Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

What is the message of Divine Mercy Sunday? The Marians of the Immaculate Conception explain.  Excerpts:

...According to the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Jesus Christ made a special promise, which she was to communicate 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(Diary, 699).

In three places in her Diary, St. Faustina records a promise from our Lord of specific, extraordinary graces He will make available through the devout reception of Holy Communion on this Feast Day; truly a "whole ocean of graces" is contained in these promises:

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 Fount 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)...

Further explanation here.  Excerpts:

Among all of the elements of devotion to The Divine Mercy requested by our Lord through St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, the Feast of Mercy holds first place...

As John Paul said, citing the Responsorial Psalm of the Liturgy, "The Church sings … as if receiving from Christ's lips these words of the Psalm." "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His steadfast love (= mercy) endures forever" (Ps 118:1). And then, Pope John Paul II developed the connection further: "[This comes] from the lips of the risen Christ, who bears the great message of Divine Mercy and entrusts its ministry to the Apostles in the Upper Room: ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you. … Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn 20:21-23)...

Dr. John Bergsma takes us into the Biblical background of the Divine Mercy image.  Excerpts:

Behind the readings for this Sunday lies a Gospel text which is never read, but whose influence is felt and whose concepts and images serves as a link between the texts that are read. That passage is John 19:34:

John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness — his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth — that you also may believe.

The blood and water flowing from the side of Christ is the background for the Divine Mercy image seen by St. Faustina.

This “river” that flows out from the side of Christ is understood in the Church’s spiritual tradition as a river of mercy, but there is also a rich biblical background to this passage of John...

Dr. Bergsma talks about some really interesting connections between Jesus and the Temple--go check them out!  Consider praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for those souls who will die this year, for the souls in purgatory, and for all those most in need of God's grace and mercy.  And then pray the prayer to St. Faustina for those you love, for those most in need of God's mercy, and for me:

Saint Faustina,
You told us that your mission would continue after your death and that you would not forget us. Our Lord also granted you a great privilege, telling you to "distribute graces as you will, to who you will, and when you will." Relying on this, we ask your intercession for the graces we need, especially for the intentions just mentioned. Help us, above all, to trust in Jesus as you did and thus to glorify His mercy every moment of our lives. Amen

And one of the craziest, most awesome conversion stories you'll ever hear. Seriously. Jail, deportation, rehab, Grateful Dead, Deadhead...miraculous conversion, priest, vocations director...