Divine Mercy Sunday Is April 8

How to prepare and celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy.

Saint Faustina wrote in her diary on Good Friday 1937:

Jesus is commanding me to make a novena before the Feast of Mercy, and today I am to begin it for the conversion of the whole world and for the recognition of The Divine Mercy...so that every soul will praise My goodness. I desire trust from My creatures. Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Let the weak, sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for even if it had more sins than there are grains of sand in the world, all would be drowned in the unmeasurable depths of My mercy.  (Diary entry 1059)

To observe this wonderful feast on Sunday, April 8, and receive holy grace and full forgiveness, do the following:

• Ask Jesus to help you place all your trust in the Divine Mercy of His Most Sacred Heart.
• Start a Novena to the Divine Mercy, using the Chaplet, on Good Friday, March 30, in preparation for the feast.
• Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance on Sunday, April 8, or seven days before or after, with the desire never to sin again. Be contrite and humble as you pray in front of the tabernacle.
• Receive Holy Communion on Sunday, April 8.
• 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)

Saint Joseph, Pray for Us

Today is March 19, the holy feast of Saint Joseph. Pray to him.

O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. O Saint Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

O Saint Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. Saint Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.

Gopel reading, Luke 2:41-51

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
"Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them,
"Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them.

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes for Healing

February 11, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy, Health of the Sick, Refuge of Sinners, Comfort to the Afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings.

Deign to cast upon me a look of mercy.

By appearing at the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, where you dispense your favors; and already many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal.

I come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain, O loving Mother, the granting of my requests.

Through gratitude for favors, I will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that  I may one day share your glory.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Amen.

Trust in Temptation

When fear, sadness, anxiety or trouble beats against our hearts and we cannot think clearly, run to Jesus. These are temptations to despair and lose trust in Our Lord. In February 1938, Saint Faustina wrote this passage in her diary and gives us the words of Jesus that we may not be afraid in darkness, but hurry to Him in prayer with great openness, admitting our struggle and asking for peace of mind.


February 3, [1938]. Today after Holy Communion, Jesus again gave me a few directives: First, do not fight against a temptation by yourself, but disclose it to the confessor at once, and then the temptation will lose all its force. Second, during these ordeals do not lose your peace; live in My presence; ask My Mother and the Saints for help. Third, have the certitude that I am looking at you and supporting you. Fourth, do not fear either struggles of the soul or any temptations, because I am supporting you; if only you are willing to fight, know that the victory is always on your side. Fifth, know that by fighting bravely you give Me great glory and amass merits for yourself. Temptation gives you a chance to show Me your fidelity.

And now I am going to tell you something that is most important for you: Boundless sincerity with your spiritual director. If you do not take advantage of this great grace according to My instructions, I will take him away from you, and then you will be left to yourself; and all the torments, which you know very well, will return to you. It displeases Me that you do not take advantage of the opportunity when you are able to see him and talk with him. Know that it is a great grace on My part when I give a spiritual director to a soul. Many souls ask Me for this, but it is not to all that I grant this grace. From the moment when I gave you this priest as spiritual director, I endowed him with new light so that he might easily know and understand your soul…..

O my Jesus, my only mercy, allow me to see contentment in Your face as a sign of reconciliation with me, because my heart cannot bear Your seriousness; if this continues a moment longer my heart will burst with grief. You see that I am even now crushed to dust.

And at that very moment I saw myself in some kind of a palace; and Jesus gave me His hand, sat me at His side, and said with kindness, My bride, you always please Me by your humility. The greatest misery does not stop Me from uniting Myself to a soul, but where there is pride, I am not there. 

When I came to myself, I reflected on what had happened in my heart, thanking God for His love and for the mercy that He had shown me. (Diary entries 1560 to 1563)

Mary on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord

From Saint Faustina's diary. This is an amazing line: Your Heart was for Jesus the first tabernacle on earth.

