July 27, 2025 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time National Shrine of The Divine Mercy 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 Divine Mercy (Official) 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 Livestream from the National Shrine Daily Devotions Daily Mass 9:00 am Chaplet of Divine Mercy 3:00 pm Rosary for Life 5:00 pm Divine Mercy Videos posted on our website daily: shrineofdivinemercy.org
Upcoming Events For more information please visit the Shrine Calendar found on our website: https: www.shrineofdivinemercy.org July 7/31 Healing Mass • see flyer on page 10 for more information August 8/1 Outdoor Stations of The Cross at 10:50am • see flyer on page 9 for more information First Friday Devotions at 8pm • see flyer on page 11 for more information 8/2 Encuentro Latino • see flyer on page 12 for more information First Saturday Talk and Devotions at 11am • see flyer on page 11 for more information 8/8 Outdoor Stations of The Cross at 10:50am • see flyer on page 9 for more information 8/9 2nd Saturday Jubilee Day of Pilgrimage • see flyer on page 6 for more information Marian Teaching with Fr. Daniel Klimek • Topic: TBD Movie Night—Radiating Joy, Michelle Duppone • see flyer on page 13 for more information 8/15 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dress Code IF YOU SHOULD CHOOSE TO WEAR A SHOULDER BARING DRESS OR TOP, PLEASE BRING A COVERING FOR WHEN YOU ENTER THE CHURCH. The Shrine is a Temple of the Lord. Clothing must be suitable to a holy place. For Men: NO shorts NO tank tops NO baseball caps NO flip flops 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. Additional Resource on the Virtue of Modesty: Explaining the Fatih Talk with Fr. Chris Alar, Modesty :Why is it Important Today? https://www.thedivinemercy.org/videos/modestywhy-it-important-today-explaining-faith-fr-chris-alar NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE DIVINE MERCY
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning! In today’s Gospel passage (cf. Lk 11:1-13), Saint Luke narrates the circumstances in which Jesus teaches the “Lord’s Prayer”. They, the disciples, already know how to pray by reciting the formulas of the Jewish tradition, but they too wish to experience the same “quality” of Jesus’ prayer because they can confirm that prayer is an essential dimension in their Master’s life. Indeed each of his important actions is marked by long pauses in prayer. Moreover, they are fascinated because they see that he does not pray like the other teachers of the time, but rather his prayer is an intimate bond with the Father, so much so that they wish to be a part of these moments of union with God, in order to completely savour its sweetness. Thus, one day they wait for Jesus to finish praying in a secluded place and then they ask him: “Lord, teach us to pray” (v. 1). In responding to the disciples’ explicit question, Jesus does not provide an abstract definition of prayer, nor does he teach an efficient technique to pray in order to “obtain” something. Instead, he invites his own to experience prayer, by putting them directly in communication with the Father, causing them to feel nostalgic for a personal relationship with God, with the Father. Herein lies the novelty of Christian prayer! It is a dialogue between people who love each other, a dialogue based on trust, sustained by listening and open to a commitment to solidarity. It is the dialogue of a Son with his Father, a dialogue between children and their Father. This is Christian prayer. Hence, he delivers the “Lord’s Prayer” to them, perhaps the most precious gift left to us by the Divine Master during his earthly mission. After revealing to us his mystery as Son and brother, with that prayer Jesus allows us to enter into God’s paternity. I want to underscore this: when Jesus teaches us the “Our Father”, he allows us to enter into God’s paternity and he points the way to enter into a prayerful and ANGELUS ADDRESS Saint Peter’s Square JULY 28, 2019 Teachings of the Popes POPE FRANCIS
direct dialogue with him, through the path of filial intimacy. It is a dialogue between a father and his son, of a son with his father. What we ask in the “Our Father” is already fulfilled for us in his Only-begotten Son: the sanctification of the Name, the advent of the Kingdom, the gift of bread, of forgiveness and of delivery from evil. As we ask, we open our hand to receive; to receive the gifts that the Father has shown us in his Son. The prayer that the Lord taught us is the synthesis of every prayer and we address it to the Father, always in communion with our brothers and sisters. Sometimes distractions can occur in prayer, but we often feel the need to stop at the first word, “Father”, and feel that paternity in our heart. Jesus then recounts the parable of the importune friend and Jesus says: “we must persevere in prayer”. My thoughts turn to what children do when they are three-anda-half years old: they begin to ask about things they do not understand. In my country, it is called “the ‘why’ age”, I think it is also the same here. Children begin to look at their father and ask: Why Dad? Why Dad? They ask for explanations. Let us be careful: when the father begins to explain why, they come up with another question without listening to the entire explanation. What is happening? Children feel insecure about many things that they are only partially beginning to understand. They only wish to attract the father’s gaze, and thus the “why, why, why?”. If we pause on the first word of the “Our Father”, we will be doing the same as when we were children: attracting the father’s gaze upon us: saying, “Father, Father” and also asking, “why?”, and he will look at us. Let us ask Mary, woman of prayer to help us pray the “Our Father” in unity with Jesus in order to live the Gospel guided by the Holy Spirit. Angelus Address given by His Holiness Pope Francis on July 28, 2019 https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2019/documents/papa-francesco_angelus_20190728.html Picture from thedivinemercy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZrKaFN8zW/ Picture from https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/time-pray-pope-leo-xiv “Prayer is so important, far greater than we can imagine,” he said. “Age doesn’t matter. It is Jesus who draws near to us. He becomes our guest and invites us to be His witnesses, whether young or not-so-young.” Quote from His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on visit to Home for the Elderly on July 21, 2025; Vatican News: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/ news/2025-07/pope-leo-xiv-visit-old-age-homecastel-gandolfo-gratitude-prayer.html Pope Leo XIV on Prayer
