A time for mercy

We have just begun to celebrate the joy of Easter and one week into this 50-day Easter season the Church offers us the feast of Divine Mercy. It almost seems counter-intuitive to go back to focusing on Jesus’s suffering while we are supposed to be proclaiming his resurrection. So why does the Church offer this feast at this time?

First of all, the Divine Mercy devotion is so appropriate for our time. We are surrounded by the walking wounded who so much need to be told about God’s endless mercy. There isn’t one of us on this earth who isn’t in need of God’s mercy. I sometimes wonder if there has been a time in history when more people were not aware of the availability of God’s mercy and, more importantly, their need for it.

I have to confess, I have not made the Divine Mercy Chaplet a huge priority for our family. Some or all of us attend the devotionals every year on Divine Mercy Sunday. My kids are familiar with the feast and its history, but I wouldn’t say we are “devoted” to it. I think it’s because even though I am a person of faith who believes wholeheartedly in God’s infinite mercy, I tend to forget that we have an obligation to not only ourselves, but to our spouses, children, friends, and all humans to beg God’s forgiveness.

There is no such thing as a sin that doesn’t affect others. If we are hurting others by our actions (and who isn’t?), and others are hurting us (also a given), we have an obligation to beg for mercy for ourselves and others. As the Chaplet of Divine Mercy says “Have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

If you are not familiar with the Feast of Divine Mercy, the devotion, or the young Polish saint who began it – Sr. Faustina Kowalska – take a few moments to learn about it. On YouTube there is a four-minute video on Divine Mercy created by Franciscan University of Steubenville as part of their Faith and Reason program. The video features Father Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, author of the popular 33 Days to Morning Glory. Father Gaitley offers a short but poignant explanation of the Divine Mercy feast and devotion. He uses the acronym FINCH to help us remember the key components of Divine Mercy Sunday: Feast, Image, Novena, Chaplet, Hour.

Father Gaitley also answers the question of why this feast is placed on the Second Sunday of Easter. He says focusing on God’s mercy is really a culmination of everything highlighted in the Easter Triduum -- Christ’s passion and death, his resurrection, his appearance to the Apostles, his ultimate sacrifice for our sins – were all done out of love and mercy for us.

To help explain to children the idea and history of Divine Mercy, including instructions on how to pray the chaplet, check out the EWTN video entitled Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids also found on YouTube. In this 13-minute cartoon, four children are instructed by St. Faustina on how the Divine Mercy devotion came to be and what it is all about, including how to pray the chaplet. This short explanation is actually helpful for all ages. It reminded me of the universal need for mercy and how we can bring God’s mercy to our lives daily in the way we choose to deal with others.

Children are better than adults at grasping the concept of mercy. As parents, we are merciful to our kids all the time and they get that. Actually, they depend on it. If we didn’t forgive our children their transgressions several times a day would make everyone’s lives miserable. We show them mercy because we love them, unconditionally. Just like God loves us. When we teach our kids about Divine Mercy, we need to tell them it is even more powerful than our mercy for them. It comes from an eternal, endless fount of love. It should be the source of our mercy for them.

So teach your kids the Divine Mercy Chaplet, or, learn it together. Find out where your nearest Divine Mercy celebration will be and consider going. When you tap into that endless fount, you will be glad you did. I think it’s time for our family to become a little more devoted, too.

Lazzuri, a mother of six, writes from her home in Nova Scotia.