Frequently Asked Questions

Questions and Answers for Clergy

  1. How can I explain to my parishioners the difference between the plenary indulgence available to the faithful on Divine Mercy Sunday, and the extraordinary graces of Divine Mercy Sunday mentioned in St. Faustina's Diary?
  2. Is "Divine Mercy" just a theme for the Second Sunday of Easter, much like "Good Shepherd Sunday," or "World Day of the Sick"?
  3. Was Pope John Paul II just trying to impose "Polish spirituality" on the wider Church by canonizing St. Faustina and establishing Divine Mercy Sunday?
  4. Isn't the Divine Mercy devotion based primarily on private revelations given to St. Faustina?
  5. Isn't the devotion to The Divine Mercy just another devotion? Why do we need another one?
  6. Some of my parishioners say that I have to lead the recitation of the Chaplet and expose the Image of The Divine Mercy on Divine Mercy Sunday, otherwise, I am being disobedient to the Pope. Did the Pope ever require or even request for every parish to use these devotional forms on Mercy Sunday?

Most Common Questions and Answers


Q. How can I explain to my parishioners the difference between the plenary indulgence available to the faithful on Divine Mercy Sunday, and the extraordinary graces of Divine Mercy Sunday mentioned in St. Faustina's Diary?

A. It is important to remember that both are available to your parishioners on Mercy Sunday.

The plenary indulgence for Mercy Sunday was something granted by the Church, whereas the special graces offered on Divine Mercy Sunday mentioned in St. Faustina's Diary were promised to the faithful through a revelation from Jesus Christ given to St. Faustina (Diary, 699).

Moreover, a plenary indulgence can only be received if the indulgenced acts (e.g., going on pilgrimage, or reciting special prayers) are undertaken out of pure love for God; otherwise the indulgence is only partial. The extraordinary grace of Divine Mercy Sunday, however, was promised to all those who receive Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday in a state of grace, with trust in God's merciful love. Furthermore, a plenary indulgence can be obtained for oneself, or for the poor souls suffering in purgatory, whereas the special grace promised by our Lord for Divine Mercy Sunday can only be received for oneself.

Finally, a plenary indulgence removes any temporal punishment still remaining for sins already forgiven, whereas the extraordinary grace that our Lord promised to devout communicants on Mercy Sunday amounts to a complete renewal of baptismal grace in the soul.

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Q. Is "Divine Mercy" just a theme for the Second Sunday of Easter, much like "Good Shepherd Sunday," or "World Day of the Sick"?

A. The official decree proclaiming Divine Mercy Sunday was issued by the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on May 5, 2000. It did not create a new feast day in the Church calendar; rather, it gave a new name to a day that was already a liturgical "solemnity" (the highest class of feast). It said that from now on the solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter would be called Divine Mercy Sunday. Actually, to be more precise, the English translation of the Congregation's Latin decree is inaccurate. The English translation says that "in the Roman Missal, after the title 'Second Sunday of Easter' shall be added the appellation 'or Divine Mercy Sunday.'" But the official Latin version (which always takes precedence) says "shall be added the appellation 'that is [seu] of The Divine Mercy.'"

Thus, the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday is not an optional "theme" for those who happen to like that sort of thing. Rather, it is now the official title of this solemnity in the Roman Missal, by decree of the appropriate Vatican Congregation. In a similar way, the official title for the solemnity of the octave day of the Nativity was named, long ago, the solemnity "of the Mother of God." As a result, it is now known as "The Feast of the Mother of God." In the same way, the Holy Father usually refers to Divine Mercy Sunday as "The Feast of The Divine Mercy." He is entirely accurate in doing so.

However, this does not mean that the pope created a new feast day for the Church. Again, the octave day of Easter was always a solemnity in the liturgical calendar. The pope just gave to this solemnity a new name a name which fits beautifully with the traditional prayers, readings, and psalms appointed for the day, which mostly center on the theme of the merciful love of God.

