In 2002, the Vatican published the third edition of the Roman Missal on which the forthcoming English translation is based. When the translations are published later this year, congregations in the United States will notice for the first time a significant name change which appeared in the third edition: After the words “Second Sunday of Easter,” we now read “(or Sunday of Divine Mercy).”
The rearrangement of the words is very significant. The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments received many petitions for a clarification of the original Latin text in the decree establishing the Second Sunday of Easter as the Sunday of Divine Mercy. Many mistakenly thought that there were two different types of celebrations for the same Sunday.
The words “Second Sunday of Easter” are there in the title for us to remember where the Sunday of Divine Mercy was placed, not to indicate to the clergy that there were two different feasts to be celebrated.
Adding to this confusion were many misled Divine Mercy devotees who were telling priests what they erroneously thought they must do to correctly celebrate the feast of Mercy that Jesus requested in the diary of St. Faustina. Our Lord never asked for the afternoon devotions that are very common today, but instead wanted us to focus on reaching out to what he called “fainting souls” and to bring them to the feast of his mercy to heal and strengthen them.
Neither the decree establishing the Sunday of Divine Mercy nor the subsequent plenary indulgence decree for Divine Mercy Sunday make any mention of the prophetic revelations that were given to the Church through St. Faustina. The Church recognized the hand of God in the revelations and acted on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to establish a feast on the Sunday after Easter, but only after she had first observed that the readings for that day were already perfect for the theme.
To understand the whole concept of a great feast celebrated on the Sunday after Easter, it is necessary to understand the meaning of octaves. In the Old Testament, there were many feasts that lasted for eight days, including the feast of Tabernacles which figures prominently in St. John’s Gospel (7:37-38). The last day was always considered the greatest day, a sort of grand finale. The Church had formerly observed many octaves in her earlier days for major feasts, but the emphasis on octaves faded over the years. The best-known octaves in the Church’s liturgy are currently Christmas and Easter, though an octave of Pentecost is also celebrated, and several minor feasts are timed to fall on the eighth day after a greater feast.
The Church invites us to celebrate Easter for a full eight days. Easter doesn’t climax until the following Sunday evening.
This is not a new concept; the Church has always taught this. If you look at the Mass propers between Easter and the Second Sunday of Easter, you will see that the Gloria is recited every day, just like on Sundays. The Church considers every one of those eight days the greatest type of feast, a solemnity. So it is like celebrating a whole week of Sundays all together!
So why shouldn’t we be celebrating for the entire eight days with great enthusiasm, especially when that final day, the grand finale, offers to penitents the “complete forgiveness of all sins and punishment” (according to the diary of St. Faustina)? Many have wrongly commented that the celebration of Mercy Sunday might take away from Easter, but the opposite is true: If you don’t celebrate the Octave of Easter, you are definitely missing out on a great Easter gift that the Lord wants to pour out on us.
Pope John Paul II had indicated that he fulfilled the will of Christ by instituting the feast of Divine Mercy, but he never pushed for it, as some might believe. He prayed and waited for the Holy Spirit to act, but never acted without that guidance. He established the Sunday of Divine Mercy because he believed the Church was in great need of a feast that would create a renewed awakening, a renewed understanding and an appreciation of the great Octave of Easter and its great gifts.
Robert Allard is the director of the Apostles of Divine Mercy and DivineMercySunday.com.
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I have one question about your comments regarding the octave of Easter. I remember hearing Fr. Mitch on EWTN answer a caller who was wanting to know if we celebrate all 8 days like its Easter Sunday and Fr. Mitch said sort of. The Masses Monday - Saturday of the Octave have the Gloria prayed but the Nicene Creed is not therefore it is not assumed to be quite to the degree that Easter Sunday and every other Sunday is. I thought that was interesting.
Since I have a Divine Mercy Prayer Group in my parish I have been waiting for this Feast. The Lord had mentioned to Sr. Faustina that He wanted this celebration to be on the Sunday after Easter. . .and this was in the 1930’s. It will certainly be wonderful to have a Preface and Prayers for this great and necessary feast.
