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The Outrageous Grace of Mercy Sunday

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Jesus I Trust In You

Jesus revealed to St. Faustina that the Feast of Mercy would be a very special day when “all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened”. (Diary 699)

Jesus promised that “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.”(Diary 699) He went on to say “I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My Mercy.” (Diary 1109)

Jesus said to St. Faustina “I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You”. (Diary 327) “The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the cross. …Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.” (Diary 299)

Speaking of “Divine Mercy Sunday”, Jesus said “…tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon the souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet…. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy”. (Diary 699)

Divine Mercy Novena – Day 9

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Divine Mercy Novena

Day 9

“Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm,
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: ‘Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.’ For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy.”

Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.

Divine Mercy Novena – Day 8

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Divine Mercy Novena

Day 8


“Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory,
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice.”

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Divine Mercy Novena – Day 7

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Divine Mercy Novena

Day 7

Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy,
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.

Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:

Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.


Divine Mercy Novena – Day 6

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Divine Mercy Novena

Day 6


Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of  Little Children,
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.

Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.” Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father’s favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Prepared by Repentance -Enabled by Faith

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At Easter, we see the Resurrected Lord and are bathed in the Light of His conquering Love.  The Church places Jesus before the eyes of our hearts.  It is precisely because, only a few days ago, we beheld His pain and suffering, His Love unto Death, that we can grasp the triumph of His Love, this Agape.

Carmel is a reminder that Love  must be lived to be authentic.  Not that we can live it with perfection, though that is the Call, but that we try day by day in all humility.  For me, it is always beginning anew.  Repentance prepares us and faith enables us.

The Secular Carmelites share in Meditations from Carnel the words of  Pere Jacques:

“We are at Carmel only for this:  to love!
To love, of course, requires that we give proof of our love.  This love expresses itself in constant prayer.  I say “constant,” because this state of prayer must be our life not for only two hours a day, but all day long.  Our life must be a constant, silent prayer that rises unceasingly to God.  That is what constitutes our duty in life.
We must not confuse this state of prayer with religious sentimentality, or with pious feelings unrelated to authentic prayer, which can sometimes be piercingly painful.  That love, which is our life’s duty, must express itself in vibrant, zealous deeds, all aspects of which compel our careful consideration.
Only with deepest humility can we recognize how far we are from our goal.  Only those souls who have attained a lofty level of holiness can truly acknowledge how far they still are from their total fulfillment.  For example, the Cure of Ars considered himself more wretched than the notorious sinners to whom he ministered.  He realized that many of these fallen souls, had they received the same graces that he had received, would perhaps surpass him in holiness.  Only with humility can we recognize the torpor of our love.
Prayer is our primary duty.  Prayer is the reason why God has placed us on earth.  We learn truly to prayer, when we are in the presence and company of Christ.  Therefore, we must contemplate Christ for long periods of a time and seek him our persistently.  Consider those closest to Christ.  Saint John the Apostle grasped what was indispensable for a clear understanding of his master.  John never tired of probing and querying Christ.  We can see how John thus gained richer insights and fuller explanations, precisely because he went to the bother of approaching and asking Christ to clarify each day’s lesson.  I picture John, walking close behind Christ, as he made his way about the Holy Land.  Thus, John came to gain a wealth of intimate knowledge, which the other apostles did not acquire.  Herein lies the explanation for the special character of the fourth Gospel.  While the other apostles traveled across the then known world on their missionary journeys, John’s unique apostolate was to remain close to the Virgin Mary, whom Christ had entrusted to him.  Thus were these two great souls conjoined in love and prayer”.
In silent solitude, let us seek to realize that we truly can be in contact with God.  It is God whom we should aim to encounter in prayer.  It is God who is both the breath and the fulfillment of our life.  Amen.”