National Shrine of The Divine Mercy August 25th Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time A Ministry of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary National Shrine of The Divine Mercy PO Box 951 2 Prospect Hill Road Stockbridge, MA 01262 (GPS: 11 Pine Street, Stockbridge, MA) Fr. Matthew Tomeny, MIC: Rector Fr. Robert Vennetti, MIC: Vice Rector Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC: Vice Rector Shrine Reception: 413-298-3931 Bus Pilgrimages: 413-298-1119 Gift Shop: 888-484-1112 National Shrine: www.shrineofdivinemercy.org Divine Mercy: www.thedivinemercy.org Marians: www.marian.org Livestream from the National Shrine Daily Devotions Daily Mass 9:00am Chaplet of Divine Mercy 3:00pm Rosary for Life 5:00pm Divine Mercy (Official) Divine Mercy Videos posted on our website daily: shrineofdivinemercy.org Dear Pilgrims, We welcome you to the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. Please join us for any upcoming events at the Shrine along with doing a personal pilgrimage during this year. Feel free to visit our Gift Shop and stroll our beautiful grounds during your visit here. May God bless you. . Sincerely in Jesus and Mary Immaculate, Fr. Matthew Tomeny, MIC Shrine Rector Monday- Saturday 8:00am, 9:00am & 2:00pm Sunday 9:00am, 10:30am & 2:00pm Please note: 2pm Mass on Saturday does NOT fulfill Sunday obligation Confessions Available Monday thru Friday 1:00pm - 2:00pm Saturdays and Sundays 1:00pm – 2:00pm 3:30pm – 4:15pm Daily Schedule
Upcoming Events For more information please visit the Shrine Calendar found on our website: https: www.shrineofdivinemercy.org August 2024 8/26 Memorial of Our Lady of Czestochowa 8/29 Healing Mass • see flyer on page 8 for more information September 2024 9/6 First Friday Devotions at 8pm 9/7 First Saturday Talks and Devotion at 11am Mercy for Souls Conference • see flyer on page 9 for more information 9/8 Feast of the Nativity ofThe Blessed Virgin Mary 9/14 Explaining the Faith Talk at 11am 9/15 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows 9/21 Polish Day • see flyer on page 10 for more information Explaining the Faith Talk at 11am 9/23 Memorial of St.Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) 9/26 Healing Mass • see flyer on page 8 for more information
Pope Francis Homily May 2, 2020 The first Reading begins: “The Churches throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up, living in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit, and growing in number” (Acts 9:31). A time of peace. And the Church grew. And Church was calm and serene, it had the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the consolation. They were beautiful times… This was followed by the healing of Aeneas, and then Peter raises Tabitha, also known as Dorcas, from the dead. Things that are done in peacetime. But there were times that were not peaceful, in the early Church: times of persecutions, difficult times, times that put believers in crisis. Times of crisis. One such moment of crisis is recounted today in the Gospel of John (see 6:60-69). This passage from the Gospel is the end of a series that begins with the multiplication of the loaves, when they wanted to make Jesus king. Jesus goes to pray, and the next day they can’t find Him; they go to look for Him and Jesus reproaches those who seek Him because they are looking for something to eat instead of the bread of eternal life. And this whole story finishes here. They say to Him, “Give us this bread”, and Jesus explains that the bread He will give is His very own body and blood. “At that time, some of them said, ’This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’ ” (v. 60). Jesus had said that those who had not eaten His body and His blood would not have eternal life. Jesus also said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (see v. 54). These are the things Jesus said. “This is a hard teaching” (v. 60), the disciples think. “It is too hard. Something isn’t right. This man has gone beyond the limits”. And this is the moment of crisis. There were moments of peace and moments of crisis. Jesus knew that the disciples were murmuring among themselves. There is a distinction here between disciples and apostles. There were the 72 or more disciples, whereas the apostles were the Twelve. Jesus “had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him” (v. 64). And in the face of this crisis, He reminds them: “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them” (v. 65). He speaks again of being drawn by the Father, that the Father attracts people to Jesus. And this is how the crisis is resolved. And after this, “many of His disciples left Him and stopped going with Him” (v. 66).