Maybe I have become jaded in my old age but
don’t we have the month of June dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
Isn’t the painting of the Sacred Heart so similar to the one that was painted for the Divine Mercy? The only difference is the red and white rays of grace that flow from His heart.
I just don’t see how the added feast day can bring anyone more closer to God than what has all ready been established in the last 100 years. I never heard of Divine Mercy until a couple of years ago and wondered if this was another JPII thing, who dropped the ball when it came to the priest crisis that has caused so much havoc within the Church.
Though he might have been making friends all over the world much evil was being done during his reign that should have been addressed 20 years before he died. He was good at public relations but sainthood.. well its all about to God and his mercy.
Pope John Paul II had indicated that he fulfilled the will of Christ by instituting the feast of Divine Mercy…
Yes… and one might conclude that he really did fulfill “the will of Christ” considering the fact that God brought him home on the eve of that special feast.
How fitting… and how truly remarkable.
Tapestry6,
That’s like saying we don’t need Fatima because we already have Lourdes.
That said, it is a bit redundant to have the Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy. In any case, you should really pick up a copy of the Diary of St. Faustina.
Mr. Allard,
You make a very good point, re: Divine Mercy devotees. The whole point of the Divine Mercy message is that it’s *simple,* almost a Catholic answer to fundamentalist “faith alone.” While not discounting the importance of a healthy spiritual life, Divine Mercy is all about how Jesus just wants people to be saved.
Mercy Sunday is *primarily* supposed to be about going to Mass. That’s all He said: anyone who goes to Mass and receives Communion that day, having repented and gone to confession, will be relieved of all sin and punishment. That’s all that’s involved in the Feast. He also called for formal veneration of the Image on the Feast.
Then there’s the 3 PM thing. In the Diary, Jesus encourages devotion to His Passion at 3 PM by reciting the Chaplet or a similar prayer. More power to anyone who recites the Chaplet with dedication at 3 PM every day, but the Prayer before a Crucifix would be sufficient for Jesus’ request regarding 3 PM.
And then the Chaplet itself, which people want to increasingly complicate by adding more prayers to, or adding “mysteries” (EWTN airs that “Divine Mercy for Kids” which really annoys me by mixing the Sorrowful Mysteries with the Divine Mercy Chaplet).
Jesus’ whole point was to make it simple, and people want to complicate it.
I would like to address my comments to the previous post by JC. No, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Divine Mercy is not at all redundant. If one takes a look at the litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus it appears that we are primarily addressing the properties of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When we say “House of God and gate of heaven, tabernacle of the Most High, holy temple of God”, we are meditating on what the Father wrought in the Sacred Heart of His Divine Son. These are all products or effects of the love of God. When we look at the litany of the Divine Mercy we meditate on the fruits of that love. Witness “Divine Mercy, greatest attribute of God, Divine Mercy, gushing forth from the bosom of the Father, etc. etc. and lastly Divine Mercy, inspiring hope against all hope” I trust in You. These are necessary prayers for the soul who may have a great fear that the mercy of God is beyond his grasp. This feast day is a great gift to the Church after all the stormy years of confusion which we have all suffered through. Thank you Jesus , St. Faustina and Pope John Paul ll.
Re; devotion on the feast day. You are absolutely correct in stating that all the Lord asks for is sacramental confession, the reception of holy communion and veneration of the image on that day to receive the promised gift But not all are there just to receive the gift for themselves. They are there to give praise and thanks for this great day and to pray that many others will be brought to the fount of mercy. That is the reason for the extra prayers. The Lord often told St. Faustina to enter into His passion. That is what many are trying to do as they meditate on the passion while saying the chaplet. This can extend the normal chaplet into a 30 or 40 minute meditation. This is not for everyone. Only those whose duties allow it. Also, it is not a contest. The person performing a work of mercy is doing as much as the one praying. God uses each of us in His own way and in His own time. A short moment of prayer wherever you are at the hour of mercy is sufficient.
