Pillars of Fire In My Soul

Image of Divine Mercy is to be ceremoniously blessed on this feast day, and it also is to be publicly, that is liturgically, vener- ated on this Sunday. In the second place, “On that day, priests should speak to souls of this grace and unfathomable Mercy of Mine” (Diary §570). Jesus demands, therefore, that the subject of this day’s ser- mon be His Mercy, not only His Divine and infinite Mercy, but also the unimaginable Mercy of His human Heart, above all attested to by His Passion, for He wants “the Feast of Mercy to be a recourse and a refuge for all souls, but especially for all sinners.” Since there is no other means of drawing graces from the wellspring of Mercy but through trust, the sermon should be such that it might incite the audience to a posture of unwavering and fervent trust. A priest can only prove equal to this demand if he shows the faithful the unfathomable love and mercy of Jesus, both in His Passion and in the entire work of Redemption. Thus, the proper aim of this feast is the recapitulation of the entire work of Redemption from the point of view of Mercy. 9 In sermons given on this day, it is proper to mention the most exceptional grace which Jesus attached to the celebration of this Feast in revelation 13: “Whoever receives the Source of Life on this day will attain complete remission of sins and pun- ishment” (Diary §300). He repeated this promise even more clearly in revelation 33: “Whichever soul goes to Confession and receives Holy Communion, such a soul will attain com- plete remission of sins and punishment” (Diary §699). The most exceptional grace promised by Jesus for the Feast of the Divine Mercy is something considerably greater than a plenary indulgence. The latter consists only of the remission of temporal punishments for committed sins, but is never the remission of sins itself. The exceptional grace of [the Communion on] Divine Mercy Sunday is also greater than the graces of the other sacraments, with the exception of the Sacrament of Baptism, for the remission of all sins and punish- Essential Features of the Devotion to The Divine Mercy 113