The Divine Mercy

Today, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. What is this all about? And how did this begin? Read on for more...

In 1905, a little Catholic girl by the name of Faustina Kowalska was born in Poland to a poor family. She was the third child among the ten children borne by her parents. At the age of 9, she received her First Holy Communion, and at the age of 16, went out to find work to support her parents and her other siblings. A few years later, she joined the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland. During this time, God gave her many spiritual gifts - revelations, visions, hidden stigmata, and other wonderful gifts. Among the many revelations, Jesus told her that He loves us very much and is saddened by the many sinners in the world, and that He wants to save as many souls as possible before Judgment Day. Jesus' Mercy is so great. To save us from Hell, He loves us so much that He is willing to forgive all our sins, as long as we are repentant and beg Him for Mercy. He said, "Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion." Under the guidance of her spiritual director, Sister Faustina recorded Jesus' revelations in a diary that comes up to about 600 pages. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to the Divine Mercy had begun to spread. The years of war (1939-1945) saw many turning to the Divine Mercy for comfort and hope. However, in 1958-9, the devotion to the Divine Mercy was banned by the Holy Seethat received erroneous versions of the devotion. It was not until 1978 that Pope John Paul II lifted the ban, and on the second Sunday of Easter 1993, beatified Sister Faustina. The second Sunday of Easter had been revealed by Jesus to Sister Faustina to be the Feast of the Divine Mercy. As the devotion to the Divine Mercy is relatively new and in the process of spreading, the Feast is not celebrated in every parish.

In Singapore, the Feast was celebrated only at the parish of Christ the King (in Ang Mo Kio), as the National Director of the Devotion to the Divine Mercy is the parish priest of that church. It was celebrated by the Archbishop Emeritus, Gregory Yong, together with Fr. Peter Koh and Br. Bonaventure Tung. This was one of the best Eucharistic celebrations I have attended, and I wish every Eucharistic celebration can be like that. Anyone interested to know more about the Divine Mercy, a devotion booklet as well as Sr. Faustina's diary are available.