Finally re: children and the chaplet. I believe it’s a wonderful thing for them to meditate on the sorrowful mysteries while saying the chaplet. After all, the chaplet is all about what Christ suffered so that we might be redeemed. Children get it. And as far as your last statement goes I would say yes, the chaplet is wonderfully simple and profoundly complex at one and the same time. That could be said of our whole faith. That is why it is enough for the lowly among us to grasp, enjoy , and embrace and for the lofty to ponder and ruminate on for ages to come.
Byzantine Rite Catholics (Melkites, Ruthenians, etc) celebrate the Sunday after Easter as “Sunday of St. Thomas”. The Gospel, Troparion of the Feast, and various prayers recall the appearance of Our Lord to the disciples in the upper room and His merciful dialogue with St. Thomas, who had doubted but then confessed “My Lord and my God.” Since the historical event actually occurred eight days after His resurrection it seems fitting to maintain the Feast on the Sunday after Pascha. At one level Our Lord’s exchange with the Apostle Thomas is very much about the gift of divine mercy so I would suggest that it is highly compatible with the Sunday of Divine Mercy as instituted in the Latin Rite by John Paul the Great. It strikes me that the diverse tapestry of Catholicism is only enriched by these developments.
In answer to William O’Leary, each of the days of the Easter octave are the highest form of celebration in the Church, a solemnity. The Nicene Creed is only recited on Easter Sunday and the following Sunday to open and close the feast. It is not neccssary to say it in between, and it does not belittle the importance of the solemnity to not say the Creed.
As regards Mr. Allard’s statement, “Our Lord never asked for the afternoon devotions that are very common today” how does that square with the Decree on Divine Mercy of the Apostolic Penitentiary dated June 29, 2002 which states, “On Divine Mercy Sunday, after celebrating Mass or Vespers, or during devotions in honour of Divine Mercy, with the dignity that is in accord with the rite, they should lead the recitation of the prayers that have been given…”?
Dear RGRABNER,
As for afternoon devotions, I am all for it, but only after we have exhausted all efforts to go “out” and evangelize. Most parishes, at this point, do not celebrate the feast as they should. They treat it like it is some sort of a “party for devotees”, when it should be a feast for poor sinners: Easter-only and fallen-away Catholics as a first priority.
You will not find a mandate for afternoon devotions (for the Feast of Mercy) anywhere in the diary or in the plenary indulgence. We should be doing everything that we can to help Jesus save souls, and that means going “out” and evangelizing, first and foremost.
Jesus said that on the day of His feast, we should go “out” and bring fainting souls to the spring of His mercy and He shall heal and strengthen them. It is time to take the Feast of Divine Mercy to the next level. Let us focus on the salvation of poor sinners, not ourselves.
The descriptions of Divine Mercy Sunday seem to indicate that this some special day on which people can have their sins forgiven. As a Catholic in good standing I believe this to be an erroneous teaching and points to our works to achieve something that has been freely given to all who confess Jesus as Messiah and Lord ( believe in your heart and confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and you will be saved) nothing I can do, except place my faith in Jesus as Savior and humbly admit my need for God’s salvation can save me. Not if I go to mass on this day, or every day, or if I wear a scapular or say 3 Hail Mary’s a day or any work. The early church (read Apostles) would have viewed these things as heresy.
We need reform in the Catholic Church and a return to the true teachings and traditions of the Apostles as outlined in the New Testament.
I soundly reject all works based efforts the church has espoused and confess Jesus as Lord. I accept the details of the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed as my statements of faith and pray that God’s truth would become evident in the Roman Catholic Church.
Dear Rick,
As a Catholic “in good standing” you should accept what the Church teaches. You claim that “we need reform to the true teachings and traditions of the Apostles as outlined in the New Testament”. If you truly believed this, then you would surely recognize God’s hand in the insitution of Divine Mercy Sunday. Consider, first of all, the two most important instructions that Jesus gave His Apostles: one was the last thing just before He died, and the other, the very first thing after He arose: The institution of the Eucharist and the institution of the great sacrament of Confession. There can be no mistake as to the importance of these two instructions. This is what Divine Mercy Sunday is all about: these two sacraments on this one very special day, offer the complete forgiveness of all sins and punishment.
