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 July31– EighteenthSunday ofOrdinaryTime 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
Pope Francis said on Saturday that "we must ask for the grace to cry" with Our Lady for the lives destroyed by the Ukraine war and the other miseries of our time, like "the children discarded before they are even born.” Pope Francis underlined that the war is “destroying not only Ukraine,” but it is destroying “all the nations involved in the war.” “Because war not only destroys the people who are defeated, no, it also destroys the victor … War destroys everyone,” he said in Paul VI Hall. “We have entrusted our prayer to the Immaculate Heart, and we are certain that our Mother has accepted it and intercedes for peace because she is the Queen of Peace,” the pope added. Once, after an adoration for our country, a pain pierced my soul, and I began to pray in this way: “Most merciful Jesus, I beseech You through the intercession of Your Saints, and especially the intercession of Your dearest Mother who nurtured You from childhood, bless my native land. I beg You, Jesus, look not on our sins, but on the tears of little children, on the hunger and cold they suffer. Jesus, for the sake of these innocent ones, grant me the grace that I am asking of You for my country.” At that moment, I saw the Lord Jesus, His eyes filled with tears, and He said to me, You see, My daughter, what great compassion I have for them. Know that it is they who uphold the world. From the Diary of St. Faustina passage 286 peace Excerpt from: www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251046/pope-francis-god-is-weeping-for-the-victims-of-the-ukraine-war Picture from:www.marian.org In the Words of Pope Francis pray for
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: August 4-7 All Day Saint Stanislaus Basilica 566 Front Street Chicopee, MA 01030 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 After Holy Communion, I saw the Lord Jesus, who said these words to me: Today, penetrate into the spir i t of My poverty and arrange everything in such a way that the most dest i tute wi l l have no reason to envy you. I f ind pleasure, not in l arge bui ldings and magni f icent structures, but in a pure and humble heart. When I was by myself, I began to reflect on the spirit of poverty. I clearly saw that Jesus, although He is Lord of all things, possessed nothing. From a borrowed manger He went through life doing good to all, but himself having no place to lay His head. And on the Cross, I see the summit of His poverty, for He does not even have a garment on himself. O Jesus, through a solemn vow of poverty I desire to become like You; poverty will be my mother. As exteriorly we should possess nothing and have nothing to dispose of as our own; so interiorly we should desire nothing. And in the Most Blessed Sacrament, how great is Your poverty! Has there ever been a soul as abandoned as You were on the Cross, Jesus? Then I saw a soul which was being separated from its body amid great torment. O Jesus, as I am about to write this, I tremble at the sight of the horrible things that bear witness against him.... I saw the souls of little children and those of older ones, about nine years of age, emerging from some kind of a muddy abyss. The souls were foul and disgusting, resembling the most terrible monsters and decaying corpses. But the corpses were living and gave loud testimony against the dying soul. And the soul I saw dying was a soul full of the world’s applause and honors, the end of which are emptiness and sin. Finally a woman came out who was holding something like tears in her apron, and she witnessed very strongly against him. O terrible hour, at which one is obliged to see all one’s deeds in their nakedness and misery; not one of them is lost, they will all accompany us to God’s judgment. I can find no words or comparisons to express such terrible things. And although it seems to me that this soul is not damned, nevertheless its torments are in no way different from the torments of hell; there is only this difference: that they will someday come to an end. O my Jesus, You are the life of my life. You know only too well that I long for nothing but the glory of Your Name and that souls come to know Your goodness. Why do souls avoid You, Jesus? — I don’t understand that. Oh, if I could only cut my heart into tiny pieces and in this way offer to You, O Jesus, each piece as a heart whole and entire, to make up in part for the hearts that do not love You! I love You, Jesus, with every drop of my blood, and I would gladly shed my blood for You to give You a proof of the sincerity of my love. O God, the more I know You the less I can comprehend You, but this “non_comprehension” lets me realize how great You are! And it is this impossibility of comprehending You which enflames my heart anew for You, O Lord. From the moment when You let me fix the eyes of my soul on You, O Jesus, I have been at peace and desired nothing else, I found my destiny at the moment when my soul lost itself in You, the only object of my love. In comparison with you, everything is nothing. Sufferings, adversities, humiliations, failures and suspicions that have come my way are splinters that keep alive the fire of my love for You, O Jesus. His Love is True Treasure
4 4 72 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. I am striving for sanctity, because in this way I shall be useful to the Church. I make constant efforts in practicing virtue. I try faithfully to follow Jesus. And I deposit this whole series of daily virtues-silent, hidden, almost imperceptible, but made with great love-in the treasury of God’s Church for the common benefit of souls. I feel interiorly as if I were responsible for all souls. I know very well that I do not live for myself alone, but for the entire Church... 9 Diary 532-533, 245, 57, 1505, 1339 415 https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/prophet-our-times May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war. O merciful God, You do not despise us, but lavish Your graces on us continuously. You make us fit to enter Your kingdom, and in Your goodness You grant that human beings may fill the places vacated by the ungrateful angels. O God of great mercy, who turned Your sacred gaze away from the rebellious angels and turned it upon contrite man, praise and glory be to Your unfathomable mercy, O God who do not despise the lowly heart. Saturday. During Vespers I saw the Lord Jesus radiant as the sun, in a bright garment, and He said to me, May your heart be joyful. And great joy flooded me, and I was penetrated with God’s presence, which for the soul is a treasure beyond words.
