Faith That Conquers: Take Advantage of the Feast Day Jesus Created For You

March 17, 2021

Divine Mercy Sunday is April 11 this year, a feast day created at the request of Jesus himself.

Jesus made his request to St. Faustina Kowalska, a polish nun whom he visited countless times in her convent in Poland in the 1930s, when he asked for the Feast of Mercy the Sunday after Easter.

As recorded in Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul, Jesus said: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a 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 [on Divine Mercy Sunday] shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to me, even though its sins be as scarlet…”

Through St. Faustina, Jesus also gave humanity the Divine Mercy Chaplet. (Learn how to pray this simple but powerful devotion on your rosary beads at thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/chaplet.)

According to the Diary, Jesus said: “Encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given you (1541). Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death (687). When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between my father and the dying person, not as the just judge but as the merciful savior (1541).”

When my Dad was in his final days and hours in hospice last May, I entrusted him to Jesus, reciting the Divine Mercy Chaplet repeatedly for his sake.

And I trusted Jesus would take care of him – a very important part of this devotion.

 “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. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to me, because I pour all the treasures of my graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it is my desire to give much, very much. On the other hand, I am sad when souls ask for little, when they narrow their hearts” (Diary entry 1578).

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is transformative, Jesus said.

“Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from my infinite mercy (687). I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in my mercy (687). Through the chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with my will. (1731)” (TheDivineMercy.org). 

Jesus also encouraged devotion to the Divine Mercy image, promising victory over his or her enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death.

Jesus’ messages of love and mercy to St. Faustina are abundant – far too many to include in this column. I encourage you to check out TheDivineMercy.org to learn more. And take advantage of the graces Jesus longs to pour down upon you on Sunday, April 11 – Divine Mercy Sunday.