Celebrant: Our heavenly Father loves us and cares for our needs. In faith, we bring our prayers to him with confidence inspired by the Resurrection of his Son.

Deacon/Lector:

That the Church may be empowered by the Spirit to share the faith with all the world, and for an abundance of good and holy shepherds to lead us, we pray to the Lord...

That Church leaders will bear witness to the good news of the resurrection and stay true to the mission entrusted to them, we pray to the Lord...

That as the apostles put their resources at the service of the needy, so we may support the efforts of pregnancy resource centers that provide alternatives to abortion, we pray to the Lord...

That those who are ill may experience the healing power of Christ through the care of those dedicated to their care, we pray to the Lord...

That those who have died may have their sins forgiven through God's grace and mercy and may share fully in the promise of the Resurrection, we pray to the Lord...

Celebrant:

Loving Father, we offer these prayers to you today with confidence in your constant love for us, and through the merits of Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen. 

The Chaplet

Today’s observance of Divine Mercy Sunday is a good time to renew our devotion to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. There is a close link between this devotion and the pro-life movement. Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, who was a principal translator of St. Faustina's diary, and the postulator of her cause of canonization, writes the following:

"On at least three occasions, from 8:00-11:00 in the evening, she felt like her insides were being torn apart. She suffered so much that she thought she was going to die. The doctors couldn't figure out what was ailing her, and no medication was able to alleviate her sufferings. Later, she was given to understand that she was undergoing those pains for mothers who were aborting their children (Diary, 1276).

"On another occasion, she had a vision of an angel coming with thunderbolts to destroy one of the most beautiful cities of her country. And she felt powerless to do anything about it (Diary, 474). What antidote did the Lord give her? The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. [She explained] that the city was to be chastised for its sins, primarily the sin of abortion." ("Wombs of Mercy," Marian Helpers Bulletin, Summer 1995, p.13).

In 2003, St. John Paul II issued an Apostolic Blessing to all who pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet “for mothers, that they not abort their offspring; for infants in danger of being put to death in the womb; for a change of heart of providers of abortions and of their collaborators; for human victims of stem cell research, genetic manipulation, cloning and euthanasia; and for all entrusted with the government of peoples, that they may promote the Culture of Life, so as to put an end to the culture of death." 

Acts 4:32-35
1 Jn 5:1-6
Jn 20:19-31

Watch a video with homily hints

“Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained.” In this Gospel passage of the Second Sunday of Easter, which is Divine Mercy Sunday, we see Jesus proclaiming the gift that flows from his death and resurrection – the forgiveness of our sins. Isaiah had proclaimed that by his wounds we are healed. Now Jesus shows those wounds and imparts the healing. His cross and his resurrection reveal the mercy of God.

We are familiar with the image of Divine Mercy. Rays of light are coming from Jesus’ wounds. Under the Old Covenant, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest went into the most sacred part of the Temple, asked God’s mercy for the sins of the people, and then came out declaring that they had God’s forgiveness. The Divine Mercy image is Jesus, the new and eternal high priest, having offered his own blood and entered the sanctuary of heaven itself, now coming to us and proclaiming that our sins are forgiven.

Many pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, revealed to St. Faustina. But what many do not know is that she was told that of all the sins for which we must ask God’s mercy on the world, it was primarily the sin of abortion for which the Lord told her that we have to pray for mercy. Her diary reveals that she was made to feel the pains of women aborting their children.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, we renew our trust in the risen Lord that he will give us the strength to repent of all our sins, the trust to receive his forgiveness, and the determination to build a culture of life.