If you know your scriptures, you will recognize that the Old Testament, Day of Atonement (a once a year feast where sins and punishment were forgiven) was a prototype of Divine Mercy Sunday. To understand Divine Mercy Sunday, you must believe and trust what the Apostles handed down. When Jesus told the Apostles that they had the power to forgive or retain sins, it wasn’t just for them to do and then to be forgotten, that wouldn’t make sense, would it? If you truly believe in the early Church, then you would recognize that the power to forgive sins has been passed down through the Apostles to the priests of today.
Interesting that I would mention that these teachings would be considered heretical in the New Testament church and you bring up one of the earliest recorded heresies of the new church. The Jews who came to faith in Christ began to insist on carrying on the priesthood and the concepts of continual sacrifice and were refuted soundly. You need to read Romans and Hebrews. The old testament ceremonies were completely fulfilled by Christ’s death and resurrection. The OT sacrifices needed to be offered regularly because they were imperfect. However Christ was the perfect sacrifice. He was the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek and also the perfect spotless Lamb of sacrifice. Christ died once for all our sins and there is no longer a need for annual sacrifice.
I also don’t accept teachings without verifying them, so no, I don’t accept the teachings because they say so.
This is a good article on how Christ satisfied God’s wrath over our sin
http://www.gotquestions.org/propitiation.html
Only Christ forgives sins. The method of confession was changed with Vatican II (now called reconciliation) and the priest simply informs you that God has forgiven your sins. This is unique to Roman Catholic teachings. Ultimately, if I confess my sins to God and ask for His forgiveness based on Christs redemptive work, I am completely forgiven and am made righteous through Jesus. Now the transformation begins through the renewing of the mind by reading Scripture.
The post-Apostolic teachings you regard as fact were largely after the 8th century and caused great dispute. i.e. The Great Schism, The Reformation etc.
Back to basics, get rid of man’s traditions, follow Jesus, stop using human wisdom (folly) to understand God’s Holiness.
Interesting that I would mention that these teachings would be considered heretical in the New Testament church and you bring up one of the earliest recorded heresies of the new church. The Jews who came to faith in Christ began to insist on carrying on the priesthood and the concepts of continual sacrifice and were refuted soundly. You need to read Romans and Hebrews. The old testament ceremonies were completely fulfilled by Christ’s death and resurrection. The OT sacrifices needed to be offered regularly because they were imperfect. However Christ was the perfect sacrifice. He was the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek and also the perfect spotless Lamb of sacrifice. Christ died once for all our sins and there is no longer a need for annual sacrifice.
I also don’t accept teachings without verifying them, so no, I don’t accept the teachings because they say so.
This is a good article on how Christ satisfied God’s wrath over our sin
http://www.gotquestions.org/propitiation.html
Only Christ forgives sins. The method of confession was changed with Vatican II (now called reconciliation) and the priest simply informs you that God has forgiven your sins. This is unique to Roman Catholic teachings. Ultimately, if I confess my sins to God and ask for His forgiveness based on Christs redemptive work, I am completely forgiven and am made righteous through Jesus. Now the transformation begins through the renewing of the mind by reading Scripture.
The post-Apostolic teachings you regard as fact were largely after the 8th century and caused great dispute. i.e. The Great Schism, The Reformation etc.
Back to basics, get rid of man’s traditions, follow Jesus, stop using human wisdom (folly) to understand God’s Holiness.
“As a Catholic in good standing I believe…”
Dear Pope Rick…
I hate to break the news to you your holiness… but you certainly ***ain’t*** Catholic!!! Not even close!!! LOL
@Ed
Why am I not Catholic? Perhaps you should read a book called “the Stained Glass Curtain” by Fr Dimitri Sala or perhaps the Catholic Catechism, or the Didache, or Clement or Iraneaus or Eusebius or Justin Martyr or Augustine or John Mark. What I stated is not new or exclusive to me.
