The light of the message of Divine Mercy which the Lord wished to renew in the world, will be as much a beacon of hope for the third millennium, as the apostles were in the first” He said that in future this Sunday would be known throughout the world as Divine Mercy Sunday.The Feast of Mercy, or Divine Mercy Sunday is now mentioned in most of the worlds liturgical calendars

From those who still turn a deaf ear to these new revelations for our time, I have heard the excuse put forward that the life of the church has always been about devotion to the Mercy of God, so why do we need a new devotion about the same thing.

In to days world it is demonstrably clear, that man has failed to listen to God, and the whole world is on the precipice of perdition. This is obviously why Jesus has found it necessary to urgently appeal to us in a new way, and has given us an extraordinary message revealed through Saint Faustina, with extraordinary promise's attached to help attract modern man back to the faith.

On the Feast of Mercy we receive the unique Spirit of Divine Mercy. It is this Spirit of Divine Mercy, that will heal the wounds of the human heart. It is this Spirit of Divine Mercy that will haul down the barriers that separate us from God, It is this Spirit of Divine Mercy that will dispel the distrust that separates us from each other, and it is this Spirit of Divine Mercy that restores the Fathers love for us, and our love for the Father.

A lot of priests still maintain that the Feast of Mercy should not take place within the octave of Easter. The opinion being, that Divine Mercy devotions are still just private devotions which conflict with the Church's liturgy during the octave of Easter.

Anyone who is of this opinion, cannot understand the true nature of the Divine Mercy Message, or the actual status of the Feast of Divine Mercy, since the Canonisation of Saint Faustina.

First and most importantly , the Feast of Divine Mercy is not anymore a private devotion. It is a public feast formally established by Pope John Paul II, with approval from three Vatican Congregations. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for Divine Worship, and the Congregation for the Cause of Saints.

This approval was given to the Church on the 5th May 2000 in the form of a Decree, issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, and the Discipline of the Sacraments. and it will be celebrated in St. Peters Square as an official feast day for the first time,
on Sunday the 22nd April 2001 by John Paul II. One of the main concelebrants on that day will be Fr. Ron Pytel whose miracle was instrumental in Saint Faustina's canonisation. As the feast has been approved by the Holy See, it is now open to any bishop to establish it in their own diocese, or for a bishops conference to establish it for the whole of a country.

Clearly John Paul II himself was eager for the Church everywhere, to formally celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy, but it is up to the bishops to establish it as a liturgical feast day, in each country.

Until the day this feast is officially included in the liturgical calendar of all countries, individual priests, parishes, and the faithful generally, have every right in liturgical law to celebrate the feast of Mercy on the Sunday after Easter, as it is now also to be officially known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

To answer those who still think that this celebration of the Feast of Mercy conflicts with the Church's liturgy during the octave of Easter. The obvious answer is that Jesus chose this day because it is already a day of celebration of His Divine Mercy, and therefore does not conflict with the liturgy of the day.

The Scripture lessons on this Sunday centre on God's Divine Mercy. The Gospel for the day is of Jesus appearing in the upper room and bestowing authority to forgive sins, and the responsorial Psalm for the day, Psalm 118 sings of the mercy of God enduring forever.

In fact, in the writings of St. Augustine you can see, that in the ancient Church the Sunday after Easter, was held as a great feast day in celebration of the merciful love of God, which he said was displayed in all the events of the Paschal Mystery. St. Augustine called the Sunday after Easter, "a day that is a compendium of all God's mercies."

In fact, it could be said that Divine Mercy Sunday is not a new feast that conflicts with Easter; but the renewal of an ancient feast of the Church, that celebrates Christ rising from the dead and thereby bringing everlasting life to mankind, which is Divine Mercy.

Now I must again point out the conditions requested by our Lord in preparation for the Feast of Mercy, and the gift of complete cleansing of the soul. And don't let anyone put you off from receiving this great gift, by saying that this bit doesn't matter or that bit doesn't matter, or surely missing one out of seven couldn't make that much difference. I would like to assure you that all seven conditions matter. Do not make the same mistake as Adam and Eve. God is giving man the opportunity to return to the garden.

There were a lot of apples in the garden, and you could say what difference could one make, but the whole test was a test of obedience to God, and if we pass the test of obedience for the Feast of Mercy, then we attain the great gift of being purified to return to the garden.

Therefore do not miss out on any of the conditions, or desires of Our Lord, for the gift of complete cleansing of the soul. Do not be disobedient to God, pass His test and comply with His requests. Go to a Church where they are being fully obedient to the desires of God in His message of Divine Mercy.

A summary of what we need to do, in order to comply with the wishes of Our Lord to celebrate His great feast of Mercy, is as follows:

The Feast should be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter, and be preceded by a Novena of Chaplets to the Divine Mercy beginning on Good Friday.

An act of Mercy should take place in our lives, on each day of the novena, as part of our preparation for the feast. We should be merciful to others in our words, deeds and prayers.

Merciful Word could be in forgiving and comforting someone
Merciful Deed is to carry out some work of mercy, or donate to works

of mercy, Merciful Prayer could be to say prayers for someone in
need of God's Mercy

The Image of the Divine Mercy is to be ceremoniously blessed on the day(1.18) (1.142)

We should demonstrate our trust in Jesus the Divine Mercy. This we suggest can be carried out by kissing or touching the Image, and saying the words aloud, "Jesus I trust in you" this can be done either during the celebration like the kissing of the cross on Good Friday or as people leave the Church, if numbers attending, prevent it during the ceremony. (1.341) (11.38) (11.162)

Confession and communion on the day. If confession is not possible on the day it should be as close to the day as possible. The important requirement is that your soul should be in a state of grace on the day.

Sr. Faustina made her confession in preparation for the feast on the Saturday before. Communion, as always, should be accompanied by complete Trust in Divine Mercy. (11.138) (111.1109)

The Sermon by the priest on that day should be on Divine Mercy - that is the mercy which God the Father bestows on us through Jesus Christ His son. (11.39)

That we contemplate, on this day, the Mystery of Redemption as the greatest revelation of Divine Mercy towards us. (1.130)

This is a day of extraordinary opportunity when we can bring souls with us in spirit, to the throne of Gods mercy, with petitions of prayer, and offer these souls up to Jesus where He promised to heal and strenghten them.Jesus said, “I yearn for souls, on the day of My Feast, the Feast of Mercy you will go through the whole world and bring faint souls to the spring of my mercy, where I shall heal and strengthen them”
Revelation 6. (Diary 1 206)
Val Conlon is Director of the Divine Mercy Publications Apostolate.