Rays of Merciful Love Fall-Winter 2019

2 C E N A C L E S U P D A T E Twenty-eight years ago, I found a holy card in the pew of a church. It had a picture of a nun named Sr. Faustina and the Image of Divine Mercy on the other side. That little card led me to learn how to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. I love the Chaplet of Divine Mercy! The Lord, through my devotion to praying the Chaplet, eventu- ally led me to live five miles from the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. My devotion began to grow more deeply. Then I heard about Divine Mercy cenacles, but there was not one near me. In 2006, I contacted Dr. Bryan Thatcher’s office on how to start one. It began in my home with just a few people. Over time, it continued to grow until we outgrew my house. We were blessed to have the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception wel- come us to the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy on Eden Hill. They gave us a location for our cenacle meetings. Our group began to attend Mass together at the Marian Helpers Center and pray for intentions sent to the Marians’ Divine Mercy Intercessory Prayerline. We also lit many candles in the candle shrine, then our cenacle meeting followed. After several years of formation through the cenacle meetings, that is, studying the Diary of St. Faustina with Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church , our devotion continues to grow even deeper. The cenacle Formation Program is all laid out for you. It becomes a lifestyle. The Holy Spirit is present. The living faith is inexhaustible. After 15 years in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, I moved to South Carolina, then to Florida. I was without a cenacle for three years. At my new parish in Venice, Florida, I began welcoming new parishioners. One of them, Deb Scott, noticed the Divine Mercy Image on my phone cover. She said to me, “Oh, I love the Divine Mercy.” I shared how I volunteered and worked at the Shrine. She shared that she has a friend who works there. It turns out our mutual friend is Mary Kay Volpone [the Marians’ coordinator of Donor Services]. I also shared how homesick I was away from my beloved Berkshires, the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, and my dear Visitation Sisters in Tyringham. Deb said to me, “You have to share that love in your heart with us. Start a cenacle here.” I prayed about it for a few months. Then, I brought it to my pastor, Fr. Jay. He gave his blessing for a Divine Mercy cenacle at our parish, Our Lady of Lourdes. We began our cenacle in November 2017. We have since grown to 10 members. After one and a half years of study, six members were inducted as Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy on Divine Mercy Sunday, 2019. We are beginning our second Formation Manual. We pray for the sick and dying, most especially at the Hospice House located only a couple miles from our church. Many people feel hopeless or helpless when someone else is suffering in some way, whether entrenched in sin, addiction, or other sickness, or even dying. We might ask if there is anything that we can do. There VENICE, F LORIDA Mary Nowe wrote and told us: The five members of the Divine Mercy cenacle of St. Christopher Parish in Verona, Wisconsin, participated in an induction ceremony on April 30, 2019, which was led by Fr. John Sasse. The ceremony had been talked about for months, but we had a hard time setting a date. That morning we were all attending daily Mass and asked Fr. John if he was available and he said yes! For such short notice it went very well as one of the members knew where the small candles were kept. One member wrote that her best memory of the induction ceremony is the peace she felt as we professed the induction and the closeness she felt to all of us as we celebrated. The group’s favorite lessons revolve around Jesus’ promises and messages regarding His Divine Mercy. Our favorite quotes are: “Jesus, I trust in You;” when Jesus says He is always in our hearts, not only when we receive Him after Communion; everything from passage 699 of St. Faustina’s Diary where our Lord speaks of the great Feast Day; and from Diary passage 1541, in which the Lord says, “Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior.” One member was able to do that for her mother on Oct. 30, 2018, and it gave her great consolation. The group helps plan for Divine Mercy Sunday and leads the praying of the Chaplet during the Novena. When someone from the parish passes away we pray the Chaplet as well. We also serve by leading weekly prayer sessions and small connection groups, vol- unteering with St. Vincent de Paul, church decorating, RCIA, and a ministry that helps mothers who choose to have and keep their babies. We also serve the parish as Eucharistic Ministers including to the homebound and nursing home residents. One member said, “I value the wisdom I receive from the women in the cenacle at each of our meetings.” VERONA, W ISCONSIN Lisa Keen wrote and told us: is so much power in praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for others. It is a prayer for the whole world. We know God is doing something through our Chaplets of Divine Mercy I have so many favorite Diary quotes, but here are a couple. Our Lord told St. 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 pardon is the same ( Diary , 811). My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy ( Diary, 367).

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