October 19, 2025 Twenty-Ninth 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 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 October 10/21 Anniversary of the Death of Venerable Servant of God Casimir Wyszynski, MIC 10/22 Memorial of St. John Paul II 10/24 Outdoor Stations of The Cross at 10:50am • see flyer on page 9 for more information 10/25 Marian Teaching at 11am with Fr. Tyler Mentzer, MIC • Topic: “JPII/Theology of the Body” 10/30 Healing Mass at 7pm • See flyer on page 13 for more information 10/31 Outdoor Stations of The Cross at 10:50am • see flyer on page 9 for more information 11/1 Solemnity of All Saints First Saturday Talk and Devotions at 11am • Speaker and Topic TBD Movie Night “Pray” at 6pm • see flyer on page 15 for more information 11/1 Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed November
Excerpt from His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s Message on the 9th World Day of The Poor on Nov. 16, 2025 Teachings of the Popes As we await His Holiness Pope Leo XIV ’ s future homilies and addresses regarding Gospel readings, we will revisit teachings of his predecessors. POPE FRANCIS GENERAL AUDIENCE - NOVEMBER 11, 2020 Catechesis on prayer - 14. The persevering prayer Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! We continue the catecheses on prayer. Someone said to me: “You talk too much about prayer. It is not necessary”. Yes, it is necessary. Because if we do not pray, we will not have the strength to go forward in life. Prayer is like the oxygen of life. Prayer draws down upon us the presence of the Holy Spirit who always leads us forward. For this reason, I speak a lot about prayer. Jesus gave us the example of continual prayer, practiced with perseverance. Constant dialogue with his Father, in silence and in recollection, was the fulcrum of his entire mission. The Gospels also report his exhortations to the disciples, that they pray insistently, without growing tired. The Catechism recalls three parables contained in the Gospel of Luke that underline this characteristic of Jesus’ prayer (cf. CCC, 2613). First of all, prayer must be tenacious: like the character in the parable who, having to welcome a guest who arrived unexpectedly in the middle of the night, goes to knock on the door of a friend and asks him for some bread. The friend responds, “No!”, because he is already in bed — but he insists and insists until he forces his friend to get up and give him some bread (cf. Lk 11:5-8). A tenacious request. But God is more patient than we are, and those who knock with faith and perseverance on the door of his heart will not be disappointed. God always responds. Always. Our Father knows well what we need; insistence is necessary not to inform him or to convince him, but rather it is necessary to nurture the desire and expectation in us. The second parable is that of the widow who goes to the judge so that he may help her obtain justice. This judge is corrupt; he is a man without scruples, but in the end, exasperated by the insistence of the widow, he decides to please her (cf. Lk 18:1-8)... He thought: “But, it is better to resolve this problem and get her off my back rather than she continuously come before me to complain”. This parable makes us understand that faith is not a momentary leap, but a courageous disposition to call on God, even to “argue” with him, without resigning oneself to evil and injustice. Wisdom of Pope Leo XIV Quote from Urbi Et Orbi His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on May 8, 2025 “Our Mother Mary always wants to walk at our side, to remain close to us, to help us with her intercession and her love. So I would like to pray together with you. Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace...”