I don’t think calling me Pope is right, that’s just nasty.
Jesus told St. Faustina “When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls”. (Diary of St. Faustina, entry # 1602)
@Bob
Thank you for your thoughtful response. This is a small bit of the entire story and there are just too many doctrinal issues in it for me.
I will still stick with scriptures on this.
1 Tim 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
You sure can tell WHO has read “JESUS CHRIST’S OWN WORDS” in St Faustina’s Diary. Or St Theresa’s for that matter. Running back to the early Church and ignoring Christ’s OBVIOUS plan to continue forward is directly counter to HIS plan. AS JESUS outlined. The early centuries ...were being used to lay the foundation. And the Church continues to change (slowly) and progress as GOD sees fit. When he says he wants a DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY AFTER EASTER (JESUS"S OWN WORDS) nothing can ‘STAND IN THE FACE OF HIS WILL’. What is important is a new step forward ... that YOU now have been given a gift ..the gift of the “DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET” to be said during YOUR HOUR OF DEATH ....so you can be with OUR LORD FOR ETERNITY. “JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU” and YOUR PROMISE TO STAND BETWEEN MY SOUL AND THE JUSTICE OF GOD THE FATHER”. For I am truly a sinner. To the NON-believer ... go ahead ... do NOT live with the Obediance Christ demands of you ... and rush towards the abyss of hell. BETTER YET. READ JESUS’S WORDS IN THE DIARY HE DEMANDED BE WRITTEN DOWN WORD FOR WORD AND MARKED AS HIS SPECIFIC WORDS. AND OBEY.
I know that the feast of Divine Mercy has been established, but there is no blessing and veneration of the image, no talk about the Divine Mercy, no recitation of the chaplet? I read somewhere that the USCCB has left it up to the bishops in the dioceses of the USA? I don’t understand!
The Feast of Divine Mercy has been established, but not fully. It should include the blessing and veneration of the Image of Divine Mercy. This might come about in a few years. The Church is beginning to understand the wisdom behind Jesus requesting this feast on the Sunday after Easter. More emphasis is now being placed on the octave, which is the key to understanding why such a great gift of the total forgiveness of all sins and punishment is offered on that day. Easter is an 8 day feast, culminating in a grand finale on the last day. The grand prize is a straight ticket to Heaven for those who participate. The Vatican has issued the duties of priests for this feast, which includes 3 main items: broadcasting the plenary indulgence, hearing confessions, and leading the prayers for the indulgence after all of the Masses on that day.
As far as the Chaplet is concerned, Jesus never asked us to include it on the feast itself. The optional novena, which includes reciting the Chaplet, starts on Good Friday and ends the day before on Easter Saturday.
We must focus on exactly what Jesus asked for and try our best to see that every parish participates. The main focus should be on saving souls. Jesus told us to go out a bring fainting souls to him on that day, not to stay inside and have celebration, mainly for devotees.
Follow this link for ideas to celebrate in your parish: http://divinemercysunday.com/pdf/HowtoCelebrateMercySundayLeaflet10.pdf
I have read Sister Faustina’s proported diary and was seriously concerned. It strikes as well - strange. I say proported because her spiritual director had a heavy hand in rewriting it. This was one of the reasons why the Vatican continued to reject it for a long period of time. It was only at the insistence of Cardinal Karol Wojtila (JPII) that it was finally allowed. I see it as a sort of “affirmative action” for church mystics. Other nations had their mystics why shouldn’t Poland. I think this is clear if one looks at the Divine Mercy picture of Jesus with what is essentially the Polish flag coming out of his chest. Don’t laugh. Symbols are very powerful and work on so many different levels we are not even aware of. Please look at the picture and tell me I am wrong. And please read the diary with an open mind. What concerns me is that somehow this private “revelation” is being presented as the Gospel truth - “Jesus said this or that to Sister Faustina.” Look this is just a private claimed revelation that the church approved as worthy of belief. Not that it is true, only that someone is not going against the faith in believing it. The church can never say with absolute certainity that it is true. We are not required to believe it is true. Just as we are not required to believe that Fatima and Lourdes are true. It has no place in such an important place in the Church calendar. I prefer the teachings of the Apostles not of some proported mystic whose writing are very strange and were altered by someone else. Now that the Vatican is trying to remove the mass from us as much as possible with its new arkward and defective translation, they seem to be giving us something we don’t need or really want. I go to a church were they are pushing the Divine Mercy chaplet and prayers but took Communion under both species from us because “Jesus meant that only for the apostles.” In the words of Jesus, giving us a stone instead of bread.
