This Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Declared a feast for the universal Church in 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II, it provides an opportunity for the faithful to reflect on the precious gift of mercy that we have been offered by the Blood of Jesus. It springs from the apparitions given to Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), a sister of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy.
St. Faustina, a poorly educated daughter of a humble Polish family, kept a 600-page diary of the apparitions she claimed continued for years. Her entries focus on God’s mercy, the call for us to accept His mercy and to be merciful to others ourselves, the need for conversion and the call to trust in Jesus. It had been Jesus’ own wish, she wrote, to establish a feast day: “I [Jesus] desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls. . . . I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy.”
In the image commonly associated with the Divine Mercy (such as the one that opened this article), Jesus is shown as raising his right hand in blessing, and pointing with his left hand on his chest from which flow forth two rays: one red and one white with the message "Jesus, I trust in You!" (in Polish: Jezu ufam Tobie). The rays streaming out have symbolic meaning: red for the blood of Jesus (which is the Life of Souls), and white for the water (which justify souls). The whole image is symbolic of charity, forgiveness and love of God and is referred as the "Fountain of Mercy". According to the diary of St Faustina, the image is based on her 1931 vision of Jesus.
Historically, the Second Sunday of Easter was known as Low Sunday in contrast to the "high" Easter Sunday immediately preceding, it is the last day of the Easter Octave and has the account of “Doubting Thomas” read during Mass. This particular Gospel is often said to remind us of the need to enter into Jesus’ heart to be washed clean through his mercy.
The celebration of Divine Mercy, often incorporating opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, provides a chance to reflect on how God’s mercy can overcome sin and, as the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments states, is “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.” (Decree instituting Divine Mercy Sunday, May 23, 2000)
When instituting the day, the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See promulgated a decree creating an indulgence that may be gained by the faithful in connection with the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. This decree grants a plenary indulgence to those who comply with all the conditions established, and a partial indulgence to those who incompletely fulfill the conditions.
Although we are regrettably unable to have a public gathering for Eucharistic Adoration and the Divine Mercy Novena on Sunday afternoon this year due to the safety restrictions and requirements placed as a result of the pandemic, we will have a Prayer of Devotion and Entrustment to Divine Mercy following Communion at all Masses this weekend. Here is the text of that prayer, for your reference:
Let us pray.
God of Infinite Mercy, you chose your humble servant St. Faustina to be the Apostle of Divine Mercy in our time. Through her intercession may we come to trust in you and your unfathomable mercy more fully. We place before You today our needs, the needs of our families, our parish, and of the whole world, and we ask you to look kindly upon them. Help us grow ever stronger in our faith that we might put into practice works of mercy in our daily lives.
God, merciful Father, in Your Son, Jesus Christ, You have revealed Your love and poured it out upon us in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. We entrust to You today the destiny of the world and of every man and woman.
Bend down to us sinners, heal our weakness, conquer all evil, and grant that all the peoples of the earth may experience Your mercy.
Bend down to us sinners, heal our weakness, conquer all evil, and grant that all the peoples of the earth may experience Your mercy.
In You, the Triune God, may they ever find the source of hope. Eternal Father, by the Passion and Resurrection of Your Son, have mercy on us and upon the world!
Amen.
You are also invited to participate spiritually in our Virtual Devotion which can be found at facebook.com/VisitationRomanCatholicChurch/posts/4118859588180217
Those who sincerely say "Jesus, I trust in You" will find comfort in all their anxieties and fears. There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights to the holiness of God.
A review of our Mass and sacramental schedule for this weekend:
Saturday 4/10 SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY)
Confessions 3-3:45PM in the Rectory Chapel
4PM Mass WITH a congregation, in-church Communion during Mass (no outdoor Communion afterwards)
Sunday 4/11
9AM - Mass Live streamed WITH a congregation. Outdoor Communion will be available afterwards and radio reception available in the parking lot at 107.7FM. Please note that outdoor Communion will end promptly at 10:15. Plan accordingly
11AM - Mass WITH a congregation, in-church Communion during Mass (no outdoor Communion afterwards) PLEASE NOTE: While making a reservation is not required, we are encouraging people to do so; this way you can be assured of having a seat. We have noticed that in-church attendance is steadily increasing and, in anticipation that we may reach capacity at weekend Masses, we have prepared the Church Hall for social distancing and live-streaming the Mass from upstairs. When needed, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion will bring the Blessed Sacrament so that people in the Church Hall can receive Communion during Mass.
To access TAKE YOUR PLACE AT TABLE and/or to volunteer to help our Liturgical Environment Ministry in parking, seating or cleaning, please visit our parish website at www.visitationrcchurch.org/take-your-place-at-table Those without Internet access (and please let your friends and neighbors know!) can call 732-475-0048
Sunday 9AM Live-stream Mass
Not yet ready to return to the church building?
WE UNDERSTAND and will continue to offer live streamed Mass on Sundays at 9AM with outdoor Communion available in the church parking lot. See this weekend's Mass on YouTube at
Parents: don't forget to visit the Diocese of Trenton's one-page resource for families, Faith At Home, updated each week at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/faith-at-home and en español at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/fe-en-casa.
This week's edition:
We continue to pray for an end to the virus, those who are infected and those who care for the sick. May God continue to bless us and keep us close to Him.