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Q. Was Pope John Paul II just trying to impose "Polish spirituality" on the wider Church by canonizing St. Faustina and establishing Divine Mercy Sunday?

A. When the Pope canonized St. Faustina, he was merely placing a final papal "seal of approval," so to speak, on a message and devotion that has captured the hearts and minds of many millions of clergy and laity all around the world, in countries as diverse as the USA, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Nigeria, and the Philippines. In short, the Divine Mercy movement has been a truly international and grassroots phenomenon. So nobody "imposed" anything on anybody; this was the result of "spontaneous combustion" throughout the worldwide Body of Christ!

But the Holy Father did pinpoint the reason for the extraordinary appeal of this devotion in his homily on Divine Mercy Sunday in Rome on April 22, 2001: "With these sentiments we are celebrating the Second Sunday of Easter, which since last year, the year of the Great Jubilee, is also called 'Divine Mercy Sunday.' It is a great joy for me to be able to join all of you, dear pilgrims and faithful, who have come from various nations to commemorate, after one year, the canonization of Sr. Faustina Kowalska, witness and messenger of the Lord's merciful love. The elevation to the honors of the altar of this humble religious, a daughter of my land, is not only a gift for Poland but for all of humanity. Indeed, the message she brought is the appropriate and incisive answer that God wanted to offer to the questions and expectations of human beings in our time, marked by terrible tragedies. Jesus said to Sr. Faustina one day: 'Humanity will never find peace until it turns with trust to Divine Mercy' (Diary, 300). Divine Mercy! This is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity at the dawn of the third millennium."

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Q. Isn't the Divine Mercy devotion based primarily on private revelations given to St. Faustina?

A. The Divine Mercy devotion is based primarily on the message of God's mercy found in Scripture and in Sacred Tradition. The revelations given to St. Faustina merely amplify, clarify, and celebrate the scriptural, traditional faith of the Church in the merciful love of God. There is nothing brand-new here, just a clearer focus on the very heart of the Catholic Faith the merciful love of God.

Suggested Reading:
The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion

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Q. Isn't the devotion to The Divine Mercy just another devotion? Why do we need another one?

A. As Fr. George Kosicki, CSB, has said, this devotion is not a matter of our devotion to God, but of His devotion to us! It does not consist primarily in reciting chaplets, venerating images, or celebrating a liturgical feast. Rather, the heart of this devotion is trust in the merciful love of God Himself, and all the devotional forms that come to us through St. Faustina (e.g., the Image, the Feast, and the Chaplet) are merely means to enable us to grow in trustful surrender to that Divine Mercy.

Through faith in the biblical message of Mercy, we are to ask for God's mercy, completely trust in His mercy, and learn to be merciful to others as He is merciful to us (Luke 6:36).

Suggested Reading:
The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion

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Q. Some of my parishioners say that I have to lead the recitation of the Chaplet, and expose the Image of The Divine Mercy on Divine Mercy Sunday, otherwise, I am being disobedient to the Pope. Did the Pope ever require or even request for every parish to use these devotional forms on Mercy Sunday?

A. No, he did not. No priest of the Church is required to use St. Faustina's devotional forms on Divine Mercy Sunday. On the other hand, while it is not a "precept," it can still be called a good "counsel." After all, St. Faustina's devotional forms amplify the meaning of the day, much as the use of the Stations of the Cross and the Tre Ore devotions (in no way mandated by the Missal), nevertheless are good customs that reinforce the meaning of Good Friday. It is especially recommended to display and venerate the Image of The Divine Mercy at every Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, in part because the Image is such a powerful summary of the basic gospel message, and in part because Jesus Himself made a special request for this to be done on that Sunday, according to St. Faustina:

My daughter, if I demand through you that people revere My mercy, you should be the first to distinguish yourself by this confidence in My mercy. I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy. Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of My mercy through the solemn celebration of the Feast and through the veneration of the image which is painted. By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest (163) faith is of no avail without works. …
(Diary, 742).

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