Divine Mercy Sunday

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You!

On the first Sunday after Easter, the Lord offers us unimaginable graces. Lest you miss out on this once-a-year opportunity, here’s what you need to know:

The Feast of Mercy

The great Feast of Mercy, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, is celebrated by the Universal Church on the Second Sunday of Easter. It’s a day that Christ Himself requested through St. Faustina and which was formally proclaimed by St. John Paul II in 2000.

“I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and 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.” (Diary of St. Faustina, 699)

On this day, Jesus said, “All the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened.”

An ocean of graces? Sign me up!

Receiving the Graces

In order to receive these abundant graces, the Lord revealed to St. Faustina that we must do one thing.

“The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” (Diary of St. Faustina, 699)

To put that into perspective, a complete forgiveness of sins and punishment is an even more complete wiping clean than we receive after Confession. After making a good Confession, we receive forgiveness for our sins but the temporal punishment for those sins remains. On Divine Mercy Sunday, the Lord desires to wipe clean all punishment for those sins, making our souls as clean as they were on the day of our baptism. Can you imagine that?