Day 1
On Good Friday, 1937, Jesus requested that Saint Faustina make a special novena. He Himself dictated the intentions for each day. By means of this specific prayer she was to bring to His heart a different group of souls each day and thus immerse them in the ocean of His mercy.Since Saint Faustina was commanded to write it down our Lord must have intended the novena to be used by others, not only in preparation for the Feast of Mercy but at other times as well.
Day One“Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of My Mercy, In this way, you console Me, in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges me.”
Why pray the novena?
Our Lord Speaks:“I demand from you deeds of mercy which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it. I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first, by deed. The second, by word. The third, by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays a reverence to My mercy.” (Diary of Saint Faustina, #742)
Write this for the many souls who are often worried to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permission or storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy.” (#1317)
Our Lord demands from us acts of mercy in our everyday lives and by this novena we fulfill the act of spiritual mercy in prayer.
Jesus further asked that this Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena of Chaplets to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. Say one chaplet each day following the novena intention. In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:
"On each day of the novena you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls. By this novena I will grant every possible grace to souls." (Diary 1209, 796)
Visit Tim’s site for more info on Divine Mercy Sunday !
