. 1 • National Shrine of The Divine Mercy 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. Livestream from the National Shrine Daily Devotions Daily Mass 9:00am Chaplet of Divine Mercy 3:00pm Rosary for Life 5:00pm Find us on: Divine Mercy (Official) Divine Mercy Videos posted on our Website daily: shrineofdivinemercy.org Saturday 2:00pm* Sunday 10:30am & 2:00pm *2pm Mass 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 Public Mass Schedule August28-Twenty-Second SundayofOrdinaryTime 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: 2 Prospect Hill Rd, Stockbridge, MA) Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC: Rector Fr. Robert Vennetti, 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 Please check our website for the most up-to-date information on our Monday-Friday Mass and Devotions schedule. Sincerely in Jesus and Mary Immaculate, Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC Shrine Rector
June 20, [1937]. We resemble God most when we forgive our neighbors. God is Love, Goodness, and Mercy... Every soul, and especially the soul of every religious, should reflect My mercy. My Heart overflows with compassion and mercy for all. The heart of My beloved must resemble Mine; from her heart must spring the fountain of My mercy for souls; otherwise I will not acknowledge her as Mine. Excerpt from: www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251046/pope-francis-god-is-weeping-for-the-victims-of-the-ukraine-war state is a blow that strikes him "viscerally," touching his soul. "He had compassion" - that is how we translate the text today, diminishing its original vitality. Struck in his soul by the lightning flash of mercy, he himself now becomes a neighbor, heedless of any question or danger. The burden of the question thus shifts here. The issue is no longer which other person is a neighbor to me or not. The question is about me. I have to become the neighbor, and when I do, the other person counts for me "as myself." General Audience on May 31, 2006 following his pilgrimage to Poland where he visited the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Lagiewniki. www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/pope-benedict-xvis-top-10-mercy-quotes Image from https://www.marian.org/mary/popes/benedictXVI.php Wisdom of Pope (Emeritus)Benedict XVI “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” John 13:34 Diary of St. Faustina; 1148 Image from: www.marian.org/divinemercy/story.php?NID=8378 [A man has just been robbed and beaten, and he is lying by the side of the road. A priest and a Levite pass by on the other side of the road. Will anyone stop to help? Pope Benedict picks up the narrative here.] “And now the Samaritan enters the stage. What will he do? [Unlike the expert in the Law who had just been questioning Jesus] he does not ask how far his obligations of solidarity extend. Nor does he ask about the merits required for eternal life. Something else happens: His heart is wrenched open. The Gospel uses the word that in Hebrew had referred to the mother's womb and maternal care. Seeing this man in such a
Lenten Regulations 028 D Year of The Eucharist In a recent study, it was found that only 30% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Jesus. We’re in crisis mode. They’re missing not just the reality of Jesus in their lives, but something transformative, powerful, and beautiful. This Year of the Eucharist is an opportunity for revival. Bishop William Byrne Bishop of The Diocese of Springfield, MA Events 40 Hours Devotion: September 1-4 All Day St. Stanislaus Basilica & St. Mary’s Ware, MA For more information please visit: https://www.yearoftheeucharist.net/
12 3 5 From the Diary of St. Faustina Diary 471, 472, 1020, 278 Prophet for Our Times 1 8 November 19, [1936]. During Mass today, I saw the Lord Jesus, who said to me, Be at peace, My daughter; I see your efforts, which are very pleasing to Me. And the Lord disappeared, and it was time for Holy Communion. After I received Holy Communion, I suddenly saw the Cenacle and in it Jesus and the Apostles. I saw the institution of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Jesus allowed me to penetrate His interior, and I came to know the greatness of His majesty and, at the same time, His great humbling of Himself. The extraordinary light that allowed me to see His majesty revealed to me, at the same time, what was in my own soul. Jesus gave me to know the depth of His meekness and humility and to understand that He clearly demanded the same of me. I felt the gaze of God in my soul. This filled me with unspeakable love, but I understood that the Lord was looking with love on my