St. Faustina’s diary was not re-written by anyone. All of the notebooks of her original diary are in her own handwriting. The Vatican did not continue to reject it for a long period of time. A notification was sent out because, at the time, there were conflicting translations coming from different sources urging the Holy See to act. When Pope John Paul II was attending Vatican II, he was being prompted by the faithful of Poland to ask about the cause of canonization of St. Faustina. When he asked about it, he was told to hurry up and gather the neccesary information before the witnesses die off. He did not act on his own accord. It was the Holy Spirit that moved along the whole process, including JPII dying on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday and his beatification on Divine Mercy Sunday.
As far as the Divine Mercy image is concerned, read Pope Benedict’s book “The Spirit of the Liturgy”. After reading it, we will understand why Jesus requested that the image be venerated in our churches. The celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday has nothing to do with St. Faustina. The Church, by instituting Divine Mercy Sunday, is merely bringing about a greater awareness of the Octave of Easter and its tremendous gifts.
The feast of Divine mercy is all about Sister Faustina. It is my understanding that Sister Faustina’s handwritten notes were confused and not very understandable so her spiritual director reworked/edited/rewrote/etc. them. Not surprisingly he comes out looking pretty good in them. It is also my understanding that this was a major and legitimate concern at the Vatican. I am sorry, but I do indeed believe that Karol Wojtila (JPII) took an inordinate active interest in this private revelation pushing it way too far forward. This is clear in naming the Sunday after Easter for the revelations of his favorite mystic. Really, this is just unheard of in the history of the church and hopefully will continue to be controversial until it is moved to a more appropriate weekday or dropped completely. This is why this controversy is about Sister Faustina and not some vague better understanding of Easter. Isn’t Easter’s beauty and power clear enough without bringing in the doubtful “visions” of Sister Faustina. As far as Pope Benedict explaining the proported image of Divine Mercy Jesus. Pope Benedict is far too good of a theologian to fall into the trap of actually saying that Jesus in a private revelation wanted this or that done. For Pope Benedict to say that would be against church teaching on private revelations. I guess the thing that bothers me the most from my observations is that the people who are just thrilled to impose an awkward and deficient mass translation on all of us, who want to take away communion under both species, who want to take away communion in the hands, and other blessed and sacred things are the ones who most want to impose this private revelation on all of us. If the chaplet of the Divine Mercy does not go against Jesus’s warning against multiplying words in your prayers in the hope of being heard, I honestly don’t know what does. And please take a second look at the image of Jesus. All religious symbols are very deep with multiple layers of meaning. Jesus does indeed have the Polish flag coming out of his chest. This was no accident, because the purpose of all of this was to create a national mystic for Poland in order to build its pride. We are asking for bread and are being given a stone.
By the way. Happy feast day of St. Thomas More. He really is an inspiration!
To Thomas,
I would like to take the opportunity to help you to understand what the Sunday of Divine Mercy is all about. What you have written about Saint Faustina is not correct. You seem to be angry and possibly unforgiving about something that has happened to you, perhaps at a local parish.
I would be interested in finding out where you obtained the information that you have written about. Whoever has given you that information has either made it up or has been led astray themselves by someone else. Nowhere in any of the decrees for the establishment of Mercy Sunday or the indulgence does it mention anything about Saint Faustina or private revelations.
Sometimes in these blogs, people will vent out their frustrations from something that has happened to them. I can assure you that everything associated with Divine Mercy Sunday in the Church is liturgically and theologically correct. I can sense in you a disrespect for the Church.
