Devotion to the Divine Mercy of Jesus has become popular among the faithful in the past two decades since the canonization of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in 2000, and the Sunday after Easter is now known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

During her life, St. Faustina (1905-1938) received private revelations regarding Jesus’ Divine Mercy and promulgated the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. 

On Feb. 22, 1931, she had an important vision of Christ while in her cell. There she saw Christ clothed in a white garment. His right hand was raised in blessing and his left hand was touching the garment at the breast, from which red and pale rays emanated. Jesus told her, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My Own glory.”

In September 1936, the Lord told Faustina: “Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy.” 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Holy Mother Church is granting a special plenary indulgence to the faithful who recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy “to implore from Almighty God the end of the epidemic, relief for those who are afflicted, and eternal salvation for those whom the Lord has called to Himself.”

Many victims of COVID-19 are dying alone. With the faithful from all over the world desiring to accompany them spiritually with prayers, the Divine Mercy Chaplet is a powerful prayer to assist the dying.

From December 1936 to March 1937 St. Faustina was in the hospital and one night woke up, realizing a particular soul was asking for prayer.

The next day she entered a ward and saw a dying woman. She learned that the agony of the woman had begun at the time she woke up in the night. Faustina heard a voice in her soul: “Say the chaplet which I taught you.”

She knelt beside the dying woman and prayed the chaplet. Suddenly the woman opened her eyes, looked at Faustina, and died with extraordinary peace.

God the Father told Faustina, “At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son.”

St. Faustina returned to the convent in Krakow on March 27, 1937. On April 4 (the Sunday after Easter) Our Lord said to her, “Souls who spread the honour of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the merciful Saviour.”

He said, “At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it.”

On June 6, Our Lord said, “Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right, before others, to trust in the abyss of My mercy.”

During this unusual time, many faithful are using various streaming platforms to gather online. This is a good opportunity for us to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as a community, in particular for those dying alone.

 

神聖慈悲給希望予臨終者

復活節後的主日是「慈悲主日」。 對神聖慈悲的敬禮在過去二十年在信眾中廣傳,其主因是傅天娜修女於公元二千年四月三十日被宣聖。傅天娜得到有關神聖慈悲的私人啓示並傳揚「慈悲串經」。

一九三一年二月二十二日,聖傅天娜看到基督重要的神視。當時,她在自己的房間內,突然看到穿著白袍的基督給她顯現,基督舉起右手降福,左手接觸著胸膛,而胸膛正發出紅白兩色的光。。

耶穌對她說「按照妳現在看到我的形象,畫成畫像,並標誌著一句短禱:耶穌我信賴祢..... 我許諾凡敬禮這畫像的靈魂不會喪亡,並能在這世上能戰勝仇敵,特別是在臨終時。我會維護他一如維護我自己的光榮一樣。」

一九三六年九月,主說:「不斷誦唸我教你的串經吧。任何人常唸這經文,臨終時將獲得我極大的慈悲。讓神父們向罪人推介此經文,使成為罪人們得救的最後希望。即使是如何心硬的罪人,只要唸一次這串經,便能從我無限的慈悲得到恩寵。我渴望世界認識我無限的慈悲。我渴望向信賴我慈悲的靈魂施予難以想像的恩寵!」

教會在新冠肺炎疫情當中頒予「全大赦」: 其中一個得大赦的方法是誦念「慈悲串經」懇求天主終止疫情,恩賜病人寬慰,並賜予蒙主恩召者永遠的救恩。

很多新冠肺炎的受害人都是單獨地死去。世上各地的信徒渴望以祈禱來支持他們。 「慈悲串經」是幫助臨終者有力禱文。

自一九三六年十二月至一九三七年三月,聖傅天娜在珀櫟的醫院留醫。一天晚上,她被弄醒,她知道有一個靈魂需要人為她祈禱。翌日,她進入其中一個病房,看到一個垂死的病人。她懂得那病人的彌留之苦就在她被弄醒時開始。傅天娜聽到一把聲音在內心對她說:「唸我教給你的『串經』。」傅天娜跪在那垂死病人床前,唸「慈悲串經」。忽然,那病人張開眼睛,看著傅天娜,然後非常平安地瞌逝。

天父對傅天娜說:「在他們臨終時,我會守護唸此串經的每個靈魂如同我的光榮;或當別人為臨終者誦唸它,恩赦也是一樣。當這串經在臨終者的病邊誦唸時,天主的義怒得以平息,我難以言諭的慈悲,會籠罩著那靈魂,我柔腸的慈悲的深處會因我聖子的悲慘苦難而被感動。」

一九三七年三月二十七日,傅天娜返回卡高修院。四月四日、復活節後第一主日,吾主向傅天娜說:「對待那傳揚我慈悲的榮耀的靈魂,終生會得到我如慈母對嬰兒般的呵護;在他們臨終時,我不會當他們的判官,卻是他們的慈悲救主。在那最後時刻,靈魂除了我的慈悲外,無以自保,那於其有生之年沐浴於慈悲之泉的靈魂是幸福的,因為公義制裁不了他們。」

六月六日,吾主又說「讓那些大罪人信賴我的慈悲吧!他們比其他人更有權利來信賴我慈悲的深淵!」

在目前的特殊時期,很多信徒都在互聯網上 「聚會 」,這也是一起誦念「慈悲串經」的好機會。