The Feast of Mercy

The Feast Of Mercy

During the course of 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 that this feast be
celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. The liturgical texts of that day, the 2nd Sunday of Easter,
concern the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and are
thus already suited to the request of Our Lord. This Feast, which had already been granted to the
nation of Poland and been celebrated within Vatican City, was granted to the Universal Church
by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the canonization of Sr. Faustina on 30 April 2000. In a
decree dated 23 May 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the
Sacraments stated that "throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name
Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in
divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience in the years to come."
These papal acts represent the highest endorsement that the Church can give to a private
revelation, an act of papal infallibility proclaiming the certain sanctity of the mystic, and the
granting of a universal feast, as requested by Our Lord to St. Faustina.

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)
I want the image 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 341)
This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast
depths of my tender mercies. (Diary 420)
On one occasion, I heard these words: 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. 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.* [our emphasis] On that
day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. 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 forth 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. (Diary 699)
Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy,
which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and
everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it. (Diary 742)
I want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy
Communion on the Feast of My mercy. (Diary 1109)

As you can see 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.
*The Cardinal of Krakow, Cardinal Macharski, whose diocese is the center of the spread of the
devotion and the sponsor of the Cause of Sr. Faustina, has written that we should use Lent as
preparation for the Feast and confess even before Holy Week! So, it is clear that the confessional
requirement does not have to be met on the Feast itself. That would be an impossible burden for
the clergy if it did. The Communion requirement is easily met that day, however, since it is a day
of obligation, being Sunday. We would only need confession again, if received earlier in Lenten
or Easter Season, if we were in the state of mortal sin on the Feast.