I would like to have the opportunity to speak with you over the phone. I can be reached at the toll-free number on my website: http://www.DivineMercySunday.com .
Hi Bob
Sorry it took a while to get back to you, but I have been tied up with other priorities. Thank you for the offer of a private session but with all due respect I will have to pass. I do repect what you are trying to do. However we are going to have to disagree. First, I would like to address the accuracy of my comments. Indeed Sister Faustina’s diary was not allowed for a number of years. I think about 20 or so. There are still questions on the transcribing of her writings since she was not very learned and her writings are illegible and confusing. Please do a little research, even from sources favorable to her.
As far as anger, why - yes I am and there is absolutely nothing wrong with anger. It is a good thing that God and evolution gave us to protect ourselves when things need to be remedied. It actually is part of our innate moral sense. Jesus certainly was angry many times. It is all about how we express it and how we use it. Yes I am angry about what is happening in the church as a whole. Nothing wrong with that. A few years ago, we were sent an order of Polish priests. Basically, they teach heresy and no one including the bishop who is aware of their abuses calls them on it. For those Polish people out there, I love you all and am only talking about this order, what happens at our church and how it is related to what is happening throughtout the Church as a whole. It is not meant as a put down to the Polish ethnic group. At any rate, this order took away communion under both species which meant a lot to many of us. When we parishioners confronted the priest we were told that basically what happens in the US is wrong because communion under both species is just for the apostles and the Church never ever gave communion under both species to the laity. The priest also said that we have to go back to the way it was before the Second Vatican Council. Again no one calls them on it because they are “traditionalists.” One never knows what is going to happen at our masses. Often the priest skips the homily and goes right into benediction after mass to increase our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Sure that makes sense - take away communion under both species and put the host out for us to adore up on the altar, even though Jesus is now physically inside us. For those of us who appreciate and want to practice correct liturical norms, we are told to leave and find another church. We were also told that the Polish immigrants are the actual “religious” members of the church and we Americans (including the second and third generation Polish-Americans) are the “organizers.” So I guess we are not holy enough to be considered real Catholics. I am not making this up. Many parishioners left the church because of that and other insensitive remarks. I can’t leave because of family commitments but I do try to go to other local churches as often as possible.
As far as the Church as a whole, to satisfy heretics who claim that only the Latin Mass is valid and the Novus Ordo is a Masonic plot (I am not joking - read some of the other blogs on this web site), we are now being given a Mass translation that is absolutely absurd. Just think, Jesus now took a “chalice’ instead of a cup. Yeah right. He no doubt had a bunch of jeweled chalices laying around. Didn’t anyone at the Vatican see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? How about “consubstantial.” Would not “one in substance” work just as well and it would be understandable at least to a few people. How about “incarnate” being a single verb without the normal “was made incarnate” or some other proper english wording. This is just bad English and a poor translation. It is a political move not a religious one. It is made to gain control of us wild Americans and to seperate us from the Mass again. A good translation can be both literal and free flowing. The new mass translation is not. Now let me talk about the affirmative action mystic, St. Faustina. I have read her diaries and was really shocked. She certainly sounded - well let’s be honest here - mentally ill. Compare her visions to others like Lourdes, which is quite beautiful. There is something not quite right about them, what with Jesus and the evil one running around all over the place. I may certainly be wrong but I really don’t think so. And remember, taking away the second Sunday of Easter and replacing it with a feast day on the words of someone like Sister Faustina ultimately teaches disrespect for the church and our apostlic faith. I might add that our priests took away our beautiful rear chapel, which was dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, a real man and a real saint. I often would sneak in and say a prayer to be guided by St. Francis’s example. But the priests moved St. Francis’ painting, and painted the chapel and the irreplaceable art work in Polish colors (red and white) and put up the painting with the Polish flag coming out of Jesus’s chest. Our church is remarkably beautiful and has won national awards. Changing this beautiful piece of art is so very wrong. The priests kept saying that St. Francis didn’t mind losing his chapel - but you know what? I think that God did. Now lets talk about the Divine Mercy chaplet that often get pushed down our throats. Jesus was clear that these types of prayers have no place among his believers. A simple prayer from the heart is what God wants not these prayers that “multiply words.” This chaplet in and of itself speaks to the questionable veracity of Sister Faustina’s “visions.” Thank you Bob and God bless you.
