The Divine Mercy

A Background of the 

Divine Mercy Devotion

30 April 2000  -  Blessed Faustina declared Saint Faustina. 
The Holy Father states that henceforth in the Universal Church the 2nd Sunday of Easter will be called Divine Mercy Sunday!

     From the diary of a young Polish nun, a special devotion began spreading throughout the world in the 1930s.  The message is nothing new, but is a reminder of what the Church has always taught through scripture and tradition:  that God is merciful and forgiving and that we too, must show mercy and forgiveness.  But in the Divine Mercy devotion, the message takes on a powerful new focus, calling people to a deeper understanding that God's love is unlimited and available to everyone - especially the greatest sinners.

    The message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Blessed Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's Mercy.  Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread.  The message of mercy is that God loves us - all of us - no matter how great our sins.  He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others.  Thus, all will come to share His joy.  It is a message we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC.

A - Ask for His Mercy.  God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His Mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.

B - Be merciful.  God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others.  He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.

C - Completely trust in Jesus.  God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust.  The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.

The Divine Mercy Devotion

    Devotion to The Divine Mercy involves a total commitment to God as Mercy.  It is a decision to trust completely in Him, to accept His mercy with thanksgiving, and to be merciful as He is merciful.

    The devotional practices proposed in the diary of Blessed Faustina and set forth in website are completely in accordance with the teachings of the Church and are firmly rooted in the Gospel message of our Merciful Savior.  Properly understood and implemented, they will help us grow as genuine followers of Christ.

 The Image of the Divine Mercy

Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and throughout the world. (Diary 47)

I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as My own glory. (Diary 48)

I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature" :Jesus, I trust in You." (Diary 327)

The two rays denote Blood and Water. the pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of god shall not lay hold of him. (Diary 299)

Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush, lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace. (Diary 313)

By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works. (Diary 742)

For more information, see "Diary of a Soul, Divine Mercy and St. Faustina"

     Divine Mercy Chaplet            Divine Mercy Novena