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April 18, 2020Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter, the Octave Day of Easter or the eighth day of Easter. The feast day is observed by Roman Catholics as well as some Anglicans. It is originally based on the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy that Faustina Kowalska reported as part of her encounter with Jesus, and is associated with special promises from Jesus and indulgences issued by the Catholic Church.
In 2000, when he was canonizing Saint Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II (now Saint John Paul the Great) declared that the Second Sunday of Easter would also be known as The Feast of the Divine Mercy, in honor of Saint Faustina’s visions of and conversations with Jesus, the King of Mercy. Saint Faustina saw Jesus clothed in white with red and blue rays emanating from his heart; Jesus instructed her to have his image made into a painting. The original painting by Polish painter Eugeniusz Kazimorowki, commissioned by Sister Faustina herself, was painted in white, red and blue but it has been copied in many different forms by other artists.
Mankind’s need for the message of Divine Mercy took on dire urgency in the 20th Century, when civilization began to experience an “eclipse of the sense of God” and, therefore to lose the understanding of the sanctity and inherent dignity of human life. In the 1930s, Jesus chose a humble Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, to receive private revelations concerning Divine Mercy that were recorded in her Diary. St. John Paul II explains:
“This was precisely the time when those ideologies of evil, nazism and communism, were taking shape. Sister Faustina became the herald of the one message capable of off-setting the evil of those ideologies, that fact that God is mercy—the truth of the merciful Christ. And for this reason, when I was called to the See of Peter, I felt impelled to pass on those experiences of a fellow Pole that deserve a place in the treasury of the universal Church.” Pope Saint John Paul II, Memory and Identity (2005)
Indulgences, God’s Divine Mercy & a Global Crisis
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and all of the saints". What? So…the indulgence granted by the Church removes temporal punishment (penance) after forgiveness (prayer of absolution) through the Sacrament of Confession which has been obtained, through certain conditions (i.e., attending Mass, receiving Holy Communion, etc.) being carried out (meaning you do it). How can the Church offer an indulgence? The Church as the “minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority with the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ…meaning that the Church has been entrusted by Christ’ with grace through the Sacraments and is commanded to “guard and defend” the Sacraments for all ages (“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt: 16:18-19)
For those, who have been wondering, whether or not, if, it is still, possible to receive this special Plenary Indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday, this answer is, most definitely, yes! Even though a requirement is to attend Mass on this Sunday.
You see “in the original Vatican decree, establishing the plenary indulgence, in June of 2002, there is a special provision, to, still, obtain the plenary indulgence, without attending Mass. It is in the last section of the decree, titled “For those who cannot go to church or the seriously ill:” The document, which has perpetual force, clearly states that “all who for a just cause cannot leave their homes: may obtain a plenary indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday”.
We must remember today’s social distancing does not remove the 3 conditions, which must be fulfilled, to receive the plenary indulgence, which are: (a sacramental confession, a Eucharistic communion, and a prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff). The decree clearly states that these must be done “as soon as possible” The decree reads, as follows: “if totally detesting any sin, as has been said before, and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, will recite the Our Father and the Creed before a devout image of Our Merciful Lord Jesus and, in addition, pray a devout invocation to the Merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you).”
The decree, also, has many other, special, provisions, including for “the sick and those who nurse them”. The decree goes, even, further by saying “If it is impossible that people do even this, on the same day, they may obtain the Plenary Indulgence, if, with a spiritual intention they are united with those carrying out the prescribed practice for obtaining the Indulgence, in the usual way, and offer to the Merciful Lord a prayer and the sufferings of their illness and the difficulties of their lives, with the resolution to accomplish as soon as possible the three conditions prescribed to obtain the plenary indulgence”. Above all things, Christ’s Church is pastoral and understands everyday life.
“There is no doubt, that Pope St. John Paul II, was guided, by the Holy Spirit, when he established this, very, special plenary indulgence, with every possible provision, so that everyone can obtain the incredible gift of the total forgiveness of all sins and punishment,” the document states.
And while the above is a lengthy bit of histrionics, the context is import for our consideration of God’s Divine Mercy in the midst of this current pandemic. The question some people are asking is: “Where is God in all this sickness, death, dislocation, isolation and disruption?” I will agree that sometimes it can be difficult to find a merciful God in the midst of trial and tribulation. But He is here and is present among us. For if God is Love—and more than Love He is the Source and Summit of Love—then we need only open our eyes of faith and look “in all the right places.”
Today’s gospel, John 20:19-31, provides us with a “Trinity of Hope” in this pandemic: First, Jesus breathes His Peace on us, instilling us with His Love and Strength. And tells us that like the Father sent Christ, so Christ calls and sends us to be part of His Plan for human salvation-through our belief in Him-in our world. Follow Me! Second, we hear Jesus accept human doubt. It’s ok to have doubt, but Jesus commands that we not linger in doubt or unbelief but seek Truth, which is God Himself, as He called Thomas from doubt into Truth. If we too seek Christ, Truth shall be ours. Third, believe in Christ. While we may not be another Thomas and be able to place our finger into His wounds, we can come to belief by seeing all the good that others are doing in Christ’s name and join them in their belief and action.
God is not the cause of the virus or its resulting troubles. He did not cause either the whet market or the laboratory—whichever theory you subscribe to. He is not the cause or the motivating factor behind sickness or death caused by illnesses. And God is not the cause of the job losses or the inability to be with loved ones alone in the hospital.
But our God, Emmanuel—God is with us—is present among us. He stands with the nurses, doctors, EMTs, scientists and other medical professionals who step into the ICUs, EDs, research labs or other rooms and care for the sick—with and without personal protective care—and He grants Wisdom and Knowledge to the medical and scientific communities so compassionate care heals the sick and vaccines, testing and treatments may be discovered and provided to His suffering people; God is present in our town halls, state legislatures, the Congress and the Rose Garden as He grants Counsel to our elected and appointed public officials so that they may hear and use well the wisdom of our medical and scientific leaders to protect His people.
God is present to the American people and the peoples of the world as fear grips all lands that we may know and truly believe that He is present in our personal situations, granting Fortitude, Piety and Fear (awe) of the Lord so that we all see our commonality in our humanity and seek the excellence of the common good, whether we are Americans or Europeans, Asians or Africans—New Yorkers or New Englanders, West Coasters or Middle Americans. One family united together;
God is present to all on the front lines of this global battle, whether they are in the medical or delivery professions, retooling their industries for a greater need, sharing what supplies they have, going the extra mile to teach online or care for a vulnerable neighbor or are offering extra prayers for those in the midst of danger, He is present in granting His Understanding so that all humanity may recognize their part in this call to heal our world in-and-through compassion, selflessness for another or in advocacy for one without a voice—for in all things done well and righteously is the highest of all callings—to continue ministry of Christ.
God is truly present among us in the gifts of the Holy Spirit which He has promised to the world by breathing His Spirit upon His apostles and disciples to guide us to all that God revealed in Christ. And when we forget all His Wisdom, Knowledge, Fortitude, Understanding, Courage, Counsel, Fear (awe) of the Lord because of the busyness of everyday life or the drive to succeed at work, or by filling our lives with material things or indulging our schedules with 24/7 activities—the Lord reminds us what is truly important: one another held in love, care and concern—and the gifts of His Holy Spirit that are meant to lead us to become the Excellence of
humanity—even in the midst of a crisis, especially so.
His Divine Mercy Endures Forever!
