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The “Divine Mercy” devotions, which have spread worldwide, began with a series of apparitions of Christ to a Polish nun, Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938).  Christ appeared to St. Faustina on February 22, 1931.  In her diary, later published under the title Divine Mercy in My Soul, the saint wrote:  “I saw Jesus dressed in a white garment.  He held one hand in blessing and the other hand was touching his garment at the breast.  From under the garment came two rays of light, one red the other pale.” 

From this vision came the image of the Divine Mercy.  The words of Christ to St. Faustina have formed the basis for the Divine Mercy devotions, which are a call to trust in the love and mercy of Christ, and to show mercy towards others, by faithfully carrying out the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.  The devotion takes many forms, especially the chaplet—a sequence of prayers offered on regular rosary beads—and the novena, which concludes on the Sunday after Easter.

The devotion which began in an obscure Polish convent has since spread all over the world.  It was briefly suppressed in 1959, but received official Vatican sanction on April 15, 1978.  Pope John Paul II, who had a great devotion to Christ under the title of the Divine Mercy, declared the Second Sunday of Easter “Divine Mercy Sunday” for the entire Church.

When John Paul II consecrated the Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Krakow in 2002, he offered this prayer:
 
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.
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 whole world! Amen.

 

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

The Chaplet is recited using ordinary rosary beads of five decades.

Introductory Prayers—

¨ Our Father
¨ Hail Mary
¨ The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

On the large bead before each decade:

Eternal Father,
I offer you the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity,
of Your Dearly Beloved Son,
Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
in atonement for our sins
and those of the whole world.

On the ten small beads of each decade:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.

At the conclusion of the chaplet, the following is said three times:

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.

 

 

 

 

 

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804 Ninth Avenue
Seattle, Washington  98104
Phone 206.622.3559  Fax 206.622.5303