Divine Mercy Sunday

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Divine Mercy Sunday

Family Formation Home Lesson Week of April 12, 2020 Kindergarten-6th Grades Easter

FINDING JESUS IN THIS LESSON On April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II decreed that throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter would be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. The more the world “loses its sense of the very meaning of the word ‘mercy,’ moves away from God, and distances itself from the mystery of mercy, the more the Church has the right and the duty to appeal to the God of mercy with loud cries.” It is our hope that learning more about the messages of Jesus to Sister Faustina will renew that message of God’s mercy to your family.

BEGIN WITH SCRIPTURE “Lord, you are good and forgiving, most merciful to all who call on you.“ Psalm 86:5

Dear Lord Jesus, as our family works on this lesson together we ask that You would fill us with hope and a deep understanding that we can never move so far away that Your mercy cannot reach us. Jesus, we thank You for Your sorrowful passion and pray for mercy on our family and on the whole world. Amen.

PREPARATION Two things: yy If your kids are younger, consider cutting out theBig Mercy Burger pieces ahead of time. yy Follow the QR code to pray along with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy on the Divine Mercy Chaplet and History audio.

Lesson In his homily at the canonization of Saint Faustina on April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II declared that, henceforth, the Second Sunday of Easter would be called “Divine Mercy Sunday.”

A devotion to what God revealed to Sister Faustina is classified as private revelation, and as such it is not a required belief or required practice of the faithful. The Church encourages private devotions; they add to the practice of the Faith and lead to greater graces and conversion of heart when properly performed and done through a correct motivation. However, choosing not to believe in private revelation does not take anything away from the saving power of Christ nor the complete revelation given by Christ to the Church. Think of private revelations and devotions as good recommendations. There are countless numbers of them in the Church. Try them, pick and choose what God is calling you to, if any. In 1931, a young Polish nun named Sister Faustina Kowalaska saw a vision of Jesus. Jesus stood before her with white rays streaming from His heart. He told Sister Faustina to have an artist paint a picture of Him just as she saw Him. Underneath the picture, He instructed her to have the artist write, “Jesus, I Trust in You!”

Sister Faustina was then told to write down everything Jesus would tell her of His mercy. She was to keep a diary so others would come to know and trust in Him. Jesus said that His mercy was available to even the greatest of sinners.

Jesus also promised several things to Sister Faustina. He said Jesus I Trust In You! that if people would follow His special instructions, they would receive His great mercy.

In her diary, Divine Mercy In My Soul, Sister Faustina reveals that the mercy of Jesus is unlimited and available to even the greatest sinners. These are some of the revelations Jesus told her to write:

The Feast of Mercy - The Sunday after Easter: “On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open.” Diary, 699

The Hour of Great Mercy: For those who immerse themselves in the Passion of Jesus Christ at the 3 o’clock hour, “I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion.” Diary, 1320

The Chaplet of Mercy: Jesus said, “Through the chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for will be compatible with My will.” Diary, 1731

The Sacraments: “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion (for the Feast of Divine mercy) shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” Diary, 699

Two of the key points of Divine Mercy are trust and mercy. We are asked by the Lord to trust Him in all things, and if we approach Him with a sincere heart, He will pour out His unlimited mercy on us.

Page 2 The ABC’s of Mercy

Ask for His mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly. (See CCC 1847.)

Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. (See CCC 1473.)

Complete trust. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust.

Be Merciful!

God expects us to let His mercy flow through us to others. (See CCC 1473.) Jesus told Sister Faustina: “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.” Diary, 742

Jesus tells us, “You must not shrink from this (showing mercy) 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.” Diary, 742 (emphasis added)

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

Page 3 The Catholic Church teaches us to be merciful in many ways. It is important that we practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. See if your family can fill in the blanks to complete each sentence. (See the back page for a list of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.)

The Corporal Works of Mercy based upon Matthew 25:31-46

imprisoned homeless bury visit hungry clothe thirsty

1. Feed the ______. 2. Give drink to the ______. 3. ______the naked. 4. ______the sick. 5. Shelter the ______. 6. Visit the ______. 7. ______the dead.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy See CCC 2447.

instruct doubtful admonish forgive pray (correct) comfort patiently

1. ______the ignorant. 2. Counsel the ______. 3. ______the sorrowful. 4. Bear wrongs ______. 5. ______all injuries. 6. ______for the living and the dead. 7. ______the sinner.