virtues and my heroic efforts, and I knew that this was what was drawing God into my heart. It is from this that I have come to understand that it is not enough for me to strive only for the ordinary virtues, but that I must try to exercise the heroic virtues. Although exteriorly a thing may be quite ordinary, it is the different manner [in which it is carried out] that only the eye of God catches. O my Jesus, what I have written is just a pale shadow of what I understand in my soul; these are purely spiritual things, but in order to write something of what the Lord gives me to know, I must use words with which I am totally dissatisfied, because they do not express the reality. May 26, [1938 — Feast of the Ascension]. Today I accompanied the Lord Jesus as He ascended into heaven. It was about noon. I was overcome by a great longing for God. It is a strange thing, the more I felt God’s presence, the more ardently I desired Him. Then I saw myself in the midst of a huge crowd of disciples and apostles, together with the Mother of God. Jesus was telling them to... Go out into the whole world and teach in My name. He stretched out His hands and blessed them and disappeared in a cloud. I saw the longing of Our Lady. Her soul yearned for Jesus with the whole force of Her love. But She was so peaceful and so united to the will of God that there was not a stir in Her heart but for what God wanted. When I was left alone with the Blessed Virgin, She instructed me concerning the interior life. She said, The soul’s true greatness is in loving God and in humbling oneself in His presence, completely forgetting oneself and believing oneself to be nothing, — because the Lord is great, but He is wellpleased only with the humble, He always opposes the proud. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Before Holy Communion I saw the Blessed Mother inconceivably beautiful. Smiling at me She said to me, My daughter, at God’s command I am to be, in a special and exclusive way your Mother; but I desire that you, too, in a special way, be My child. Humility
4 4 2 Donations for Ukraine: www.marian.org/ukraine/ or call 800-462-7426 In the wake of the Russian invasion, your support will help our Marians in Ukraine as they struggle to survive and maintain their ministry, needed now more than ever. We have 22 Marians in Ukraine; their house in Kharkiv was bombed. More than 2 million refugees have fled. Our Marian houses across the border in Poland are assisting refugees. We continue to need your prayers and support to help our Marians in Ukraine as they struggle to survive and rebuild, and to support the many refugees they assist with humanitarian and medical aid, both in Ukraine and in Poland. 100 percent of your donation goes directly to those in need Through our Marian priests in Ukraine and Poland. Yes, I want ToHelp! The Marian Fathers invite you to unite in prayer and continue to pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet for peace and end to war in Ukraine. Diary 757-758, 1710-1711, 1414-1415, 1806 https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/prophet-our-times May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war I desire, My dearly beloved daughter, that you practice the three virtues that are dearest to Me — and most pleasing to God The first is humility, humility, and once again humility; the second virtue, purity; the third virtue, love of God As My daughter, you must especially radiate with these virtues. When the conversation ended, She pressed me to Her Heart and disappeared. When I regained the use of my senses, my heart became so wonderfully attracted to these virtues; and I practice them faithfully. They are as though engraved in my heart. I go out to meet Him, and I invite Him to the dwelling place of my heart, humbling myself profoundly before His majesty. But the Lord lifts me up from the dust and invites me, as His bride, to sit next to Him and to tell Him everything that is on my heart. And I, set at ease by His kindness, lean my head on His breast and tell Him of everything. In the first place, I tell Him things I would never tell to any creature. And then, I speak about the needs of the Church, about the souls of poor sinners and about how much they have need of His mercy. But the time passes quickly. Jesus, I must go to carry out the duties that are awaiting me. Jesus tells me that there is still a moment in which to say farewell. A deep mutual gaze, and we seemingly separate for a while; but, in reality, we never do. Our hearts are constantly united. Though outwardly I am distracted by my various duties, the presence of Jesus plunges me constantly in profound recollection.
