Divine Mercy Sunday

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. What does that mean? On the Second Sunday of Easter in 2000, at the Mass for the Canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II proclaimed to the world that “from now on throughout the Church” this Sunday will be called “Divine Mercy Sunday.”

The story of the Divine Mercy movement began with Sister Faustina, a young, uneducated nun in a convent in Cracow, Poland during the 1930's. She came from a very poor family that struggled on their little farm during the years of World War I. She had only three years of very simple education, so hers were the humblest tasks in the convent, usually in the kitchen or garden. However, she received extraordinary revelations or messages from Jesus. Sister Faustina recorded these experiences in notebooks, and the words she wrote are God's loving message of Divine Mercy.

Though the Divine Mercy message is not new to the teachings of the Church, Sister Faustina's diary sparked a great movement and a strong and significant focus on the mercy of Christ. Pope John Paul II, who was also Polish, called St. Faustina "the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time."

The Divine Mercy message is a simple one. First, ask God for His Mercy. Second, show mercy to others. Third, trust in Jesus.

While the name of the Sunday changed, Divine Mercy Sunday is not a new feast established to celebrate St. Faustina’s revelations. In fact, it is not about St. Faustina at all. The Second Sunday of Easter was already a solemnity as the Octave Day of Easter: St. Augustine, in teaching about the Easter Octave, the eight days following Easter, called them “the days of mercy and pardon,” and the Octave Day itself “the compendium of the days of mercy.” So, liturgically, the day has always been centered on the theme of divine mercy and forgiveness. It 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. It is important to remember that the message of The Divine Mercy, revealed to St. Faustina and to our present generation, is not new. It is a powerful reminder of who God is and has been from the very beginning.