Our Morning Offering – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday
In the Jubilee Year 2000, St Pope John Paul II proclaimed that from that year forward, the Second Sunday of Easter, where we remember the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, would be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. This was proclaimed at the Canonisation Mass of St Faustina Kawalska, who worked throughout her life to make all aware of the merciful love of God. For this is the God who leans in and waits with bated breath for us to whisper through the screen, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”
St Faustina (1905–1938) was born and raised in Poland. Following a vocation to religious life, she was accepted by the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. As a member of the Congregation, she worked as a cook, gardener and porter. In her mystical spiritual life, her contemplation on the Mercy of God led her to develop a childlike trust in God and deep love for her neighbour.
In her years in the convent, St Faustina heard a call from God to make God’s mercy known to the world so that the world may more fully receive God’s healing grace. St Faustina promoted the Chaplet of Divine Mercy which consists of the recitation of prayers to the Eternal Father with the use of the rosary for the sake of Christ’s sorrowful passion.
Divine Mercy 3 O’Clock Prayer
St Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938)
You expired, O Jesus,
but the source of life
gushed forth for souls
and an ocean of mercy
opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life,
unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world
and empty Yourself out upon us.
O Blood and Water,
which gushed forth
from the Heart of Jesus
as a fount of mercy for us,
I trust in You.
Amen
AnaStpaul 