Divine Mercy Sunday
Feast Day: Second Sunday of Easter
Five words.
That is the whole prayer at the bottom of the Divine Mercy image.
“Jesus, I trust in You.”
Easy to say.
Hard to live.
And exactly what Jesus asks of every one of us.
Jesus, I trust in You.
The Sunday After Easter
On the evening of the first Easter, Jesus appeared to His Apostles in the locked upper room.
He did not scold them for running away.
He gave them peace, and then He gave them the power to forgive sins.
“Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”
— John 20:22, Douay-Rheims
“Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”
— John 20:23, Douay-Rheims
That Gospel is read every year on the Second Sunday of Easter.
It is a Gospel of mercy.
St. Faustina
In the 1930s, Jesus appeared to a young Polish nun named Sister Faustina Kowalska.
He asked her to have an image painted of Him, with two rays coming from His heart, one pale and one red.
The rays stand for the blood and water that flowed from His side on the Cross.
Beneath the image were to be the words: “Jesus, I trust in You.”
Jesus also asked that the Sunday after Easter be celebrated as a feast of His mercy.
(See St. Faustina Kowalska.)
A Saint Makes It Official
On April 30, 2000, Pope St. John Paul II canonized St. Faustina.
On that same day, he declared that the Second Sunday of Easter would be known throughout the Church as Divine Mercy Sunday.
Five years later, John Paul II died on the evening of April 2, 2005, the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday.
(See St. Pope John Paul II.)
How Catholics Celebrate
Many Catholics prepare with a novena beginning on Good Friday.
They go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, and venerate the Divine Mercy image.
Many pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, often at three in the afternoon, the hour Jesus died.
The Church also grants a plenary indulgence on this day under the usual conditions.
When Is It Celebrated?
Divine Mercy Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter, one week after Easter Sunday.
It closes the Octave of Easter.
In 2027, it falls on April 4.
In 2028, it falls on April 23.
What Divine Mercy Teaches Us
Divine Mercy Sunday teaches us that no sin is bigger than God’s mercy.
It teaches us to run to Confession instead of running away.
And it teaches us to show mercy to others, as we have received it.
“Praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
— Psalm 135:1, Douay-Rheims
When Is Divine Mercy Sunday?
The Catholic Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday on the Second Sunday of Easter, one week after Easter Sunday.
Prayer Inspired by Divine Mercy Sunday
Lord Jesus Christ,
from Your pierced Heart flowed blood and water
as a fountain of mercy for us.
Forgive our sins,
heal what is broken in us,
and teach us to trust You completely.
Make us merciful as You are merciful.
Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.