Thomas - after reading your last post, all I can sadly say is that you are in desperate need of ‘many’ prayers and should really look into some spiritual counselling.
Such confusion, anger, resentment, lack of understanding…etc..etc. So sad indeed.
Please get some help my friend.
Bob
Nice try with your very polished ad hominen attack. My compliments. You are quite good. I am sure it might actually work on some people. Please re-read my post and do a little soul searching yourself. You in no way answered any of my reasoned and rather common concerns. I can assure you I am not confused. The problem is many so called traditionalists have to resort to ad hominen attacks because they have a great lack of understanding of our apostolic faith tradition. It is sad that you and others use this type of argument. If am angry, so are you. You just use different techniques to express it. So sad, indeed. God Bless you. I will pray for you. All of us are despreate need of prayers.
Dear Thomas,
I did not write that last post. It was written by someone named Ed. Please call me at the number listed on my website so we can talk: http://www.DivineMercySunday.com .
Thomas - you need to calm down and get a grip my friend. If you take the time to ‘slowly’ read the last post that apparently offended you, you will notice that the author of that last post was me—not Bob.
Why do you feel you are being personally attacked?
No one is attacking you… just praying for you and hoping you seek some help.
Your “confusion, anger, resentment, lack of understanding…etc..etc.” is obviously blinding you to reality.
In any case… I hope you take my advice and “get some help” soon.
Peace…
Thomas - why not take Bob up on his extremely kind offer and call him?
What can you lose?
Bob
Sorry about atributing Ed’s remarks to you. My deepest apologies.
Ed, I don’t think that I would change my response much. Your post was very insulting. Please re-read it. Basically is is a slick ad hominen attack. From my prospective many of the posts here about these personal visions border on or actually cross the line into superstition and are far from our Apostolic Faith. God bless.
Thomas - why won’t you call Bob and discuss your concerns/feelings/opinions more thoroughly?
He has offered to help you understand… what are you afraid of?
Ed
I would be happy to provide counsel to Bob if he is willing. And Ed why are you afraid to hear the truth spoken openly and freely? I believe that you are one that is very afraid. after all, you try to shut down someone who disagrees with you with your back handed ad hominen attacks. Again, no one actually answered my concerns. Best wishes.
“I would be happy to provide counsel to Bob if he is willing.”
Yeah… right. How funny. You would provide counsel to Bob. LOL
As I said to you once before… you are in ‘need’ of many prayers my friend.
Maestro… please cue the music:
“Happy trails to you….”
Bye…bye… Thomas.
Is it appropriate to display the image of the Divine Mercy in church the week following the Divine Mercy Sunday?
WOW!! After reading some of the responses here I am reminded of how Jesus was treated by the Chief Priest and the Pharisees of His day. How people can have something so beautiful in front of them and not see it is beyond me. Speaking from experience, how can something that brings people closer or even to Our Lord be wrong. Since coming to learn more about The Divine Mercy I have grown so much closer to Our Lord and His Blessed Mother! I pray the Chaplet as often as possible and I pray The Rosary more than I ever have. The devotion to The Divine Mercy does in no way take away from any already established devotion, it only enhances them. Maybe some of this comes from not understanding the devotion or not giving it a chance. Just as Thomas in the bible doubted that he was really seeing Christ risen until he felt the wounds I pray that the “doubters” today will be shown what they need to believe and Trust! God Bless!!
Yes, it is appropriate to display the Divine Mercy Image after Divine Mercy Sunday. If you read Pope Benedict’s book “The Spirit of the Liturgy” you will understand why this image should be displayed, not just on the feast, but as a permanent installation in every parish to help with the Liturgy and lead people to the Second Coming of Christ.
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