Catholic All Week

Following immediately after Easter Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday, which has become one of the most treasured feasts of the Easter season. This year it is celebrated on April 27. But where did this relatively new (less than 100-year-old) feast come from, and how should you honor it?

Origins of the feast

Mankind’s need for the message of Divine Mercy took on urgency in the early 20th century, when civilization began to lose respect for the sanctity and dignity of human life. In the 1930s, Jesus chose a humble Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, to receive private revelations about Divine Mercy that were recorded in her diary. This was at a time when St. John Paul II later noted the evil ideologies of nazism and communism were forming, calling Sister Faustina’s message that God is mercy the only truth capable of offsetting that evil.

Papal connections

On May 5, 2000, five days after the canonization of St. Faustina, the Vatican decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter would be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. In his second encyclical, “Rich in Mercy,” St. John Paul II offered an extended meditation on God’s mercy, which he calls “the greatest of the attributes and perfections of God.” He returned to this theme throughout his pontificate. John Paul II died in April 2005 on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday, was beatified on Divine Mercy Sunday, May 1, 2011, by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, and was canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2014, by Pope Francis.

How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy was given to St. Faustina with this promise: “Encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given you” (Diary, 1541). “Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. … Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy” (Diary, 687). The Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed using a rosary:

 

Step 1: Begin with the Sign of the Cross, then say one Our Father, one Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed. An optional opening prayer is: “You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.” Then repeat three times: “O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!”

Step 2: Then on the beads where with the rosary you would pray an Our Father, say the following: “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”

Step 3: On each of the 10 Hail Mary beads, say the following: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all five decades.

Step 4: Conclude by saying the following three times: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” An optional closing prayer is: “Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.”

Catholic All Week

The liturgies for Holy Week are filled with beautiful Catholic traditions that reach back thousands of years. Good Friday is the only day of the year when the Church does not celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Instead, the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord consists of hearing the Passion reading from the Gospel of John, solemn intercessions, adoration of the cross and Holy Communion from hosts consecrated on Holy Thursday. Here is more about the tradition of adoration – or veneration – of the holy cross.

Where did it start?

We have St. Helena, the mother of Roman emperor Constantine the Great, to indirectly thank for this tradition. She journeyed to Jerusalem in the fourth century to find the sites associated with Christ’s passion, with the primary goal of finding the true cross. What made this task more challenging was that over the centuries, the Romans had built over the places where Jesus was tried, sentenced and crucified. Helena excavated many sites before finding three crosses. According to legend, she touched a woman who was near death with parts of each of the crosses, and one – the true cross – healed her completely. Helena split that cross, leaving part in Jerusalem and taking part to Constantinople. Later, she took several pieces to Rome, where they were enshrined in the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.

How do you adore the cross?

During the service, the priest unveils the cross that was previously shrouded. Alternately, a priest or a deacon can receive the unveiled cross and carry it in procession into the sanctuary. From there, worshipers are encouraged to come up individually, genuflect and kiss the cross as they recall Christ’s passion and sacrifice.

Can you adore the cross at home?

While it can’t replace the communal experience of seeing the faithful approach and adore the cross, during COVID many Catholic entities created ways for the faithful to adore the cross at home. If you can’t get to church on Good Friday (which is not a Holy Day of obligation), you can still follow practices such as these from the Diocese of Corpus Christi that were adapted from The Catholic Company to give people a part of the experience at home. Begin by placing your most beautiful crucifix in a place of honor and light some candles by it. Kneel before the crucifix and spend time in prayer by thanking Jesus for his sacrifice, making an act of contrition, and saying The Prayer Before the Crucifix. Finally, kiss the crucifix.

Catholic All Week

For the Jubilee Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope, dioceses across the world have been charged with designating local pilgrimage sites for those who can’t get to Rome. Three local sites – all listed on the National Register of Historic Places – have been designated in the Diocese of Charlotte: St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville; Mary, Help of Christians Basilica at Belmont Abbey in Belmont; and St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. Before you venture out to one of them, how should you prepare for a pilgrimage? Will Peterson, founder and president of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, recently suggested several ways Catholics can deepen their local pilgrimage experience.

Discernment and intention

With three local sites – and more in neighboring dioceses - how do you determine where you want to go? Take the time to research – and pray over – potential sites and see where you feel called to go. Then, either individually or as a family, determine your intention for making the journey. That intention could be anything from praying for the universal Church or the diocese to a family need or one inspired by the life of the patron saint of the site. You also can ask family members and friends for their intentions, write them down and carry them with you to the site. Doing so is a wonderful way to teach children the importance of praying with and for others.

Walk the talk

Traditionally, pilgrims walked as they made a pilgrimage. While part of this stemmed from the predominant method of traveling before modern transportation, there was a spiritual component to the long and potentially challenging journey of reaching the holy site. While walking may not be an option in today’s world, you can map out a walk as part of your pilgrimage. Get the family involved and plan a walk around the Belmont Abbey campus, take a tour of St. Lawrence Basilica, or walk around St. Patrick’s campus and the neighboring park to find a quiet moment in Dilworth.

Take time to pray

Prayer is at the heart of any spiritual journey, but how do you pray in a different way on a pilgrimage? Peterson recommends reflecting on Christ as a pilgrim, beginning with Psalm 84 before you set out and praying Psalm 122 at your destination. The Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have posted Jubilee prayers on their websites. Ideally, you’d make time to go to confession and Mass as part of the pilgrimage as well.