The third parable presents a pharisee and a publican who go to the Temple to pray. The first turns to God boasting of his merits; the other feels unworthy even to enter the sanctuary. God however does not listen to the prayer of the first, that is, of the proud ones, while he does grant the prayer of the humble (cf. Lk 18:9-14). There is no true prayer without a spirit of humility. It is precisely humility that leads us to ask in prayer. The teaching of the Gospel is clear: we need to pray always, even when everything seems in vain, when God appears to be deaf and mute and it seems we are wasting time. Even if heaven is overshadowed, the Christian does not stop praying. A Christian’s prayer keeps stride with his or her faith. And many days of our life, faith seems to be an illusion, a barren struggle. There are moments of darkness in our life, and in those moments, faith seems to be an illusion. But the practice of prayer means accepting this struggle too. “Father, I pray and do not feel anything… I feel like my heart is dry, that my heart is arid”. But we have to continue, with this struggle in the tough moments, the moments in which we feel nothing. Many saints experienced the night of faith and God’s silence — when we knock and God does not respond — and these saints were persevering. During these nights of faith, those who pray are never alone. Indeed, Jesus is not only a witness and teacher of prayer; he is more. He welcomes us in his prayer so that we might pray in him and through him. And this is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is why the Gospel invites us to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. Saint John provides these words of the Lord: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (14:13). And the Catechism explains that “the certitude that our petitions will be heard is founded on the prayer of Jesus” (n. 2614). It gives the wings that the prayer of mankind has always desired to possess. How can we fail to recall here the words of Psalm 91, laden with trust, springing from a heart that hopes for everything from God: “he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday” (vv. 4-6). It is in Christ that this stupendous prayer is fulfilled, it is in him that it finds its complete truth. Without Jesus, our prayer risks being reduced to human effort, destined most of the time to failure. But he has taken on himself every cry, every groan, every jubilation, every supplication ... every human prayer. And let us not forget the Holy Spirit who prays in us; it is he who leads us to pray, he leads us to Jesus. He is the gift that the Father and the Son gave us to foster an encounter with God. And the Holy Spirit, when we pray, is the Holy Spirit who prays in our hearts. Christ is everything for us, even in our prayer life. Saint Augustine used to say this with an enlightening expression that we also find in the Catechism: Jesus “prays for us as our priest, prays in us as our Head, and is prayed to by us as our God. Therefore let us acknowledge our voice in him and his in us” (n. 2616). This is why the Christian who prays fears nothing, he or she trusts in the Holy Spirit who was given to us as a gift and who prays in us, eliciting prayer. May the Holy Spirit himself, Teacher of prayer, teach us the path of prayer. Picture of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV from Welcome, Pope Leo XIV from marian.org: https://marian.org/articles/welcome-pope-leo-xiv Quote from His Holiness Pope Leo XIV ‘s Urbi Et Orbi on May 8, 2025 https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/messages/urbi/documents/20250508-prima-benedizione-urbietorbi.html Crest of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV: https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html General Audience given by Pope Francis on November 11, 2020 https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2020/documents/papa-francesco_20201111_udienza-generale.html Picture of Pope Francis from Pope Francis, rest in peace :https://marian.org/articles/pope-francis-rest-peace
Get to know the Diary of… When I learned that my mother was seriously ill and near death, and that she had asked that I come home, as she wanted to see me once more before dying, a host of emotions were awakened in my heart. That morning I arrived in Warsaw, and at eight o’clock that evening I was already at home. What a joy it was for my parents and for the whole family! It is difficult to describe it. My mother’s health had improved a bit, but the doctor gave no hope of complete recovery. After greeting each other, we knelt down to thank God for the grace of being able to be together once again in this life. When I saw how my father prayed, I was very much ashamed that, after so many years in the convent, I was not able to pray with such sincerity and fervor. And so I never cease thanking God for such parents. There are times in life when the soul finds comfort only in profound prayer. Would that souls knew how to persevere in prayer at such times. This is very important. Let the soul be aware that, in order to pray and persevere in prayer, one must arm oneself with patience and cope bravely with exterior and interior difficulties. The interior difficulties are discouragement, dryness, heaviness of spirit and temptations. The exterior difficulties are human respect