They distance themselves form Him. “This man is a bit dangerous, a bit...with these doctrines… Yes, He is a good man, He preaches and heals, but when He starts doing strange things… Please, let’s go” (see v. 66). And the disciples of Emmaus did the same thing, on the morning of the Resurrection: “But yes, it’s strange: the women say that the tomb… but this doesn’t look good, let’s go away before the soldiers come and crucify us” (see Lk 24:22-24). The soldiers who were guarding the tomb did the same: they had seen the truth, but then they preferred to sell their secret: “Let’s be sure, let’s not get involved in these stories, they are dangerous” (see Mt 28:11-15). A moment of crisis is a moment of choice, it is a moment that places us before the decisions that we must make. All of us, in life, have had and will have moments of crisis: family crises, marriage crises, social crises, crises at work, many crises… This pandemic, too, is a moment of social crisis. How does one react in a moment of crisis? “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him” (v. 66). Jesus makes the decision to question the apostles. “‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve” (Jn 6:67). Make a decision. And Peter makes the second confession: “Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God” (vv. 6869). Peter confesses in the name of the Twelve that Jesus is the Holy One of God, the Son of God. The first confession, “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God” - and immediately afterwards, when Jesus began to explain the passion that was to come, Peter stops Him and says: “No, no Lord, not this”, and Jesus reproaches him (see Mt 16: 16-23). But Peter has matured a little and here he does not rebuke Jesus. He does not understand what Jesus is saying about eating His flesh and drinking His blood (see Jn 6:54-56), he does not understand, but he trusts the Master. He trusts Him. And he makes this second confession: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life” (see v. 68). This helps us, all of us, to live through moments of crisis. In my land there is a saying: “When you’re riding a horse and you have to cross a river, please, don’t change horses in the middle of the river”. In moments of crisis you need to be very steadfast in your convictions of faith. Those who left, changed horses, they sought another teacher who was not so “hard”, as they said to Him. Moments of crisis demand perseverance, silence; staying where we are, steadfast. It is not the moment to make changes. It is the moment of fidelity, of faithfulness to God, of faithfulness to the things [decisions] we had made before. It is also the moment of conversion, because this faithfulness will inspire some kind of change for the better, not to distance us from good. Moments of peace and moments of crisis. We Christians must learn to manage both. Both of them. A spiritual father said that going through a moment of crisis is like passing through fire so as to become strong. May the Lord send us the Holy Spirit so we may be able to resist the temptations of moments of crisis, to know how to be faithful to the first words, with the hope of living moments of peace later. Let us think of our crises: crises in the family, in our neighbourhood, at work, social crises throughout the world, in our country… so many crises, many crises. May the Lord give us the strength not to sell out our faith in moments of crisis. I Ame I G www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/fiveloaves-two-fish-philosophy Excerpt from Homily given by Pope Francis on May 2, 2020 https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/cotidie/2020/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20200502_lecrisioccasioni-diconversione.html Picture: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/pope-francis-unique Coat of Arms: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en.html
Proper Attire Inside the Church “Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much. Woe to women lacking in modesty.” Our Lady of Fatima to Sr. Lucia Out of respect for Our Lord and to preserve others from any near occasions of sin, we ask that you dress in a spirit of modesty when entering the Church. Dress Code Guideline: For Women: No shorts, spandex, or skirts above the knees. No leggings or athletic wear. No low cut, backless or spaghetti strap dresses. All dresses should fall to knee length or below. No tank tops, bared midriffs or halter tops; no tight fitting, low cut or backless tops. For Men: No shorts No tank tops No baseball caps No flip flops If you should choose to wear a shoulder baring dress or top, please bring a covering for when you enter the Church. "Christian girls, think also of this: the more elegant you will be, and the more pleasing, if you dress with simplicity and discreet modesty." – The Forgotten Virtue: Modesty in Dress A good resource to learn more: The Forgotten Virtue: Modesty in Dress by Mgsr. Charles M. Mangan at https://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=647