Shrine Bulletin Board Livestream Series Saturdays at 11:00am with Fr. Chris Alar, MIC To watch please go to: www.thedivinemercy.org We are hiring! The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy is hiring for the following: Part-time Weekend Receptionist If you are interested, please call Human Resources at 413-298-3931 x140 Or send your resume to: [email protected] National Shrine of The Divine Mercy Human Resource Director PO Box 951 Stockbridge, MA 01262 Be a part of theMarian Family! Receive graces from doing deeds of Mercy. Please volunteer if you are able. See our website to sign up, or contact our Volunteer Office at 413-298-1114 Things to Note: Blessed Oil of St. Faustina 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. The Diary of St. Faustina Copies of the Diary are sold in our Gift Shop located next to the main parking lot, or online: The Gift Shop is open daily 10:00am – 4:00pm
Blessed Michael Sopocko Confessor and Spiritual Director to St. Faustina It was there, in a confessional, where he met Sr. Maria Faustina (1905-1938), a humble nun with a tremendous weight upon her. The Lord had begun revealing to her His message of Divine Mercy - an urgent message that He wanted her to share with the whole world. But who would believe her? At first, no one. Not her superiors in the convent and not her previous confessors. He was an energetic, intensely spiritual priest who was happy in his pastoral duties. But Blessed Fr. Michael Sopocko — whose feast day is Feb. 15 — could never have imagined how in 1933, when he was appointed to be confessor to the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Vilnius, in present-day Lithuania, his life would change. Sister Faustina had prayed for a spiritual director, someone to help guide her, someone who understood that what she was experiencing was real. Father Sopocko was the answer to her prayers, and eventually he became the main promoter of her revelations, the very linchpin in the Lord's call to spread Divine Mercy throughout the world. Blessed Michael Sopocko (1888-1975) was beatified Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 in Bialystok, Poland. And with that, the world has begun to get to know the man on the other side of the confessional whom Jesus assured St. Faustina would be her "visible help ... on earth. He will help you to carry out My will on earth" (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 53). There are many things we know about Fr. Sopocko. "He was a priest's priest," says Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, one of the world's leading experts on St. Faustina and the message of Divine Mercy. "He was a professor of theology. He was a mentor and teacher to many. He was confessor to a number of convents, and he was a military chaplain. And he wrote so much. After being St. Faustina's confessor, he wrote four big volumes on Divine Mercy, and many articles for religious publications." He was born in Nowosady, near Vilnius. He studied theology at the University of Vilnius, and then in Warsaw. He earned his doctorate in moral theology in 1926. Among his duties was serving as confessor to the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, who had a house in Vilnius. It was there where he first met St. Faustina, who shared with him her startling revelations. "At first, he wanted to quit," says Fr. Seraphim. "He didn't want to be the confessor over there because of what she was saying. Then the Mother Superior said, 'Well, what are we supposed to do?' And he said, 'Well, have her checked out by a psychiatrist.'" She was tested, and she was deemed mentally stable. "Father Sopocko found out from the nuns that she was one of the best nuns in the convent," says Fr. Seraphim. "But she told him things in confession that nobody could possibly have known. Nobody. And that scared him." In the Spotlight….
O Saint Faustina had less than three years of formal schooling, and yet here she was shedding light on the progress of the mystical life of the soul and giving an unparalleled understanding into the mystery of Divine Mercy. Father Sopocko had to turn to the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine, among others, to help him to confirm the authenticity of St. Faustina's revelations that God's greatest attribute is mercy "In the confessional it became apparent that she knew things that no one under normal circumstances could know about," says Fr. Seraphim. "For instance, one Lent, Fr. Sopocko was asked to give a talk on the radio. She didn't hear the talk. But next time he came for confession, she told him how Jesus was very much displeased with his talk on the radio because he did not have a 'pure intention.' He later wrote that she was right, that he had tried to make an impression on people on what he said and how he said it that was not a pure intention. "So Jesus squealed on him," Fr. Seraphim says, with a laugh. "At another time," says Fr. Seraphim, "there was a meeting of priests at the sisters' convent. They were discussing some thing about the Holy Trinity. They had hit a blank wall during their discussion. Father Sopocko paused the meeting and asked one of the nuns to have Sr. Faustina come in. She entered, and Fr. Sopocko posed the question to her, and she came out with such an answer that all the other priests' mouths were gaping because they were wondering how she knew the things she knew." It was Fr. Sopocko who first instructed St. Faustina to keep her Diary, which chronicles her experiences of Divine Mercy and her mission to share it with the world. When St. Faustina told Fr. Sopocko of her visions of Jesus and His request for a new Image to be painted and spread throughout the world, it was he who found the artist, E. Kazimirowski, who would paint the Divine Mercy Image. He didn't stop there. In actions that mark the beginning of the spread of the Divine Mercy devotion, Fr. Sopocko made sure the Divine Mercy Image was displayed on the Sunday after Easter, 1935, over the famous Ostra Brama gate to the city of Vilnius. And in the nearby church, he preached the message of mercy. Following St. Faustina's death, and at the outbreak of World War II, Fr. Sopocko gave Divine Mercy material to Fr. Joseph Jarzebowski, MIC, a member of the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception, who was escaping the Nazis. "He's the one who gave the material to Fr. Joseph Jarzebowski as he