Page 4 One night, Sister Faustina had a vision. She saw the Angel of Chastisement with his sword drawn. The angel was ready to strike a terrible blow to the earth. Sister Faustina was horrified! Then a prayer came to her:

“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.” Diary, 476

When Sister Faustina prayed this prayer over and over, the Angel of Chastisement withdrew the sword and went away. The prayer made a difference! Memorize this prayer as a family, taking it line by line. Say this prayer, trusting God to always answer you according to His holy will.

* Eternal Father: (the one, true God, Who was, Who is, and Who is to come) * I offer You: I( present as a sacrifice) * The Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ: (the awesome, powerful, and selfless love shown by God’s Son as He handed Himself over to be crucified) * In atonement for our sins: (in payment for all the ways we have done things that are not pleasing to God) * And those of the whole world: (Jesus took upon His shoulders all the sins of humanity so we would be made right with God once more.)

%Family Activity

Included with this lesson is an audio, Divine Mercy Chaplet and History, containing a brief teaching of the history of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and a recording of the Chaplet prayer with which your family can pray along. You can access the audio by using the QR code on the back of this lesson.

Page 5 Jesus wants us to feast at the fount of His mercy!

The heavenly banquet awaits us! Jesus has prepared a place especially for you and me. Our goal as saints is to have a seat at the head of the table. When we fall short of this goal, Jesus welcomes us back with the grace of His mercy. He tells us:

“Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.” Diary, 699

The Feast of Divine Mercy is celebrated the Sunday after Easter. Jesus tells us: “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.” Diary, 699

All of these graces and promises are available to everyone who calls on the mercy of Jesus with great sincerity and trust! He will fill us to the top with His grace and mercy! (For more on grace, see CCC 1996.)

Like the richest foods, Jesus wants us to feast at the fount of His mercy. When we ask sincerely for forgiveness, Jesus will fill us up with His grace. It is a whopper of a deal!

%Activity: Big Mercy Burger

Materials Needed: Big Mercy Burger (provided) scissors crayons or markers stapler

Directions: Fill in the blanks on the burger “ingredients.” Color them as indicated, and cut them out. Layer all ingredients together to build a burger, and staple near the fold.

Page 6 The Divine Mercy Novena for older saints

A novena is nine days of prayer for a particular intention. There are many different novenas, including nine days of praying the rosary for a special intention, novenas asking for the intercession of a particular Saint, and novenas that focus on some characteristic of Jesus.

Each year the Church celebrates the Feast of the Divine Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter. To help prepare our hearts to trust more fully in Jesus and to receive His mercy better, He asked Sister Faustina to pray a novena beginning on Good Friday. In this novena, we pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy including a special intention for each of the nine days:

<< Day 1 (Good Friday): Pray for everyone, especially sinners. << Day 2 (Holy Saturday): Pray for the souls of priests and religious. << Day 3 (Easter): Pray for all devout and faithful souls. << Day 4 (Easter Monday): Pray for those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do no know Him yet. << Day 5: (Tuesday after Easter): Pray for the souls of all Christians who are not Catholic. << Day 6 (Wednesday after Easter): Pray for meek and humble souls and the souls of children. << Day 7 (Thursday after Easter): Pray for the souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus’ mercy. << Day 8 (Friday after Easter) Pray for all the souls in purgatory. << Day 9 (Saturday after Easter) Pray for all the souls who have become lukewarm (lost their faith).

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.”

Page 7 Family Formation is designed to help parents respond to the Church’s call to be “the first and foremost educators of their children”* and to help families grow in the transforming love of God by understanding and living the Catholic Faith. Jesus I Trust In You! Reminder, scan the QR Code below for the Lesson Quizzes and Parent Jesus I Trust In You! Pages. Here is where you will also find the audio Jesus I Trust In You! Divine Mercy Chaplet and History.

Corporal Works of Mercy Spiritual Works of Mercy 1. Feed the hungry. 1. Admonish the sinner. 2. Give drink to the thirsty. 2. Instruct the ignorant. “The Subcommittee on the 3. Shelter the homeless. 3. Counsel the doubtful. Catechism, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has found this 4. Clothe the naked. 4. Comfort the sorrowful. text, copyright 2019, to be in conformity with 5. Visit the sick. 5. Bear wrongs patiently. the Catechism of the Catholic Church.” 6. Visit the imprisoned. 6. Forgive all injuries. Permission is granted to reproduce student activity 7. Bury the dead. 7. Pray for the living and the dead. materials as necessary for use by the subscriber’s family to complete this lesson. Reprinting the contents as a whole or in part for giveaway or resale is expressly prohibited.