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Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday
19 April 2009
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today is the Eighth Day, or Octave, of Easter, the celebration of the Father’s pluperfect work of redemption in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. During all of the past week, the Church has celebrated the Passover of the Lord as one continuous solemnity, the “early hours” of the one, great Sunday of Eastertide, the fifty days of joyful thanks and praise which culminate in Pentecost.
Since the Jubilee of the Year 2000 and at the request of Pope John Paul II, the Second Sunday of Easter has also been called “Divine Mercy Sunday”. Devotion to the Divine Mercy began in Poland in the years between the two World Wars, and it was promoted by a Polish nun, Sister Faustina Kowalska, who was canonized on 30 April 2000. Saint Faustina was born in 1905 in a small village near Lodz, Poland, and she was the third of ten children in the family. At age 20, Faustina entered the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, and over thirteen years she served the community as a cook, gardener, and doorkeeper. She died on 5 October 1938 at the age of 33.
During her brief life, St. Faustina led a life of intense contemplative prayer, and during several mystical experiences of the risen Christ, she came to understand in a profound way the Father’s infinite mercy and passionate love revealed in the crucified and resurrected Christ. St. Faustina encouraged others to surrender their lives to the Lord Jesus under the title of the Divine Mercy, and this devotion is now extended to the universal Church by Pope John Paul II.
On this Second Sunday of Easter at 4:00 pm in the church we will have the public prayers of the Divine Mercy devotion. All are welcome to spend time together in praise and thanksgiving for the infinite mercy of God revealed in the life, death, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Complete your celebration of the Octave of Easter by surrendering your life to the Lord Jesus under the title of His Divine Mercy.
Father Newman
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us.