Dear Saints,

This weekend, we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday.

The Gospel passage we read to commemorate this Feast is powerful. Jesus appears to his Apostles, makes himself known to them in the wounds of his crucifixion, and extends his peace to them. Jesus' closest friends - the men who abandoned and betrayed him - are restored to friendship with God.

In the 1930s Jesus appeared to Sister Faustina Kowalska to renew the message of Divine Mercy. Devotion to Divine Mercy has since spread through the Church to every corner of creation.

The three main themes of the devotion - and the focus of the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet - are 1. to ask for and obtain the mercy of God, 2. to trust in Christ's abundant mercy, and 3. to show mercy to others and act as a conduit for God's mercy towards them.

Here we see the power of trusting in Jesus: in him we receive the mercy of God, and in him we are made vessels of his mercy (his bountiful and forgiving love!) to everyone we encounter.

Peace be with you!

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