t Get to know the Diary of… “Do what You want with me,I will never leave You,becauseYou are the source of my life.” O inconceivable goodness of God, which shields us at every step, may Your mercy be praised without cease. That You became a brother to humans, not to angels, is a miracle of the unfathomable mystery of Your mercy. All our trust is in You, our first-born Brother, Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. My heart flutters with joy to see how good God is to us wretched and ungrateful people. And as a proof of His love, He gives us the incomprehensible gift of Himself in the person of His Son. Throughout all eternity we shall never exhaust that mystery of love. O mankind, why do you think so little about God being truly among us? O Lamb of God, I do not know what to admire in You first: Your gentleness, Your hidden life, the emptying of Yourself for the sake of man, or the constant miracle of Your mercy, which transforms souls and raises them up to eternal life. Although You are hidden in this way, Your omnipotence is more manifest here than in the creation of man. Though the omnipotence of Your mercy is at work in the justification of the sinner, yet Your action is gentle and hidden. O Jesus, what darkness is enveloping me and what nothingness is penetrating me. But, my Jesus, do not leave me alone; grant me the grace of faithfulness. Although I cannot penetrate the mystery of God’s visitation, it is in my power to say: Your will be done. I want to live in the spirit of faith. I accept everything that comes my way as given me by the loving will of God, who sincerely desires my happiness. And so I will accept with submission and gratitude everything that God sends me. I will pay no attention to the voice of nature and to the promptings of self-love. Before each important action, I will stop to consider for a moment what relationship it has to eternal life and what may be the main reason for my undertaking it: is it for the glory of God, or for the good of my own soul, or for the good of the souls of others? If my heart says yes, then I will not swerve from carrying out the given action, un-mindful of either obstacles or sacrifices. I will not be frightened into abandoning my intention. It is enough for me to know that it is pleasing to God. On the other hand, if I learn that the action has nothing in common with what I have just mentioned, I will try to elevate it to a loftier sphere by means of a good intention. And if I learn that something flows from my self-love, I will cancel it out right from the start. I often ask the Lord Jesus for an intellect enlightened by faith. I express this to the Lord in these Saint Faustina
Diary 1584, 1237, 1549, 1474-1475, 1270, 1793, excerpt 1746; 853. 238. excerpt 1393 words: “Jesus, give me an intellect, a great intellect, for this only, that I may understand You better; because the better I get to know You, the more ardently will I love You. Jesus, I ask You for a powerful intellect, that I may understand divine and lofty matters. Jesus, give me a keen intellect with which I will get to know Your Divine Essence and Your indwelling, Triune life. Give my intellect these capacities and aptitudes by means of Your special grace. Although I know that there is a capability through grace which the Church gives me, there is still a treasure of graces which You give us, O Lord, when we ask You for them. But if my request is not pleasing to You, then I beg You, do not give me the inclination to pray thus.” I strive for the greatest perfection possible in order to be useful to the Church. Greater by far is my bond to the Church. The sanctity or the fall of each individual soul has an effect upon the whole Church. Observing myself and those who are close to me, I have come to understand how great an influence I have on other souls, not by any heroic deeds, as these are striking in themselves, but by small actions like a movement of the hand, a look, and many other things too numerous to mention, which have an effect on and reflect in the souls of others, as I myself have noticed. September 10, [1937]. I learned in the course of meditation that the purer the soul, the greater her communion with God on the spiritual level. She pays little heed to the senses and their protests. God is a Spirit, and so I love Him in spirit and in truth. The moments which are most pleasant to me are those when I converse with the Lord within the center of my being. I try my very best not to leave Him alone. He likes to be always with us… Be adored, O God of mercy, Because You have deigned to descend from heaven to earth. Most humbly we adore You For Your having vouchsafed to exalt all mankind. O mystery of God’s mercy, O God of compassion, That You have deigned to leave the heavenly throne And to stoop down to our misery, to human weakness, For it is not the angels, but man who needs mercy. In the evening, a great longing took possession of my soul. I took the pamphlet with the Image of the Merciful Jesus on it and pressed it to my heart, and the following words burst forth from my soul: “Jesus, Eternal Love, I live for You, I die for You, and I want to become united with You.” Suddenly I saw the Lord in His inexpressible beauty. He looked at me graciously and said, My daughter, I too came down from heaven out of love for you; I lived for you, I died for you, and I created the heavens for you. And Jesus pressed me to His Heart and said to me, Very soon now; be at peace, My daughter. When I was alone, my soul was set afire with the desire to suffer until the moment when the Lord would say, “Enough.” And even if I were to live for thousands of years, I see in the light of God that that is but one moment. Souls...[unfinished thought]. Evening. O Jesus, tomorrow morning I am to make my perpetual vows. I had asked heaven and earth and had called upon all beings to thank God for this immense and inconceivable favor of His when suddenly I heard these words, My daughter, your heart is My heaven. Just a few moments of prayer and I have to run, as they drive us out of everywhere; because every place — the chapel, the refectory, the recreation room and the kitchen — is being made ready for tomorrow, and we are to go to bed. However, sleep is out of the question. Joy has driven sleep away. I thought: “What is it going to be like in heaven, if already here in exile God so fills my soul.” Jesus-Eucharist, life of my soul, You have raised me up to the eternal spheres,
Find us at: divinemercy giftshop.org The Gift Shop is open daily 9:30am – 4:30pm We will be closed for Labor Day on Monday, September 2nd Shrine Bulletin Board Oil blessed in honor of St. Faustina is available at the Shrine Reception desk. A suggested donation of $5.00 which would go to help support Shrine Ministries.
