DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
Second Sunday of Easter

What 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 Blessed 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. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.

My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. 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.”

In all, St. Faustina recorded 14 revelations from Jesus concerning His desire for this feast.

Nevertheless, Divine Mercy Sunday is NOT a feast based solely on St. Faustina’s revelations. Indeed, it is not primarily about St. Faustina — nor is it altogether a new feast. The Second Sunday of Easter was already a solemnity as the Octave Day of Easter. The title “Divine Mercy Sunday” does, however, highlight the meaning of the day.

Learn how to observe the Feast and receive special graces.

When was it made part of the Church’s calendar?

In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and, during the ceremony, he declared:

4. It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called “Divine Mercy Sunday”. 

In the various readings, the liturgy seems to indicate the path of mercy which, while re-establishing the relationship of each person with God, also creates new relations of fraternal solidarity among human beings [Homily, April 30, 2000].

Extraordinary Graces
What graces are available and how do we receive them?

In her Diary, St. Faustina records a special promise given to her by Jesus. He told her to communicate it to the whole world:

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy (699).

In three places in her Diary, St. Faustina records our Lord’s promises of specific, extraordinary graces:

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).

To receive these graces, the only condition is to receive Holy Communion worthily on Divine Mercy Sunday (or the Vigil celebration) by making a good confession beforehand and 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.

In addition, our Lord says through St. Faustina that we are to perform acts of mercy:

“Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy” (742).

“The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive” (1578).

The worthy reception of the Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday is sufficient to obtain the extraordinary graces promised by Jesus. A plenary indulgence, obtained by fulfilling the usual conditions, also is available.

When should I go to confession?

You do not have to go to confession on Mercy Sunday itself. We know from her Diary that St. Faustina made her confession in preparation for Mercy Sunday on the day before (Diary 1072). In fact, all of Lent should be a preparation to make a good confession to receive Holy Communion worthily on Easter Sunday and Divine Mercy Sunday. 

Sin is the only obstacle to our fervent reception of Holy Communion, and our sins can be wiped away by the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The important thing is to receive Holy Communion on these great feast days in a state of grace, and with great trust in God’s mercy. Don’t wait until the last moment, take advantage of the extra confession time that is made available during Lent.

If You’re Sick or Homebound
You’re not out of the reach of God’s mercy

Can you receive the graces promised on Mercy Sunday if you can’t go to church due to a serious reason, such as being homebound, seriously ill, or disabled?

Try to arrange for a Eucharistic Minister to bring you Communion. Parishes should arrange for Eucharistic Ministers to visit the homebound and bring them the Eucharist and, if possible, literature on Divine Mercy Sunday, Chaplet prayer cards, and rosaries.

If a visit is not possible, however, you can still participate in the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday by making a Spiritual Communion with great trust. God will give you all the graces that He sees that you need because of your great trust.

Our Lord said to St. Faustina: The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me, because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it is My desire to give much, very much (Diary, 1578).

Act of Spiritual Communion

My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Blessed Sacrament.
I love You above all things and I desire You in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
As though You were already there,
I embrace You and unite myself to You;
permit not that I should ever be separated from You.
Amen.

The Church also made special, compassionate provisions for obtaining a plenary indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday by those who cannot go to Mass on that day, including those who are seriously ill or involved in non-postponable work.

You also can see the celebration of Holy Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday on EWTN.

The Image of The Divine Mercy

In 1931, our Lord appeared to St. Faustina in a vision. She saw Jesus clothed in a white garment with His right hand raised in blessing. His left hand was touching His garment in the area of the Heart, from where two large rays came forth, one red and the other pale. She gazed intently at the Lord in silence, her soul filled with awe, but also with great joy. Jesus said to her: 

Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. 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, 47, 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 (327). I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world (47). 

At the request of her spiritual director, St. Faustina asked the Lord about the meaning of the rays in the image. She heard these words in reply: 

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 depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (299). 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 (742). 

These words indicate that the Image represents the graces of Divine Mercy poured out upon the world, especially through Baptism and the Eucharist. 

There have been a number of paintings made of this image. The original, though not the most popular one today, is shown above (by painter Eugene Kazimierowski currently exposed and devoted at the Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy, Vilnius, in Lithuania).

Many different versions of this image have been painted, but our Lord made it clear that the painting itself is not what is important. When St. Faustina first saw the original image that was being painted under her direction, she wept in disappointment and complained to Jesus: “Who will paint You as beautiful as You are?” (313). 

In answer, she heard these words: “Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace” (313). 

So, no matter which version of the image we prefer, we can be assured that it is a vehicle of God’s grace if it is revered with trust in His mercy.