was coming to the States," says Fr. Seraphim. "And where Fr. Jarzebowski was doubting he would be able to get here to the United States, Fr. Sopocko didn't say 'If you get to the States spread this,' he said 'When you get to the States spread this.'" Father Joseph eventually did make it to the U.S., where the Marians established a beachhead from which they have spread the message of Divine Mercy around the world. In the meantime, Fr. Sopocko suffered ridicule from spreading the devotion, as St. Faustina prophesized. She wrote in her Diary: One day, I saw interiorly how much my confessor would have to suffer: friends will desert you while everyone will rise up against you and your physical strength will diminish. I saw you as a bunch of grapes chosen by the Lord and thrown into the press of suffering. Your soul, Father, will at times be filled with doubts about this work and about me. I saw that God Himself seemed to be opposing [him], and I asked the Lord why He was acting in this way toward him, as though He were placing obstacles in the way of his doing what He Himself had asked him to do. And the Lord said, "I am acting thus with him to give testimony that this work is Mine. Tell him not to fear
Article from: The Priest Who First Believed Faustina: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/priest-who-first-believedfaustina anything; My gaze is on him day and night. There will be as many crowns to form his crown as there will be souls saved by this work. It is not for the success of a work, but for the suffering that I give reward" (90). During the 20-year ban of the devotion (1959-1978, due to faulty translations of the Diary), Fr. Sopocko took comfort in Sr. Faustina's prophecy that the devotion would only seem to be "utterly undone" (see Diary, 378). Indeed 1935, St. Faustina had a vision of the road ahead for her confessor: Once as I was talking with my spiritual director, I had an interior vision — quicker than lightening — of his soul in great suffering, in such agony that God touches very few souls with such fire. The suffering arises from this work. There will come a time when this work, which God is demanding so very much, will be as though utterly undone. And then God will act with great power, which will give evidence of its authenticity. It will be a new splendor for the Church, although it has been dormant in it from long ago. That God in infinitely merciful, no one can deny. He desires everyone to know this before He comes again as Judge. He wants souls to come to know Him first as King of Mercy. When this triumph comes, we shall already have entered the new life in which there is no suffering. But before this, your soul [referring to Fr. Sopocko] will be surfeited with bitterness at the sight of the destruction of your efforts. However, this will only appear to be so, because what God has once decided upon, He does not change. But although this destruction will be such only in outward appearance, the suffering will be real. When will this happen? I do not know. How long will it last? I do not know. But God has promised a great grace especially to you and to all those... "who will proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death as my own glory" (378). Father Sopocko died in 1975, before his zeal for Divine Mercy was vindicated by the lifting of the ban. Three years after his death, with the help of the Archbishop of Kracow, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, the ban was lifted. Cardinal Wojtyla would become Pope John Paul II, who eventually beatified and canonized St. Faustina. It was St. John Paul II who also declared: "There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy - that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights to the holiness of God." Divine Mercy has since become what Fr. Seraphim calls "the greatest grassroots movement in the history of the Church." None of this would have been possible if it weren't for Fr. Sopocko, the priest who believed St. Faustina. For more information about Blessed Sopocko, please visit thedivinemercy.org/sopocko. Image from: https://www.marian.org/news/Just-a-Tip-When-This-Priest-Speaks-of-Trust-Trust-Him-4377 Blessed Michael Sopocko, pray for us!
For more information please go to: www. macatholic.org/news-article/learn-more-about-pas Information from: www. macatholic.org "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being."56 “...since 1973, more than 60 million unborn children have been aborted. Each year in this country, about 900,000 more are added to that list. Yet even if it [Roe v. Wade] were overturned, even if every state in the union ended up outlawing abortion for any reason at any time (which is doubtful), we know that abortion, somehow or another, would continue to exist in this fallen world. Though we can and should hope, pray, vote, and advocate for an end to legalized abortion, we must focus on what we can do here and now in our own communities. We need to double up our efforts on changing hearts and minds, one at a time, to understand the inherent dignity of unborn life.” excerpt from How to Be Pro-Life by Marc Massery. www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/howbe-pro-life How to be Pro-Life SayNOtoPhysicianAssistedSuicideinMassachusetts LetyourvoicebeheardNow! The Massachusetts State Legislature is considering passing into law two deeply troubling bills this session which would legalize Physician Assisted Suicide. The bills, House 2381 and Senate 1384, are identical in text and titled “An Act relative to end of life options”. “The Catholic Bishops of Massachusetts stand untied in our strong opposition to Physician Assisted Suicide. It is an affront to life and a dangerous precedent for determining end of life issues. Physicians are trained to care for the ill, not to hasten death.” How can your voice be heard? Call or email you legislators, let them know you are a Massachusetts voter, and say NO to Physician Assisted Suicide! Log on to www.macatholic.org and follow the links to find contact For individuals without internet access, please call the Massachusetts Catholic Conference at 617746-5630 for legislative contact information. From the moment of our existence we possess a God-given and changeless dignity. The Church opposes the view that human life can become a meaningless and useless burden fit only for death.
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