Proposals in Congress threaten human life, the family, and religious freedom. The need to accompany and support the increasing number of families struggling with infertility is real. But members of Congress – including many who consider themselves pro-life – are in a rush to promote access to a new national “right” to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other such technologies that destroy preborn human lives and treat people like property (like surrogacy, gene editing, and cloning). Some of the current proposals would also threaten Catholic hospitals, charities, schools, and other organizations and people that do not enable or cover these medical procedures. They could even allow minors to receive the procedures despite parents’ objections. Please tell your members of Congress to oppose bills that promote so-called “rights” to IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies (ART) that cause the death of countless human embryos and violate human dignity. Follow the link below and let your voice be heard! Speak up for the defenseless who have not yet any voice to speak up for themselves. www.votervoice.net/USCCB/ Campaigns/117033/Respond Take Action Now
Faces of Hope MARIANS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Yes,I want to Help! How to help Please visit www.marian.org/ukraine/ to make a donation for Ukraine relief. One-hundred percent of funds received are sent directly to Ukraine and used to purchase humanitarian aid and medical supplies. Please do not mail medical supplies to Ukraine! Instead, please contact the Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy: 1-877-380-0727 or e-mail [email protected] to answer any of your questions. Because shipping via container is more cost effective, we prefer whatever monetary donations you can give rather than you sending medical supplies. Please know that boxes previously sent to the Marians or the EADM office were sent to Project C.U.R.E. and will be on future containers. https://marian.org/articles/shining-merciful-light-ukraine
Embrace Life! Be A Hospice Volunteer. Do you have a talent to share? A contagious passion for just about anything? Would you like a appreciative audience? Want an easy way to make a big impact in someone’s life? Do you want to spend your precious free time making a difference in someone’s life? This is an opportunity for you. We are currently looking for HOPSICE VOLUNTEERS on a regular, periodic or as needed basis. You can play cards, read papers, or have a nice conversation with patients. We provide training. You must be at least 18 years old to apply. Please contact Lori Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator, at 413-443-2994 Or email: [email protected] Visit their website for more information: https://hcib.org/ Jesus said to St. Faustina: "... I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it" Diary of St. Faustina, 742 Excerpt from Comfort the Sick-Park of a Series on Corporal Deeds of Mercy. To read in full go to: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/comfort-sick
The Image of Divine Mercy I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as my own glory. (Diary 48) In 1931, our Lord appeared to St. Faustina in a vision. She saw Jesus clothed in a white garment with His right hand raised in blessing. His left hand was touching His garment in the area of the Heart, from where two large rays came forth, one red and the other pale. She gazed intently at the Lord in silence, her soul filled with awe, but also with great joy. Jesus said to 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 [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory (Diary, 47, 48). I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You (327). I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world (47). At the request of her spiritual director, St. Faustina asked the Lord about the meaning of the rays in the image. She heard these words in reply: The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (299). By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works (742). These words indicate that the Image represents the graces of Divine Mercy poured out upon the world, especially through Baptism and the Eucharist. Many different versions of this image have been painted, but our Lord made it clear that the painting itself is not what is important. When St. Faustina first saw the original image that was being painted under her direction, she wept in disappointment and complained to Jesus: "Who will paint You as beautiful as You are?" (313). From The Image of The Divine Mercy www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/image
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