Veneration of the Image on Divine Mercy Sunday

The Image of Jesus, The Divine Mercy, is to be venerated* on Divine Mercy Sunday. It is to be given a place of honor in our churches and homes on this Sunday. Our Lord appeared to St. Faustina and then directed her to have this appearance of Himself as the Merciful Savior painted and then venerated publicly. He told her, I want the Image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it (Diary of St. Faustina, 341). 

In the Image, our Risen Savior has pale and red rays streaming from His side. These rays symbolize the Blood and Water that flowed from His side while He was on the cross. But, in His appearance to St. Faustina, they had been transformed into glorious rays, revealing a fount of healing graces for sinners who will turn to Him with trust. That is why the Image always bears the inscription: “Jesus, I trust in You!” 

In our churches and homes, we can venerate the Image of Jesus, The Divine Mercy, by gazing upon it in prayer and adoration. As signs of our love for Jesus, we can place candles and flowers before the Image. First and foremost, as we gaze upon our Merciful Savior in prayer, we can decide to trust in Him and to perform works of mercy — responding to the call to be merciful just as He has shown mercy to us.

* To “venerate” a sacred image simply means to perform some act, or make some gesture of deep religious respect toward it because of the person whom it represents. 

Pope Francis on Divine Mercy Sunday
By David Came (Apr 7, 2013)

In the first Divine Mercy Sunday message of his pontificate, on April 7 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis gave a powerful teaching on God’s mercy based on the Gospel of the day, John 20:19-31. He spoke of how “true peace … comes from the experience of God’s mercy,” of Jesus Christ revealing Himself to us as “Mercy Incarnate,” and of our call to boldly “proclaim Christ the Risen Lord” by “trusting in the mercy of the Lord forever.”

Pope Francis also emphasized how Blessed John Paul II established Divine Mercy Sunday as a universal feast day and then died on its vigil. 

“Today,” Pope Francis said, “is Divine Mercy Sunday, by the will of Blessed John Paul II, who closed his eyes to the world on the vigil of this [feast day].”

He delivered his message in the Square before an estimated crowd of 50,000 people after praying the Regina Caeli, according to the online news service AsiaNews.

Of the Risen Lord’s Easter gift of peace to His disciples and its connection with Divine Mercy, Pope Francis said:

I renew to everyone the Easter greetings with the words of the Risen Jesus: “Peace be with you!” It is not a greeting, or even a simple wish: it is a gift, indeed, the precious gift that Christ gives to his disciples after passing through death and the underworld. He gives peace, as he had promised, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” This peace is the fruit of the victory of God over evil, it is the fruit of forgiveness. And so it is: true peace, profound peace, comes from the experience of God’s mercy.

Notice here how Pope Francis teaches us that this Easter gift of peace, which “comes from the experience of God’s mercy,” is “the fruit of the victory of God over evil” and “the fruit of forgiveness.” Thus, our Holy Father shows us the great power of Divine Mercy that is revealed in the Paschal mystery, as God has victory over evil and offers us forgiveness for our sins.

In describing Jesus Christ as “Mercy Incarnate,” Pope Francis stresses our need to believe in Him and His love and mercy for us even though — unlike the Apostle Thomas in the day’s Gospel — we have not had the opportunity to see the Risen Lord and examine His wounds:

The second time, eight days later, Thomas was also there. And Jesus said to him, invited him to look at the wounds, to touch them, and Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord, my God.” Jesus said: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” And who were those who believed without seeing? The other disciples, the men and women of Jerusalem who, despite not having met the risen Jesus, believed the testimony of the Apostles and the women. This is a very important word on faith, we can call it the beatitude of faith. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. At all times and in all places blessed are those who, through the Word of God proclaimed in the Church and witnessed by Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnate love of God, Mercy Incarnate. And that goes for all of us.

Here, Pope Francis is saying that the key to our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is our faith and trust in Him, as we are called to live by faith and not by sight. Through the eyes of faith, we are invited to a personal encounter with Him as Mercy Incarnate. In this light, it makes perfect sense Jesus told St. Faustina that we are asked to personally sign the Divine Mercy image with the words, “Jesus, I trust in You” (Diary of St. Faustina, 47).

Finally, Pope Francis connects the dots. It’s almost as if he has the Divine Mercy image in view as he encourages us to boldly witness to our faith in the Risen Lord by “trusting in the mercy of the Lord”:

… the Spirit of the Risen Christ casts out fear from the hearts of the apostles and pushes them out of the Upper Room, to bring the Gospel. We also must have more courage to witness to faith in the Risen Christ! Let us not be afraid to be Christian and live as Christians! We must have the courage to go out and proclaim Christ the Risen Lord, for he is our peace. “Trusting in the mercy of the Lord forever, because he is waiting for us, he loves us.”

So, be encouraged by Pope Francis to boldly proclaim and live your faith in the Risen Christ. As you do, join me in praying, “Jesus, I trust in You!” And give thanks to the Merciful Savior for Pope Francis, who is our new Mercy Pope.