Feast of Mercy Sunday 11 April: what to do today?
In the course of the revelations of Jesus to Santa Faustina on Divine Mercy, he asked on numerous occasions that a feast be dedicated to Divine Mercy and that this feast be celebrated on Sunday after Easter.
The liturgical texts of that day, the Second Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, Tribunal of Divine Mercy, and are therefore already suited to the request of Our Lord. This feast, already granted to the Polish nation and celebrated within the Vatican City, was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the canonization of Sister Faustina on April 30, 2000. By decree of April 30, 2000, May 23, 2000 , the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments affirmed that "
The diary of Saint Faustina
Regarding the feast of mercy, Jesus said:
Anyone who approaches the Source of Life on this day will receive complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)
I want the image be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be publicly venerated so that every soul can know it. (Diary 341)
This feast has emerged from the very depths of my mercy and is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary 420)
On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, speak to the whole world of My Inconceivable Mercy. I wish the Feast of Mercy may it be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. Towards a whole ocean of graces on those souls who are approaching the source of My Mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will get the suit forgiveness of sins and punishment.
Feast of Mercy: Jesus person sins
our emphasis on that day opens all the divine gates through which grace flows. May no soul be afraid to come near Me, even if its sins are like scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or angel, will be able to fathom it for all eternity. All that exists has emerged from the very depths of My most tender Mercy.
Each soul in his relationship with Me he will contemplate My love and mercy for all eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from my own depths of tenderness. I want it to be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Humanity will have no peace until it turns to the Source of My Mercy. (Diary 699)
Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be actions of mercy, which must arise out of love for Me. You must show mercy to our neighbors anytime and anywhere. You don't have to back down or try to absolve yourself of it. (Diary 742)
I want to grant the complete forgiveness to the souls who will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My Mercy. (Diary 1109)
Feast of Mercy: the diocese of Krakow
As you can see, the Lord's desire for the Feast includes the solemn public veneration of the Image of the Divine Mercy by the Church, as well as personal acts of veneration and mercy. The great promise to the individual soul is that a devotional act of sacramental penance and Communion he will obtain for that soul the fullness of divine mercy in the Feast.
The Cardinal of Krakow, the Cardinal Macharski, whose diocese is the center of the spread of devotion and the patron of the Cause of Sister Faustina, wrote that we should use the Lent as a preparation for the Feast and to confess even before Holy Week! Hence, it is clear that the confessional requirement does not have to be fulfilled during the feast itself. If it did, it would be an impossible burden for the clergy. The requirement of Communion is however easily satisfied that day, since it is a day of obligation, being Sunday. We would only need a new confession, if received earlier in the Lenten or Easter period, if we were in a state of mortal sin during the feast.