Say to Jesus, “Lord, You promised that today all the floodgates of Heaven would be opened. Please may the ocean of mercy descend upon these people and situations I bring before You. You know how much they need Your grace and mercy. Help them, Lord, and help me help them.”
By Fr. Dan Cambra, MIC
Part of the job of members of the Holy Souls Sodality (of which I am the spiritual director) is to help empty Purgatory by making sure we do not end up there. And what better way to do that than to obtain the extraordinary grace of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, for ourselves each and every year?
In her Diary, St. Faustina records a special promise given to her by Jesus. He told her to communicate it to the whole world:
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. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy (699).
Floodgates open
So first of all, let’s sit with this statement from Jesus for a minute.
Before we even get to the specifics of the extraordinary grace of Divine Mercy Sunday, here we are confronted with the assurance that the floodgates of God’s mercy, of God’s grace, are wide open on Divine Mercy Sunday. Start making a list right now of all the people you’d like to bring to Jesus on Divine Mercy Sunday.
Add to that your list of deceased souls for whom you pray, and all the situations you need God’s special grace for. Include the secular authorities. Include the enemies of our Church, of the faith, and of Jesus. Include all those who’ve harmed you, all those who’ve sinned against you, and all those you’ve harmed or sinned against. Let’s bring together on our lists all the difficult situations we’re aware of.
Think of things like addictions, unintended pregnancies, job losses, and more. Take into account in your prayers the people who are suffering because of their own choices, as well as those who are suffering because of the choices of others. Pray for those whose sufferings came as a bolt from the blue!
Prayerfully construct your list. Then, on Divine Mercy Sunday, place it before an Image of Divine Mercy in your home. Say to Jesus, “Lord, You promised that today all the floodgates of Heaven would be opened. Please may the ocean of mercy descend upon these people and situations I bring before You. You know how much they need Your grace and mercy. Help them, Lord, and help me help them.” Then say the “O Blood and Water” prayer three times:
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus, as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You.
Extraordinary graces
Now let’s talk about the extraordinary graces of Divine Mercy Sunday.
In three places in her Diary, St. Faustina records our Lord’s promises of specific, extraordinary graces:
I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy (1109).
Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (300).
The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (699).
To receive these graces, the only condition is to receive Holy Communion worthily on Divine Mercy Sunday (or the Vigil celebration) by making a good confession beforehand, staying in the state of grace, and trusting in His Divine Mercy.
By these conditions, our Lord is emphasizing the value of Confession and Holy Communion as miracles of mercy. The Eucharist is Jesus Himself, the Living God, longing to pour Himself as Mercy into our hearts.
Living mercifully
Our Lord says through St. Faustina that we also should be living mercifully in preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday. We could hardly make a good Confession, or really be entrusting our lives to the merciful love of Jesus, if we neglected to do that!
Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy (742).
The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive (1578).
The worthy reception of the Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday is sufficient to obtain the extraordinary graces promised by Jesus.
What extraordinary graces! What a gift from God! But did you catch that challenge to us from Jesus? There must be acts of mercy, as well! Fortunately for us, the Holy See has given us the perfect work of mercy to perform.
Grace for the Holy Souls
If we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, then a plenary indulgence, obtained by fulfilling the usual conditions, also is available. And that we can apply to the Holy Souls in Purgatory!
The extraordinary graces promised to the faithful by our Lord Himself through St. Faustina should not be confused with the plenary indulgence granted by Pope St. John Paul II for the devout observance of the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday). The Decree of the Holy See offers:
A plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in You!) ...
The Vigil begins
This year, Divine Mercy Sunday starts with the Vigil Mass on April 11, leading into the Octave Day of Easter, the eighth day of our Easter celebration. Liturgically, the Easter Octave has always been centered on the theme of Divine Mercy and forgiveness. Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, therefore, points us to the merciful love of God that lies behind the whole Paschal Mystery — the whole mystery of the death, burial and Resurrection of Christ — made present for us in the Eucharist. In this way, it also sums up the whole Easter Octave.
As Pope St. John Paul II pointed out in his Regina Caeli address on Divine Mercy Sunday, 1995, “The whole octave of Easter is like a single day,” and the Octave Sunday is meant to be the day of “thanksgiving for the goodness God has shown to man in the whole Easter mystery.”
What better way to celebrate God’s mercy than to share it with the Holy Souls in Purgatory? Set the captives free!
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