DEVOTION TO THE DIVINE MERCY

Fundamental Essence of Devotion to the Divine Mercy

What constitutes the fundamental essence of Devotion to The Divine Mercy?  Trust constitutes this [essence] to such a degree that without trust there is no devotion such as Jesus wished, and without trust, it is impossible to attain any of the promises attached to the Devotion.  Trust is a basic and essential act of the devotion to such a degree that it alone, without any other concrete forms of the Devotion, is already a guarantee of achieving all the general promises Jesus attached to this Devotion.   (p.102)

The result is that no external action of this Devotion generates any of the results promised by Jesus unless the action expresses trust and is carried out with trust.    (p.103)

For the same reason, trust alone in Mercy, without any of the concrete acts of devotion as revealed through Sister Helen Faustina, assures achievement of all normal effects of the Devotion as we read in revelation 35: "Whoever trusts My Mercy will not perish, for all his affairs are Mine" (Diary #723).  "All" refers not only to salvation and sanctification, but also to temporal prosperity and fortune.... However, for the attainment of the extraordinary graces attached by Jesus to some of the devotional acts, it is an indispensable necessity to perform the acts.  For example: Whoever desires to experience complete remission of all sins and punishment, must receive Holy Communion on the Feast of Mercy, that is, the first Sunday of Easter.   (p.103)

Great promises belong to the essence of the Devotion, but there are also certain requirements.  In the first place, an indispensably necessary element of the Devotion is an active love of neighbor or the practice of mercy toward our neighbor. The Lord Jesus expressed clearly that He wishes each devotee of Divine Mercy to perform each day at least one act of mercy toward one's neighbor, through a good deed, a good word, or through prayer...The basic requirement of performing acts of mercy toward one's neighbor is actually fulfilled by all the concrete forms of the Devotion to Divine Mercy.    (p.104, 105)

Veneration of the Image of the Merciful Christ

Jesus awaits and demands that the prayer of trust before the image of the Merciful Jesus be combined with an examination of conscience, an examination of how we have fulfilled Christ's demands to perform at least one deed of mercy daily.    (p.110)

Christ promised that those who venerate the Image would achieve great progress along the road to holiness, gaining victory in this life over the enemies of the soul and enemies of salvation.  He promised a happy and holy death with the assurance that He personally would defend them as His glory at the hour of their death.

The range of promises not directly named by Jesus was defined by the first role of the Image, i.e., that of a vessel for drawing graces from the wellspring of Mercy, but subordinated to trust.  Consequently, we will obtain more quickly and in a much greater degree all the saving graces and all the temporal benefits which it is possible to obtain through unwavering trust in Divine Mercy, if we express this trust in the form of veneration of the Image.   (p.110)

The Feast of Mercy

The Feast of Divine Mercy occupies the first place among all external manifestations of the Devotion.... Christ intended that we contemplate the mystery of Redemption on that day as the greatest manifestation of Divine Mercy toward us.   (p.111)

As we have said, Jesus demands that the Feast of The Divine Mercy be preceded by a novena, and he required Sister Helen Faustina to prepare for its celebration by means of a novena consisting of the recitation of the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy.  The novena of Chaplets of The Divine Mercy unites within itself, on the one hand, the promises of Jesus dependent on the recitation of this Chaplet and, on the other hand, those attached to celebrating the novena prior to The Feast of Divine Mercy.  Referring to the novena, Jesus said: "Through this novena, I will bestow all possible graces upon souls" (Diary #796).  The words "all possible graces" mean that the person saying the novena to the Divine Mercy will obtain all the benefits of God he asks for, regardless of whether he requests these graces for himself or for others. (p.112)

Jesus demands that the feast be celebrated solemnly, as a liturgical feast of the universal Church.  As to the means of celebration, He expressed two wishes.  In the first place, the Image of Divine Mercy is to be ceremoniously blessed on this feast day, and it also is to be publicly, that is liturgically, venerated on this Sunday.  In the second place, "On that day, priests should speak to souls of this grace and unfathomable Mercy of Mine" (Diary #570).

Jesus demands therefore, that the subject of this day's sermon be His Mercy, not only His Divine and infinite Mercy, but also the unimaginable Mercy of His human heart, above all attested to by His Passion, for He wants "the Feast of Mercy to be a recourse and a refuge for all souls, but especially for all sinners."  Since there is no other means of drawing graces from the wellspring of Mercy but through trust, the sermon should be such that it might incite the audience to a posture of unwavering and fervent trust.  A priest can only prove equal to this demand if he shows the faithful the unfathomable love and mercy of Jesus, both in His Passion and in the entire work of Redemption.  Thus, the proper aim of this feast is the recapitulation of the entire work of Redemption from the point of view of Mercy.    (p.113)

In sermons given on this day, it is proper to mention the most exceptional grace which Jesus attached to the celebration of this Feast in revelation 13: "Whoever receives the Source of Life on this day will attain complete remission of sins and punishment" (Diary #300).  He repeated this promise even more clearly in revelation 33: "Whichever soul goes to Confession and receives Holy Communion, such a soul will attain complete remission of sins and punishment" (Diary #699).