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
Fr. Ladislaus (Walter) Pelczynski, MIC 1916-2000 He was a man known for the personal touch. His letter writing became legendary. He'd knock on doors and sit with strangers who quickly became lifelong friends and supporters - people who would team up with the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception in their mission to serve Christ and His Church. He was physically diminutive, yet he struck an impressive presence. It's not hyperbole to say that because of Fr. Walter F. Pelczynski, MIC, millions of people around the world have come to know The Divine Mercy message and Mary Immaculate through the Congregation's publishing apostolate, which has sent prayercards, newsletters, pamphlets, and magazines around the world. This week the Marians remember the impressive life and work of Fr. Walter who died 20 years ago on Dec. 8, at the age of 84. He had always prayed for a holy death. And he was taken on Our Lady's major feast day, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. On the biggest Patronal feast of the Marians, the Blessed Virgin Mary came to take her spiritual son home. "The picture of him blessing the printing press is one of the last Marian Helper Center activities he did," recalled Fran Bourdon, former executive director of the Association of Marian Helpers. The Marians had just installed a new and sophisticated press in March 2000, Mr. Bourdon said, "and the first print job was prayercards for St. Faustina's canonization. How fitting!" To the Ends of the Earth Remembering Fr. Walter's life isn't merely a respectful gesture for a beloved brother in Christ. The Marian Fathers recognize the holy and historical lineage his work represents. He was the spiritual son of the Marians' founder, Blessed Stanislaus Papczynski (1631-1701). He was the hard-charging, no-nonsense, disciplined torchbearer of the message of The Divine Mercy as revealed to St. Faustina in the 1930s. Born in Adams, Massachusetts, on Aug. 7, 1916, son of Polish immigrants, Fr. Walter was ordained to the sacred priesthood on May 28, 1942. Before his ordination, he, along with other Marian seminarians in Washington, D.C., planted the seed that would become the Association of Marian Helpers. The seminarians would correspond with family members and others to help support the seminarians. The men would also form friendships with people who had given their names at different parishes where faith brochures were distributed that included the message of Divine Mercy. The Marians had just become official promoters of Divine Mercy, merely four years after the death of St. Faustina, whose revelations sparked the modern Divine Mercy movement. It was Fr. Walter, still in his first year of priesthood, who in 1943 went home for a visit and was asked by the superiors to look for a place for a Novitiate, preferably in the countryside. The hope was that such a place would also serve as headquarters for his Congregation's apostolic activities.
