Friends for Jesus

[Carmelite]

This is just to remind my fellow FFJ members that the Divine Mercy Novena starts tomorrow (Good Friday).

The Novena:
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm

The Decree of Indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday:

Three conditions for the plenary indulgence

And so the Supreme Pontiff, motivated by an ardent desire to foster in Christians this devotion to Divine Mercy as much as possible in the hope of offering great spiritual fruit to the faithful, in the Audience granted on 13 June 2002, to those Responsible for the Apostolic Penitentiary, granted the following Indulgences:

a plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!");

A partial indulgence, granted to the faithful who, at least with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a legitimately approved invocation.

http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/decree.htm


The Promise:

According to St. Faustina, Our Lord promises to those who go to confession and communion on this day, the remission of the guilt and the punishment of sins.
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. (Diary of Sr. Faustina, 699)
Many take this to mean that they must go to Confession ON Mercy Sunday. This is not true. To receive the benefits of the Promise one must be in the state of grace. The Lord does not promise the absolution of grave sin on Mercy Sunday, but points us to the Sacrament of Penance. To receive the grace we should be disposed. This is done by a confession near the time of Mercy Sunday. According to the Cardinal of Krakow, the confession which a Catholic makes during Lent in preparation for Easter is sufficient. Priests do not have to provide confession on Mercy Sunday so that Catholics can satisfy this condition. Since it is a Sunday the condition of Communion can be easily satisfied (including at the Saturday Vigil Mass). Our Communion, as our Confession, should be especially devout.
Some refer to this grace as a Plenary Indulgence. While the effect is the same, complete remission of sin and the punishment due to it, it is not granted by the Church but by a promise of the Lord. Also, the conditions are fewer, only Confession and Communion. While the Lord also asks for veneration of His Image on Mercy Sunday, as well as acts of mercy, these do not appear to be essential to the Promise, though they certainly could manifest the disposition, or lack of disposition, of the person seeking it. The receipt of the grace is not magic, but necessarily involves the opening of our hearts to mercy. This is best done by deeds, words and thoughts of mercy towards others. That, too, takes God's grace, but we can surely expect the actual graces to be merciful available to us on Mercy Sunday, if we but trust. The message clearly states the Lord's willingness for the greatest generosity on this day. We do what our circumstances permit us, and trust in God. This is true also of those whose circumstances do not permit them to get to Communion on that day, such as the infirm and the home-bound. God does not ask the impossible.

http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/mercy_sunday.htm
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In Christ
Carmelite

When we hear people talk of riches, honors and amusements of the world, let us remember that all things have an end, and let us then say: "My God, I wish for You alone and nothing more."
St. Alphonsus Liguori

[marie]

thank you dear carmelite
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"PRAYER IS JOY, PRAYER IS WHAT THE HUMAN HEART DESIRES"
"IF YOU KNEW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, YOU WOULD CRY OUT OF JOY" Our lady of Medjugorje
“If you could see how precious the tiniest of your prayers is,” says the Gospa. “You would pray constantly!”
"O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You."
"pray, pray, pray" Our Lady in Medjugorje
"God doesn't realize all our desires, but he realises all his promises" D.Bonhoeffer

[Carmelite]

I have an old 1993 pamphlet # LFMCN (before Sister Faustina was made a saint) from the Association of Marian Helpers (Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge Ma) with an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat and it says the following:

THE CHAPLET OF MERCY AS A NOVENA

In addition to the Novena to the Divine Mercy, which Our Lord gave to Blessed Faustina for her own personal use, He revealed to her a powerful prayer that He wanted everyone to say-the Chaplet of Mercy. Blessed Faustine prayed the Chaplet almost constantly, especially for the dying,and the Lord urged her to encourage others to say it too, promising extraordinary graces to those who would recite this special prayer.
The Chaplet can be said anytime, but the Lord specifically asked that it be recited as a novena, especially on the nine days before the Feast of Mercy. And He promised, "By this Novena (of Chaplets) I will grant every possible grace to souls" (796).

We can pray this Novena of Chaplets for our own personal intentions or we can offer it together with the Novena to the Divine Mercy for the daily intentions dictated by Our Lord to Blessed Faustina
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In Christ
Carmelite

When we hear people talk of riches, honors and amusements of the world, let us remember that all things have an end, and let us then say: "My God, I wish for You alone and nothing more."
St. Alphonsus Liguori