Divine Mercy Sunday
March 31st, 2008 by Fr. Gabriel Gillen, O.P.
Benedict XVI recently spoke of the previous Pope’s legacy in promoting the contemplation of divine mercy, ”Like Sister Faustina, John Paul II became in turn an apostle of divine mercy,” Benedict XVI affirmed. Sister Mary Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who died in 1938, was an apostle of the Divine Mercy. John Paul II canonized her in April 2000.
Benedict XVI recalled the night John Paul II died, April 2, 2005, “precisely the vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter,” saying that many “observed the unique coincidence, which brought together [that day] a Marian dimension — the first Saturday of the month — and that of divine mercy.” He continued: “In fact, [John Paul II's] long and multifaceted pontificate finds here its central nucleus; all of his mission at the service of the truth about God, about man and peace in the world is summarized in this proclamation, [...] ‘Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind.
“His message, like that of St. Faustina, presents the face of Christ, supreme revelation of the mercy of God. To contemplate constantly this face: This is the inheritance that he has left us, which we welcome with joy and make our own.”
See a quick tour of the pilgrimage made by the Dominican parish of Saint Catherine of Siena to the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy.