The most exceptional grace promised by Jesus for the Feast of the Divine Mercy is something considerably greater than a plenary indulgence.  The latter consists only of the remission of temporal punishments for committed sins, but is never the remission of sins itself.  The exceptional grace of [the communion on ] Divine Mercy Sunday is also greater than the graces of the other sacraments, with the exception of the Sacrament of Baptism, for the remission of all sins and punishment is only found in the sacramental grace of Baptism.  In the promises cited, Christ tied the remission of all sins and punishment to the reception of Holy Communion on the Feast of Divine Mercy.  (p.113-114)

The nature of this highest grace leaves no room for any ambiguity: It is the complete remission of sins and punishment; in other words: It is the complete forgiveness of all sins, which were not yet forgiven and of all punishment due for those sins.  As regards the forgiveness of sins then, this grace is equal to the grace of Baptism.  (p.114)

It is obvious that in order to effect a complete forgiveness of sins and punishment, the Holy Communion received on the Feast of Divine Mercy must not only be partaken of worthily, but it must also fulfill the basic requirements of the Divine Mercy devotion.  (p.114)

Jesus did not limit His generosity on the Feast of Divine Mercy exclusively to this one, supreme grace.  On the contrary, He declared that "on that day, the bowels of My Mercy are open: I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon souls who will approach the fount of My Mercy...On that day are opened all the Divine floodgates through which grace flow" (diary #699).  For this reason, "let no soul fear to approach Me."  From these words of Christ, it is evident that He fervently desires the Feast of Divine Mercy to be an unusually effective refuge for all mankind, especially for sinners, incomparably more effective that all other forms of Devotion to The Divine Mercy.

The incomparable effectiveness of this refuge is manifested in three ways. First it is manifested through its universality.  All people, even those who never had devotion to The Divine Mercy, even sinners who repented on the day of the Feast itself, can participate to the fullest extent in all the graces which Jesus prepared for this Feast. Secondly, on this day, Jesus wishes to shower people not only with saving graces, but also with temporal blessings...Thirdly, all graces and benefits, even in their highest degrees, are accessible on this day to everyone, as long as they are asked for with great trust.  Christ did not attach such an extraordinary abundance of graces and benefits to any other form of this Devotion.  (p.115)

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

As we say the Chaplet and recite these words, we unite ourselves with the Sacrifice of the Cross offered by Jesus for our salvation.  (117)

Perseverance should characterize the recitation of the Chaplet as an external expression of our internal trust in Divine Mercy.  In truth, Jesus did promise twice (in revelations 48 and 66, Diary #1128 and #1541) that it is possible to obtain everything through this Chaplet.   (p.118)

The general promise was given in the 48^th revelation and repeated in the 66^th: "Through the recitation of this Chaplet, it pleases Me to grant everything that will be asked of Me."  (p.119)

There are four special promises:

1.                   "Whoever recites it will attain great mercy at the hour of death....(p.119)

2.                   "...if others recite it at the side of the dying, then the latter will receive this same grace of remission."  (p.120)

3.                   "When hardened sinners recite this Chaplet, I will fill their soul with peace, and make happy the hour of their death."   (p.120)

4.                   "When this Chaplet is prayed at the bedside of the dying, I will place Myself between the Father and the soul of the dying person, not as a just judge but as a merciful Savior."  (p.120)

The Hour of Divine Mercy

Jesus himself referred to 3:00 in the afternoon, the hour of His death, as "the hour of great mercy toward the world."  In revelation 59 He said: "At 3:00 o'clock implore My mercy especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, steep yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. ...In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion" (diary #1320).

Jesus put forth three conditions necessary for the prayers offered at the Hour of Divine Mercy to be heard.  The prayer is to be directed to Jesus.  It is to take place at 3:00 p.m., and is to appeal to the value and merits of the Lord's Passion.   (p.121)

All passages are taken from the book "Pillars of Fire in My Soul - The Spirituality of Saint Faustina", edited by Robert Stackpole, STD and published by Marian Press. The passages are from the second section of the book entitled  "Essential Features of the Devotion to The Divine Mercy",  which is the text of a lecture by Rev. Ignacy Rozycki, STD,  Doctor of Dogmatic Theology.   Fr. Rozycki was appointed by Pope John Paul II to examine the revelations to Saint Faustina and so spent nearly 10 years of his life studying the writings of Saint Faustina.  This resulted in a tome of around 500 pages, which was presented to the Vatican as part of the official investigation into Sr. Faustina's life and virtues.