and time; one must observe the time set apart for prayer. This has been my personal experience because, when I did not pray at the time assigned for prayer, later on I could not do it because of my duties; or if I did manage to do so, this was only with great difficulty, because my thoughts kept wandering off to my duties. I also experienced this difficulty: when a soul has prayed well and left prayer in a state of profound interior recollection, others resist its recollection; and so, the soul must be patient to persevere in prayer. + Thursday. Although I was very tired today, I nevertheless resolved to make a Holy Hour. I could not pray, nor could I remain kneeling, but I remained in prayer for a whole hour and united myself in spirit with those souls who are already worshiping God in the perfect way. But towards the end of the hour, I suddenly saw Jesus, who looked at me penetratingly and said with ineffable sweetness, Your prayer is extremely pleasing to Me. After these words, an unusual power and spiritual joy entered my soul. God’s presence continued to pervade my soul. Oh, what happens to a soul that meets the Lord face to face, no pen has ever expressed or ever will express! + When I immersed myself in prayer and united myself with all the Masses that were being celebrated all over the world at that time, I implored God, for the sake of all these Holy Masses, to have mercy on the world and especially on poor sinners who were dying at that moment. At the same instant, I received an interior answer from God that a thousand souls had received grace through the Saint Faustina “AND THE FAITHFULNESS AND FRAGRANCE OF YOUR PRAYER HAS REACHED ME”
prayerful mediation I had offered to God. We do not know the number of souls that is ours to save through our prayers and sacrifices; therefore, let us always pray for sinners. January 7. During the Holy Hour, the Lord allowed me to taste His Passion. I shared in the bitterness of the suffering that filled His soul to overflowing. Jesus gave me to understand how a soul should be faithful to prayer despite torments, dryness and temptations; because often times the realization of God’s great plans depends mainly on such prayer. If we do not persevere in such prayer, we frustrate what the Lord wanted to do through us or within us. Let every soul remember these words: “And being in anguish, He prayed longer.” I always prolong such prayer as much as is in my power and in conformity with my duty. One day, a certain sister came to me and asked me for prayers, telling me that she could no longer stand things as they were. “And so, please pray, Sister.” I answered that I would, and I began a novena to The Divine Mercy. I learned that God would give her the grace, but that she would once again be dissatisfied when she received it. However, I kept on praying as she had asked me to do. The next day, the same sister came looking for me, and when we again began to talk about the same thing, I told her, “You know, Sister, when we pray, we ought not force the Lord God to give us what we want, but we should rather submit to His holy will.” But she thought that what she was asking for was in-dispensable. Towards the end of the novena, the sister came again and said, “O Sister, the Lord Jesus has given me the grace, but now I am of a different mind. Please pray so that things will somehow be different again.” I answered, “Yes, I will pray, but that God’s will be done in you, Sister, and not what you want.” January 25, 1938. My Jesus, how good and patient You are! You often look upon us as little children. We often beg You, but we don’t know what for, because towards the end of the prayer, when You give us what we have asked for, we do not want to accept it. +When I went to the garden one afternoon, my Guardian Angel said to me, “Pray for the dying.” And so I began at once to pray the rosary with the gardeners for the dying. After the rosary, we said various prayers for the dying. After the prayers, the wards began to chat gayly among themselves. In spite of the noise they were making, I heard these words in my soul: “Pray for me!” But as I could not understand these words very well, I moved a few steps away from the wards, trying to think who it could be who was asking me to pray. Then I heard the words: “I am Sister ....”78 This sister was in Warsaw while I was, at the time, in Vilnius. “Pray for me until I tell you to stop. I am dying.” Immediately, I began to pray fervently for her, [addressing myself] to the expiring Heart of Jesus. She gave me no respite, and I kept praying from three [o’clock] until five. At five, I heard the words: “Thank you!” and I understood that she had died. But during Holy Mass on the following day, I continued to pray fervently for her soul. In the afternoon, a postcard came saying that Sister ... had died at such and such a time. I understood that it was at the same hour when she had said to me, “Pray for me.” February 19, 1937. Contact with the dying. They ask me for prayer, and I can pray, as the Lord grants me an extraordinary spirit of prayer. I am constantly united with Him, and I am fully aware that I live for souls in order to bring them to Your mercy, O Lord. In this matter, no sacrifice is too insignificant. March 25. In the morning, during meditation, God’s presence enveloped me in a special way, as I saw the immeasurable greatness of God and, at the same time, His condescension to His creatures. Then I saw the Mother of God, who said to me, Oh, how pleasing to God is the soul that follows faithfully the inspirations of His grace! I gave the Savior to the world; as for you, you have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh, how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for [granting] mercy. If you keep silent now, you will be answering for a great number of souls on that terrible day. Fear nothing. Be faithful to the end. I sympathize with you. Diary excerpt s 1246, 395; 397-398, 860, 1471, 691, 1783, 872, 1525, 1524, 314, 971, 635
