March 29, 2008

Divine Mercy In My Soul

Ave Maria Lady Chapel at St Boniface church anaheim CA. Our Lady of Czestochowa is the patroness of Poland St Faustina's homeland


Everyday at 0300 and at 1500 EST EWTN broadcasts a 20 minute prayer called the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. This carries across north America and is part of a worldwide devotion called the "3 o'clock Devotion" In some nations like Poland and the Philippines the prayer is called on nearly all national media outlets and is a part of a daily routine. Nurses all over the world say the prayer for the sick and dying as it is thought to provide special comfort to the afflicted and a means for the dying to "release themselves" into the Hand of the Father. I was praying that prayer at the hour of my Mother's death after a prolonged struggle with Parkinson's diesese.

Over the past three years I have become more and more interested in this devotion and in the life and message of St Faustina. Her diary, and what she wrote therein has startled me. The prophetic passages that predict WWII the Holocaust, (she was an enclosed nun who died in 1938. These passages were written before the rise of Hitler) Her diary predicts the occupation and liberation of Poland and the rise of "a spiritual leader" from that land that will lead the world into a new understanding of Divine Truth. Certainly John Paul II fits that description. The proof of the prophet is fullfillment of the prophecy.

So,who was St Faustina and why is she so important? What is this "feast" about read more here

The Divine Mercy devotion is one of the many many things that has lead me towards the The Roman Church. I see in the devotion a purpose for the suffering all around me. Where in so many churches that I have sat in, suffering is a sign of God's displeasure, in the Catholic church, and within the Divine Mercy devotion suffering is lookd upon as "redemptive" "an offering that you can give up to God". It has helped me to make sense of much of my life and my current struggles...

The Divine Mercy devotion has also refined my veiw of the sufferings of Jesus. Why would God require such a sacrifice from His own child? It is the Ransom of the World, and its power is released in the prayers of the faithful...

This isnt a cure all I am not espousing an end to private prayer, free prayer from the heart, but there is something powerful in people praying the same prayer in the same fashion with the same intent at the same hour every hour of the day around the clock.


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.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.repeat 10x

repeat this cycle 5x

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.repeat 3x

then from the Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

Labels: California, Catholic, Prayers