MARY, IMMACULATE VIRGIN

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin,
Pure crystal for my heart,
You are my strength, O secure anchor,
You are a shield and protection for a weak heart.
O Mary, you are pure and unparalleled,
Virgin and Mother at one and the same time;
You’re beautiful as the sun, by nothing defiled.
Nothing is worthy of comparison to the image of Your soul.
Your beauty enthralled the Thrice-Holy One’s eye,
That He came down from heaven, forsaking th’eternal See’s throne,
And assumed from Your Heart Body and Blood,
Hiding for nine months in the Virgin’s Heart.
O Mother, Virgin, this will no one comprehend,
That the infinite God is becoming a man;
It’s only love’s and His inscrutable mercy’s purpose.
Through You, Mother — it’s given us to live with Him forever.
O Mary, Virgin Mother and Heaven’s Gate,
Through You salvation came to us;
Every grace to us streams forth through Your hands,
And faithful imitation of You only will sanctify me.
O Mother, Virgin — most beautiful Lily.
Your Heart was for Jesus the first tabernacle on earth,
And that, because Your humility was the deepest,
Wherefore You were raised above Angel choirs and Saints.
O Mary, my sweet Mother,
To You I turn over my soul, my body and my poor heart.
Be the safeguard of my life,
Especially at death’s hour, in the final fight.
(Diary entry 161)

Watch Now: Midnight Mass From St. Faustina's Chapel

https://livestream.com/accounts/11477776/events/3773195

Have Faith, No Matter the Cross

When I steeped myself in prayer, I was transported in spirit to the chapel, where I saw the Lord Jesus, exposed in the monstrance. In place of the monstrance, I saw the glorious face of the Lord, and He said to me, What you see in reality, these souls see through faith. Oh, how pleasing to Me is their great faith! You see, although there appears to be no trace of life in Me, in reality it is present in its fullness in each and every Host. But for Me to be able to act upon a soul, the soul must have faith. O how pleasing to Me is living faith! (Diary entry 1420)

'Do Not Lose Your Peace'

Jesus wants us to be saints. How can we achieve it? We're not perfect -- at all. We have so many flaws and faults; we lose patience; we make bad choices; we miss chances to help others; we don't pray as we could. Jesus knows all this and still loves us. TRUST in HIM. If we trust, anything is possible. Read what Jesus told Saint Faustina.

This firm resolution to become a saint is extremely pleasing to Me. I bless your efforts and will give you opportunities to sanctify yourself. Be watchful that you lose no opportunity that My providence offers you for sanctification. If you do not succeed in taking advantage of an opportunity, do not lose your peace, but humble yourself profoundly before Me and, with great trust, immerse yourself completely in My mercy. In this way, you gain more than you have lost, because more favor is granted to a humble soul than the soul itself asks for... (Diary entry 1361)

Make Your Requests Known to God

Sunday's Second Reading PHIL 4:6-9

Brothers and sisters:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.

The Power of the Spiritual Works of Mercy

Today is Saint Faustina's very special feast day, October 5, the day she died in 1938. By the accounts of those who were with her, she died in the radiant peace of God. She suffered a great deal in life and at death, but death could not bind her love of God, nor lessen the power and grace given to her through the Almighty, that her life was a sacrifice of mercy for each of us. Read these passages from her diary about a year before her death. These are Jesus' words to us on the importance of being merciful. As we are merciful to others, that is how God is merciful to us. So be generous with your mercy even when it's hard.

October 1, 1937. Daughter, I need sacrifice lovingly accomplished, because that alone has meaning for Me. Enormous indeed are the debts of the world which are due to Me; pure souls can pay them by their sacrifice, exercising mercy in spirit. (Diary entry 1316)

I understand Your words, Lord, and the magnitude of the mercy that ought to shine in my soul. Jesus: I know, My daughter, that you understand it and that you do everything within your power. But write this for the many souls who are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permission nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy. (Diary entry 1317)

So what can we do? It's not too hard. PRACTICE THE CORPORAL AND SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY. Jesus tells Saint Faustina that spiritual mercy carries more merit and can be achieved by everyone.