Acerca de
DIVINE MERCY
Maria Faustina Kowalski, also known as Saint Maria Faustina Kowalski of the Blessed Sacrament and popularly spelled Faustina, was a Polish Roman Catholic nun and mystic. Her apparitions of Jesus Christ inspired the Roman Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy.
At the age of seven she had already felt the first stirrings of a religious vocation. Helen (given name by her parents) made her first Holy Communion at the age of nine, a very profound moment for her in which she became aware of the presence of the Divine Guest within her soul. After finishing school, she wanted to enter the convent, but her parents would not give her permission.
Helen never lost her desire for a religious vocation. After being called during a vision of the Suffering Christ, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy on August 1, 1925 and took the name Sr. Maria Faustina of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Sister Faustina was a faithful daughter of the Church which she loved like a Mother and the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. Conscious of her role in the Church, she cooperated with God's mercy in the task of saving lost souls. At the specific request of and following the example of the Lord Jesus, she made a sacrifice of her own life for this very goal. In her spiritual life she also distinguished herself with a love of the Eucharist and a deep devotion to the Mother of Mercy.
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The Lord Jesus chose Sr. Maria Faustina as the Apostle and "Secretary" of His Mercy, so that she could tell the world about His great message, which Sr. Faustina recorded in a diary she titled Divine Mercy in My Soul. “I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart” (Diary, 1588). During Jesus’ revelations to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy, He asked on numerous occasions that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter, the last day of the Easter Octave, known as Divine Mercy Sunday. The Lord's desire for the Feast includes the solemn, public veneration of the Image of Divine Mercy by the Church, as well as personal acts of veneration and mercy. The great promise for the individual soul is that a devotional act of sacramental penance and Communion will obtain for that soul the plenitude of the divine mercy on the Feast.
In preparation for this Feast of Divine Mercy, Our Lord also asked that the faithful pray a novena beginning on Good Friday. Each day of the novena has a different intention that is dear to the Heart of Jesus, including all sinners, priests and Religious, souls of children, those in Purgatory, and finally lukewarm souls. As we meditate on each of these prayers throughout the nine days, we will come to a better understanding of Our Lord and His love for mankind, the Divine Mercy that He pours out on each one of us.
Concerning the Feast of Mercy, Jesus said, “Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment” (Diary, 300).
Divine Mercy Novena: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/novena
Divine Mercy Chaplet: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/chaplet
Our parish observes the Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday each year on the Second Sunday after Easter with a huge celebration. It begins with a Divine Mercy Novena beginning nine days prior to Divine Mercy Sunday. On Divine Mercy Sunday, our parish recites the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3:00pm followed by Mass.
For those who would like to strengthen their relationship with Jesus even more, the Divine Mercy group offers visitations of the image of Divine Mercy in our parishioners’ homes. Members of the team will also pray the Chaplet with you and your guests, as well as explain and answer questions about the Divine Mercy. They will bring with them a Divine Mercy packet that Our Lady of the Angels has prepared that includes a picture of the Divine Mercy, prayers, novena, and chaplet. If you are interested in hosting the image of the Divine Mercy in your home or would like more information, please email your name and phone number to:
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Mr. Emmanuel Portillo & Mrs. Hilda Hernández o Mr. Gilmar Arriola
Email: dmisericordia@olanj.org
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