Feast of Mercy
Among all of the elements of devotion to The Divine Mercy requested by our Lord through Sr. Faustina, the Feast of Mercy holds first place. The Lord’s will with regard to its establishment was already made known in His first revelation to the saint. In all, there were 14 revelations concerning the desired feast. The most comprehensive revelation can be found in Diary entry 699:
My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a 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 are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. 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 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.
Our Lord’s explicit desire is that this feast be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. In the Liturgy of the Hours and the Celebration of the Eucharist, this Sunday is designated as the “Octave Day of Easter.” It was officially called “ The Second Sunday of Easter”after the liturgical reform of Vatican II. Now, by the Decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the name of this liturgical day has been changed to “Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday.”
Pope John Paul II made the surprise announcement of this change in his homily at the canonization of Sr. Faustina on April 30, 2000. He declared: “It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church, will be called ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.’ ”
By the words “the whole message,” Pope John Paul II was referring to the connection between the “Easter Mystery of the Redemption” — in other words, the suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, followed by the sending of the Holy Spirit — and this Feast of Divine Mercy, the Octave Day of Easter.
This connection is evident from the scripture readings appointed for this Sunday. As John Paul said, citing the Responsorial Psalm of the Liturgy, “The Church sings … , as if receiving from Christ’s lips these words of the Psalm.” “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His steadfast love (= mercy) endures forever” (Ps 118:1). And then, Pope John Paul II developed the connection further: “[This comes] from the lips of the risen Christ, who bears the great message of Divine Mercy and entrusts its ministry to the Apostles in the Upper Room: ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you. … Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:21-23).
During his homily, John Paul also made clear that the Image of The Divine Mercy St. Faustina saw, which is to be venerated on Mercy Sunday, represents the Risen Christ bringing mercy to the world. (See Diary, 49, 88, 299, 341, 570, 742.) Pope John Paul II said:
Jesus shows His hands and His side [to the Apostles]. He points, that is, to the wounds of the Passion, especially the wound in His Heart, the source from which flows the great wave of mercy poured out on humanity.