FEASTS OF THE DAY
SUNDAY, 16 APRIL, 2023
1) FEAST OF DIVINE MERCY
2) ST. BERNADETTE
3) ST. ENGRATIA AND THE EIGHTEEN MARTYRS OF SARAGOSSA
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1) FEAST OF DIVINE MERCY
“I desire that the Feast of Mercy…be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter….The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion (in a state of grace on this day) shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” (Diary, 699)
CONCERNING THE FEAST OF MERCY
JESUS SAID TO ST. FAUSTINA:
Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)
I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. (Diary 341)
This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary 420)
"My daughter, 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 for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy". (Diary 699)
Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it. (Diary 742)
Pray the "DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET"
HOW TO PRAY THE "DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET?"
'Step 1' – Using a regular set of Rosary beads, you begin at the cross by making the SIGN OF THE CROSS.
OPENING PRAYER
''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.''
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' – On the three beads of the Rosary pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed.
'Step 3' – You begin each decade with the Our Father beads by praying this prayer:
''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 4' - Complete the decade on the 10 Hail Mary beads by praying this prayer:
''For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.''
Repeat 'Steps 3 and 4' for each decade on the rosary beads
'Step 5' – Once you have prayed all 5 decades, you end the Chaplet by praying the following prayer 3 times:
''Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.''
CLOSING PRAYER
''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. Amen.''
THE DIVINE MERCY PRAISES (Diary: 948-949)
The Love of God is the flower-Mercy the fruit.
Let the doubting soul read these considerations on Divine Mercy and become trusting.
Divine Mercy, gushing forth from the bosom of the Father,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, greatest attribute of God,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, incomprehensible mystery,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, fountain gushing forth from the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, unfathomed by any intellect, human or angelic,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, from which wells forth all life and happiness,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, better than the heavens,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, source of miracles and wonders,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, encompassing the whole universe,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, descending to earth in the Person of the Incarnate Word,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, which flowed out from the open wound of the Heart of Jesus,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, enclosed in the Heart of Jesus for us, and especially for sinners,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, unfathomed in the institution of the Sacred Host,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, in the founding of Holy Church,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, in our justification through Jesus Christ,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, accompanying us through our whole life,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, embracing us especially at the hour of death,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, endowing us with immortal life,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, accompanying us every moment of our life,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, shielding us from the fire of hell,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, in the conversion of hardened sinners,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, astonishment for Angels, incomprehensible to Saints,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, unfathomed in all the mysteries of God,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, lifting us out of every misery,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, source of our happiness and joy,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, in calling us forth from nothingness to existence,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, embracing all the works of His hands,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, crown of all of God's handiwork,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, in which we are all immersed,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, sweet relief for anguished hearts,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, only hope of despairing souls,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, repose of hearts, peace amidst fear,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, delight and ecstasy of holy souls,
I Trust in Thee.
Divine Mercy, inspiring hope against all hope,
I Trust in Thee.
SAINT FAUSTINA KOWALSKA'S HEALING PRAYER: Jesus, may Your pure and healthy blood circulate in my ailing organism, and may Your pure and healthy body transform my weak unhealthy body, and may a healthy and vigorous life flowing within me, if it is truly Your Holy will. Amen.
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2) ST. BERNADETTE
Marie Bernadette Soubirous was the eldest child of an impoverished miller. At the age of fourteen she was ailing and undersized, sensitive and of pleasant disposition but accounted backward and slow. Between 11 February and 16 July 1858, in a shallow cave on the bank of the river Gave, she had a series of remarkable experiences. On eighteen occasions she saw a very young and beautiful lady, who made various requests and communications to her, pointing out a forgotten spring of water and enjoining prayer and penitence. The lady eventually identified herself as the Virgin Mary, under the title of 'the Immaculate Conception'. Some of these happenings took place in the presence of many people, but no one besides Bernadette claimed to see or hear 'the Lady', and there was no disorder or emotional extravagance. After the appearances ceased, however, there was an epidemic of false visionaries and morbid religiosity in the district, which increased the reserved attitude of the church authorities towards Bernadette's experiences.
For some years she suffered greatly from the suspicious disbelief of some and the tactless enthusiasm and insensitive attentions of others; these trials she bore with impressive patience and dignity. In 1866 she was admitted to the convent of the Sisters of Charity at Nevers. Here she was more sheltered from trying publicity, but not from the 'stuffiness' of the convent superiors nor from the tightening grip of asthma. 'I am getting on with my job,' she would say. 'What is that?' someone asked. 'Being ill,' was the reply. Thus she lived out her self-effacing life, dying at the age of thirty-five. The events of 1858 resulted in Lourdes becoming one of the greatest pilgrim shrines in the history of Christendom. But St. Bernadette took no part in these developments; nor was it for her visions that she was canonized, but for the humble simplicity and religious trustingness that characterized her whole life.
PATRON: Bodily ills; illness; Lourdes, France; people ridiculed for their piety; poverty; shepherdesses; shepherds; sick people; sickness.
SYMBOLS: Young girl kneeling in front of a grotto, before the Blessed Virgin ("The Immaculate Conception") who wears a white dress, blue belt, and a rose on each foot. Bernadette is sometimes pictured after she received the habit.
ST. BERNADETTE: PRAY FOR US
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3) ST. ENGRATIA AND THE EIGHTEEN MARTYRS OF SARAGOSSA
St. Optatus and seventeen other holy men received the crown of martyrdom on the same day, at Saragossa, under the cruel Governor Dacian, in the persecution of Diocletian, in 304. Two others, Caius and Crementius, died of their torments after a second conflict.
The Church also celebrates on this day the triumph of St. Encratis, or Engratia, Virgin. She was a native of Portugal. Her father had promised her in marriage to a man of quality in Roussillon; but fearing the dangers and despising the vanities of the world, and resolving to preserve her virginity, in order to appear more agreeable to her heavenly Spouse and serve Him without hindrance, she stole from her father's house and fled privately to Saragossa, where the persecution was hottest, under the eyes of Dacian. She even reproached him with his barbarities, upon which he ordered her to be long tormented in the most inhuman manner: her sides were torn with iron hooks, and one of her breasts was cut off, so that the inner parts of her chest were exposed to view, and part of her liver was pulled out. In this condition she was sent back to prison, being still alive, and died by the mortifying of her wounds, in 304.
The relics of all these martyrs were found at Saragossa in 1389.
Excerpted from the Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
ST. ENGRATIA AND THE EIGHTEEN MARTYRS OF SARAGOSSA: PRAY FOR US