercy, by helping others and offering prayers to save souls.

* * *

My daughter, look into My Merciful Heart and reflect its compassion in your own heart and in your deeds, so that you who proclaim My mercy to the world, may yourself be aflame with it. (Diary entry 1688)

Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Using your Rosary beads, pray this devotion at 3 o'clock, the Hour of Mercy, if possible, or after Holy Mass. Pray it anytime your heart is inspired.

Make the Sign of the Cross.

Pray: "You didst expire, Lord Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us." (Optional)

"O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You." (Three times)

Pray one Our Father.

Pray one Hail Mary.

Recite the Apostles' Creed.

On the large bead before each of the five decades:

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world."

On each small bead:

"For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."

After five decades, conclude by saying three times:

"Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world."

Closing prayer: "Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen." (Optional)

Watch a video, courtesy of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception.

Spread the Light of Divine Mercy

Urge your pastor or church's devotions director to include the Chaplet of Divine Mercy after weekday Mass or at 3 o'clock, the Hour of Mercy.