: O He left Washington, D.C., headed to western Massachusetts and started scouting. One day, he made his way up a hillside in Stockbridge and came face to face with the Marians' destiny. He was with a pastor friend and a local real estate agent when he first laid eyed on what would become "Eden Hill." There was a beautiful summerhouse on an old farmstead. The views were stunning. "This place is indeed a bit of Heaven," Fr. Walter said. "This property must be ours." Wi th 'Trembl ing Hopes' Stockbridge and the surrounding towns had, by then, become the famous summer stomping grounds for the country's millionaire industrialists - such as George Westinghouse - and its most famous artists and writers, including the novelist Edith Wharton. By any reasonable estimation it would seem improbable that a small, unknown religious congregation - most of whose members spoke broken English and had wholeheartedly embraced the vow of poverty - had any chance of snatching such stunning property bookended by the most well-heeled of a rising nation. Still, with "trembling hopes," Fr. Walter wrote in his memoirs, he sought to raise funds to purchase the property. The sale price was $22,500. It was a bargain. He succeeded, mainly through the support of Polish-Americans in the region who hoped to see the Marians prosper beyond the Congregation's native Polish homeland. He credits Divine Providence, but Fr. Walter did the legwork. "I went there [Eden Hill] without a dollar in my pocket," Fr. Walter wrote in his memoirs. "Within two months we had acquired the extensive property in Stockbridge that was to become our center of activities in the United States as well as missions abroad." The 'Tremendous Good' From the very outset, local support for the Marians was incredible and indispensable and reflected the degree to which people were devoted to Fr. Walter. To prepare for the Marians move into an otherwise empty estate, Fr. Walter's friends and family in nearby Adams combed through attics and basements in search of old pieces of furniture and other necessities to donate. A group of ladies in Stockbridge formed what Fr. Walter called a "bucket brigade." They spent many days and nights scrubbing floors and washing windows and bathrooms on Eden Hill. Townspeople even collected coal to keep the Marians warm throughout that first winter. On Eden Hill, Fr. Walter and the Marians dedicated themselves to the spread of the Divine Mercy revelations of St. Faustina and devotion to Mary Immaculate through a publishing apostolate that continues to this day. (This website, for instance, is administered adjacent to the former estate's horse stable on Eden Hill. We can hear the printing presses roar. You can feel the reverberation in the soles of your feet.) As an administrator, his acumen seemed instinctual. But he was a priest first. By the time he sat down to write his memoirs, Fr. Walter knew the "tremendous good our work has done for souls." He wrote, "One can hardly doubt when I read so many beautiful accounts of graces received by people, conversions of souls and special protection over homes and families where the image of Divine Mercy was venerated." It was Fr. Walter who, through sheer charisma and spiritual zeal, founded the Association of Marian Helpers, based on Eden Hill. The Association is the spiritual benefit society that prayerfully and financially supports the Marians and their work throughout the world.
Excerpts taken from https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/small-priest-big-impact Image from : https://www.marian.org/marianhelper/issues/issue120/article120101.html 'Al l for the Glory of God' ability to put aside any pressing issue in his daily routine when it became time for community prayers." Brother Leonard continued, "His faithfulness and religious observance was unparalleled. Although he was quite a disciplinarian and held others and himself quite accountable, he also enjoyed having social outlets with a great number of people. Many of them would comment how he cared for them and would take the time to speak or write a personal thank you for the least amount of donations that they would contribute. Because of this personal demand he made of himself," Br. Leonard said, "he spent many hours burning that midnight oil in order to have each and every letter acknowledged. His work ethic was unmatched." Father Walter's hard work eventually caught up with him. In 1953, he suffered a minor heart attack. His physician told him to slow down or risk more serious health concerns. He didn't follow the advice. By then he was a globetrotting emissary of the Marians' mercy mission. He eventually became ill with dysentery, peritonitis, and pancreatitis. After a sick leave, he returned to Stockbridge to take over as director of the Association of Marian Helpers and thereby set a high bar for all future Association directors. A Mission That Flour ishes Under his leadership, the Association flourished. Millions were being introduced to the Divine Mercy message and devotion, and the Marians and Marian Helpers together prayerfully and financially supported Marian missions overseas. "He maintained an active correspondence with literally thousands of friends and associates," said Br. Andrew Maczynski, MIC, who became the Association's director seven years before the death of Fr. Walter. "And he made it a high priority to maintain regular contact with his own family." Perhaps the most telling of the traits of the man, Fr. Walter devotes the largest chapter in his memoirs not writing about himself but rather of his fellow Marians. His life in the priesthood, he explained, "can be understood only in conjunction with a detailed description of the character of those with whom I shared it." The last sentence of his memoirs is the following: "Now I am getting ready for my last trip, and this I pray will be to my eternal destiny in Heaven." . His niece, Virginia Antaya, refers to Fr. Walter as "Uncle Father." "I personally experienced his deep and ultimate humility of heart as he often would say, 'all for the Glory of God!' and he truly meant it. He taught me to remember that each and every person we come in contact with is to be treated with reverence and dignity. He was a good and faithful servant," she said. The late Br. Leonard Konopka, MIC, who worked side by side with Fr. Walter for years, said one of Fr. Walter's traits he admired most was “his ‘Al l for the Glory of God' Fr. Walter Pelczynski, pray for us!
P R A Y E R 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. 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.
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