Novena to Venerable Servant of God Casimir Wyszynski, MIC October 12th - October 20th The Venerable Servant of God Father Casimir of St. Joseph Wyszynski was born August 19, 1700, near Warsaw, Poland. While making a pilgrimage to Rome's churches and carrying out works of mercy, a young Wyszynski learned that his brother (who was in the Marian novitiate) had caused harm to the new Order. Wyszynski declared, "I want to make up for what my brother ruined," and he asked to become a Marian. As an ordained priest in Poland, he showed ardent devotion to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception and active care for those suffering injustice. He also zealously worked for the beatification of the Marian founder, Fr. Stanislaus Papczynski (1631-1701) — who was recently beatified (Sept. 16, 2007). Fr. Casimir Wyszynski helped the Marians grow as an international community, and founded the Marian monastery at Balsamao, Portugal. He died there October 21, 1755, in the opinion of sanctity. Many report graces obtained through the intercession of Fr. Casimir. Even today the Portuguese call him "Santo Polacco" — the Holy Pole. To Enroll your loved one; follow the link below: https:// www.shrineofdivinemercy. org/novenas/ven-casimirwyszynski-novena To learn more about Venerable Servant of God Casimir Wyszynski please visit Meet Casimir Wyszynski at the link below: https:// www.thedivinemercy.org/ articles/meet-casimirwyszynski
To Enroll your loved one; follow the link below: https:// www.shrineofdivinemer cy.org/novenas/st-johnpaul-ii-novena • Oct. 13: Our Holy Father • Oct. 14: Our Bishops • Oct. 15: Our Priests and Deacons • Oct. 16: Religious and Consecrated • Oct. 17: Lay Apostles and Teachers • Oct. 18: Married Couples and Families • Oct. 19: The Youth • Oct. 20: Sick and Suffering • Oct. 21: All Souls Novena Novena to Saint John Paul II October 13th—October 21st Feast Day October 22nd In preparation for the celebration, we've begun a special novena that extends from Oct. 13 through Oct. 21. We encourage you, through this novena — drawn from the official prayer of the Diocese of Rome — to ask for the intercession of Saint John Paul II and Our Blessed Mother for the New Evangelization of the Church. In light of the new challenges the Church faces in the contemporary world, Saint John Paul II said it is the "supreme duty" of the Church to "proclaim Christ to all peoples" (Redemptoris Missio, 3.) Together in prayer, let's follow his call. On behalf of my fellow Marians and Marian Helpers around the world, I invite you to join in this novena as we pray that the Light of Christ may shine ever more brightly to all the corners of the world. You'll find below that on each of the nine days, we have chosen a specific intention for the New Evangelization. Novena
Novena to Saint Jude October 19th-27th Feast Day: October 28th St. Jude — the "Worker of Miracles" and "Patron of Hopeless Causes" — is invoked in desperate situations. Yet in his New Testament letter, he exhorts the faithful to persevere despite adversity. He writes: But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life (Jude 20, 21). According to one popular story, St. Jude was entrusted with an image of Jesus. He delivered it to a king of Edessa, who was suffering from leprosy. The king was cured, and the king and his people became Christians. For this reason, the saint is usually portrayed with an image of Jesus as a medallion on his chest, as well as a tongue of fire, indicating his receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. To ENROLL your loved one; follow the link below: https://www.shrineofdivinemercy.org/ novenas/st-jude-novena
Poor Souls in Purgatory PRAYERS FOR POOR SOULS November is the traditional month of intercession for the souls of the faithful departed. The Marians will be praying for the Holy Souls in solemn Evening Prayer for the Deceased on All Souls' Day, through the octave, and in their daily prayers and Holy Masses throughout the month. Assisting the Holy Souls is one of the founding charisms of the Marians. Send the names of those you would like to have remembered, and we will place your intentions near the altar at the National Shrine throughout November. TO ENROLL YOUR LOVED ONE, PLEASE FOLLOW LINK: https://forms.shrineofdivinemercy.org/
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
October is Respect Life Month. Join Catholics nationwide praying a special novena for the protection of human life from conception to natural death October 22-30. Get daily intentions, brief reflections, and more. Sign up at respectlife.org/
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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