Get to know the Diary of… “Father, hallowed by your name” (Luke 11:2) +Most Holy Trinity, I trust in Your infinite mercy. God is my Father and so I, His child, have every claim to His divine Heart; and the greater the darkness, the more complete our trust should be. Once, when my confessor told me to say “Glory be to the Father” as my penance, it took me a very long time; and I began many times, but did not finish, because my spirit became united with God, and I could not stick to the prayer. Quite frequently, I am unwittingly enveloped by God’s omnipotence and become entirely plunged in Him through love, and then I do not know what is going on around me. When I told my confessor that this short prayer often takes very much of my time and that sometimes I cannot even finish it, he told me to say it right away, there, at the confessional. However, my spirit became immersed in God and, in spite of my efforts, I could not think as I wished. And so the confessor said, “Please repeat after me” I repeated every word, but while I was pronouncing each word, my spirit would be steeped in the Person I was naming. Without Your help, I cannot even utter Your Name worthily. “Your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2) November 27, [1936]. Today I was in heaven, in spirit, and I saw its inconceivable beauties and the happiness that awaits us after death. I saw how all creatures give ceaseless praise and glory to God. I saw how great is happiness in God, which spreads to all creatures, making them happy; and then all the glory and praise which springs from this happiness returns to its source; and they enter into the depths of God, contemplating the inner life of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, whom they will never comprehend or fathom. This source of happiness is unchanging in its essence, but it is always new, gushing forth happiness for all creatures. The Lord gave me to know, during meditation, that as long as my heart beats in my breast, I must always strive to spread the Kingdom of God on earth. I am to fight for the glory of my Creator. Today, in the course of a long conversation, the Lord said to me, How very much I desire the salvation of souls! My dearest secretary, write that I want to pour out My divine life into human souls and sanctify them, if only they were willing to accept My grace. The greatest sinners would achieve great sanctity, if only they would trust in My mercy. The very inner depths of My being are filled to overflowing with mercy, and it is being poured out upon all I have created. My delight is to act in a human soul and to fill it with My mercy and to justify it. My kingdom on earth is My life in the Saint Faustina “...fight for My kingdom in human souls”
human soul. Write, My secretary, that I Myself am the spiritual guide of souls — and I guide them indirectly through the priest, and lead each one to sanctity by a road known to Me alone. “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3) Every morning during meditation, I prepare myself for the whole day’s struggle. Holy Communion assures me that I will win the victory; and so it is. I fear the day when I do not receive Holy Communion. This Bread of the Strong gives me all the strength I need to carry on my mission and the courage to do whatever the Lord asks of me. The courage and strength that are in me are not of me, but of Him who lives in me — it is the Eucharist. But I want to tell you that eternal life must begin already here on earth through Holy Communion. Each Holy Communion makes you more capable of communing with God throughout eternity. If the angels were capable of envy, they would envy us for two things: one is the receiving of Holy Communion, and the other is suffering. “and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us” (Luke 11:4) He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God. As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart. 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. Have confidence, My child. Do not lose heart in coming for pardon, for I am always ready to forgive you. As often as you beg for it, you glorify My mercy. “and do not subject us to the final test” (Luke 11:4) + My Jesus, support me when difficult and stormy days come, days of testing, days of ordeal, when suffering and fatigue begin to oppress my body and my soul. Sustain me, Jesus, and give me strength to bear suffering . All adversities touch only the surface, but they have no entry to the depths, because God, who strengthens me, who fills me, dwells there. All the snares of the enemy are crushed at His footstool. During these moments of union, God sustains me with His might. Jesus made known to me how very pleasing to Him were prayers of atonement. He said to me, The prayer of a humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My Father and draws down an ocean of blessings. After the adoration, half way to my cell, I was surrounded by a pack of huge black dogs who were jumping and howling and trying to tear me to pieces. I realized that they were not dogs, but demons. One of them spoke up in a rage, “Because you have snatched so many souls away from us this night, we will tear you to pieces.” I answered, “If that is the will of the most merciful God, tear me to pieces, for I have justly deserved it, because I am the most miserable of all sinners, and God is ever holy, just, and infinitely merciful.” To these words all the demons answered as one, “Let us flee for she is not alone; the Almighty is with her!” And they vanished like dust, like the noise of the road, while I continued on my way to my cell undisturbed, finishing my Te Deum and pondering the infinite and unfathomable mercy of God. Blessed Be God! O Holy Trinity, in whom is contained the inner life of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, eternal joy, inconceivable depth of love, poured out upon all creatures and constituting their happiness, honor and glory be to Your holy name forever and ever. Amen. Diary 357, 577, excerpts 1294, 777, 1548; 1748. excerpts 91, 1811, 1804; 390, 1148, excerpts 1488, 1065, 480; 320, 525
The Gift Shop is open daily 9:30am – 4:30pm Find us at: divinemercy giftshop.org e 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 support Shrine Ministries. Join the Marian Fathers in person or via livestream for the First Fridays and First Saturdays Livestream: First Fridays at 8pm First Saturdays at 11:45am TheDvineMercy.org FacebookDivineMercyOfificial YouTube: Divine Mercy
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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