Pope John Paul II couldn’t have passed at a more incredible
moment—after sundown on the First Saturday of the month that
happens to also be the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday!
But what is so incredible?
Let’s look:
First Saturday—because of Fatima. Click
here to learn about First Saturday (Mother Teresa was also called
home on First Saturday).
In the 1930’s, Jesus appeared to a young Polish nun, now
known as St. Faustina. The reason for his frequent visits was to
ask her to help Him remind the people of a very troubled world the
good news of His awesome, His immeasurable, His utterly unfathomable
“Ocean of Mercy”. It was nothing new; it was as old
as the Gospel. But He also asked her to announce His desire that
the Second Sunday of Easter be celebrated as the Feast of His Infinite
Mercy and become known as “Divine Mercy Sunday”. In
2000, Pope John Paul II made it official putting into the liturgical
calendar.
On this day He promises the most
incredible graces—complete forgiveness of sins and
punishment.
Our Lord's promise to grant complete forgiveness of sins and punishment
on the Feast of Mercy is recorded three times in the Diary of Saint
Faustina, each time in a slightly different way:
"I want to grant a complete
pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy
Communion on the Feast of My mercy." (1109).
"Whoever approaches the Fountain
of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins
and punishment." (300).
"The soul that will go to Confession
and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins
and punishment." (699).
Extraordinary Graces
Our Lord is emphasizing, through this promise, the infinite value
of Confession and Communion as miracles of mercy. He wants us to
realize that since the Eucharist is His own Body, Blood, Soul, and
Divinity, it is the "Fountain of Life" (300). The Eucharist
is Jesus, Himself, the Living God, longing to pour Himself as Mercy
into our hearts.
Why would Our Lord feel the need to emphasize this? Because so
many people do not really understand it. They either see no need
to receive Holy Communion, or they receive it simply out of habit.
As St. Paul explains in his letter to the Corinthians, they eat
the bread or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, "without
recognizing the body of the Lord" (I Cor 11:27 29).
In His revelations to Saint Faustina Our Lord makes it very clear
what He is offering us in Holy Communion and how much it hurts Him
when we treat His presence with indifference:
"My great delight is to unite
Myself with souls ... When I come to a human heart in Holy Communion,
My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to
the soul. But souls do not even pay any attention to Me; they leave
Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things. Oh, how sad
I am that souls do not recognize Love! They treat Me as a dead object"
(1385) ...
"It pains Me very much when
religious souls receive the Sacrament of Love merely out of habit,
as if they did not distinguish this food. I find neither faith nor
love in their hearts. I go to such souls with great reluctance.
It would be better if they did not receive Me" (1288) ...
"How painful it is to Me that
souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait
for souls, and they are indifferent toward Me. I want to lavish
My graces on them, and they do not want to accept them. They treat
me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and mercy.
In order that you may know at least some of My pain imagine the
most tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while
those children spurn her love. Consider her pain. No one is in a
position to console her. This is but a feeble image and likeness
of My love" (1447).
So, Our Lord's promise of complete forgiveness is both a reminder
and a call. It is a reminder that He is truly present and truly
alive in the Eucharist, filled with love for us and waiting for
us to turn to Him with trust. And it is a call for us all to be
washed clean in His Love through Confession and Holy Communion no
matter how terrible our sins and begin our lives again. He is offering
us a new start.
Prepare Yourself Properly
Going to Confession is not the only way we should prepare ourselves
for Divine Mercy Sunday. As Cardinal Francis Macharski, Archbishop
of Krakow, Poland explains in a 1985 pastoral letter, we are not
simply called to ask for God's mercy with trust. We are also called
to be merciful:
"Our own merciful attitude is likewise a preparation. Without
deeds of mercy our devotion would not be real. For Christ does not
only reveal the mercy of God, but at the same time He places before
people the demand that they conduct themselves in life with love
and mercy. The Holy Father states that this requirement constitutes
the very heart of the Gospel ethos (Rich in Mercy, 3) it is the
commandment of love and the promise: "Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy' (Mt 5:7). Let it be a mercy that is
forgiving and true, and universal, with good words, deeds, and prayer
for others!"
Our Lord's words to Saint Faustina about this requirement to be
merciful are very strong and leave no room for misinterpretation:
"Yes, the first Sunday after
Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy
... I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of
love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and
everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve
yourself from it" (742).
Thus, to fittingly observe the Feast of Mercy, we should:
