Divine Mercy: The Heart of the Gospel

A Contribution to the Discussion on the Feast of The Divine Mercy 119 A Contribution to the Discussion on The Feast of The Divine Mercy The Divine Mercy message and devotion came to my attention in 1942, thanks to the Congregation o f Marians o f The Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, and in particular to the Rev. Father Joseph Jarzebowski, MIC, who was the first to make them known in the Western Hemisphere. This happened hardly two and a half years after the death, on October 5, 1938, o f the now Blessed Faustina Kowalska o f the Most Blessed Sacrament, a member o f the Congregation o f Sisters o f Our Lady o f Mercy in Poland to whom these were revealed in the 1930’s. Fr. Jarzebowski had received the information concerning this mes­ sage and devotion in Vilnius (at that time a city in Poland, presently again the capital o f Lithuania), directly from Bl. Faustina’s confessor and spiritual guide, the Servant of God Michael Sopocko, (himself a candidate for the honors o f the altar), just before taking leave of that city in the hope o f being able to join members o f his religious family in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Among the materials concerning The Divine Mercy revelations was Fr. Sopocko’s dogmatic-liturgical tractate: DE MISERICORDIA DEI Deque Eiusdem Festo Instituendo, prepared for the purpose o f making Our Lord’s request for a Feast o f The Divine Mercy known to bishops and seminary and Catholic university faculties, with the hopes of its eventual institution in the Church. The reason for my personal interest in researching the place o f this feast in the history and liturgy o f the Church was an entry in Bl. Faustina’s spiritual Diary , kept by her in obedience to a directive o f her spiritual guide, and later by the Lord himself. On November 5, 1934, she wrote: One morning, when it was my duty to open the gate to let out our people who deliver baked goods, I entered the little chapel to visit Jesus for a minute and to renew the intentions o f the day. Today, Jesus, I offer You all my sufferings, mortifications and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, so that he may approve the Feast o f Mercy. But, Jesus, 1 have one more word to say to You: I am very surprised that You bid me to talk about this