Divine Mercy - April 24, 2022

Happy Easter! This Sunday is the eighth day of the Octave of Easter, so it is still considered Easter Day itself. So keep celebrating. This Sunday is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday.
 
This Sunday, April 24th is Divine Mercy Sunday. In a series of revelations to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Today, we know that feast as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Saint Pope John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30, 2000. 
 
The Lord expressed His will with regard to this feast in His very first revelation to St. Faustina. The most comprehensive revelation can be found in her Diary entry 699:
My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow… It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.
 
There are extraordinary graces to be had on this day: “complete forgiveness of sins and punishment” (the equivalent of a plenary indulgence). The only conditions to receive these graces are to receive Holy Communion worthily on Divine Mercy Sunday (or the Vigil celebration) by making a good confession at some point beforehand (the experts, Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M, say a confession anytime previous in Lent works) and then staying in the state of grace and trusting in His Divine Mercy. By these conditions, our Lord is emphasizing the value of confession and Holy Communion as miracles of mercy. The Eucharist is Jesus, Himself, the Living God, longing to pour Himself as Mercy into our hearts. (Read more at thedivinemercy.org.)
 
There is also special celebration of Divine Mercy and Holy Hour in the parish this Sunday (April 24) at 3pm. Please join. Let us continue to celebrate well the Resurrection of Jesus and his amazing Divine Mercy. Jesus, we trust in you!
 
Peace.
Fr. Greg