Divine Mercy Sunday . . .

Tomorrow is the Octave Day of Easter which is also Divine Mercy Sunday.

We have celebrated this in our parish for the past few years. I am still a little hesitant about embracing this whole-heartedly. Probably because it is so alien to my upbringing but I do have difficulty with devotions based on private revelations. Funnily enough, I've never felt like this about Lourdes and St Bernadette. I can't explain or rationalise this but I admit to knowing very little about the history of Divine Mercy Sunday so I thought I'd do some research.

As usual, once I started looking, I discovered all sorts of things that I was unaware of and the depth of my ignorance. Here are just a few of the points that made an impression on me.

It's not just coincidence that The Octave of Easter was chosen to celebrate the feast. It is appropriate because the Feast of the Divine Mercy has three distinct dimensions each emphasising an aspect of the paschal mystery - merciful love, atonement and covenant.

It is because of God's mercy that we have forgiveness of sin through the sacrament of Confession and this needs to be celebrated.

Like the Old Testament 'Day of Atonement', the Feast of Mercy is an annual celebration of this forgiveness of our sins.

The readings for this Second Sunday of Easter reflect this theme of forgiveness of sins and mercy. The Gospel reading is in fact the one where the sacrament of Confession is instituted by Christ when he appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room and said, 'For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.'

Thirdly, the Feast is a Covenant of Mercy. Just as in the early Church the newly baptised would wear their white garments until the Octave Day so we too, having renewed our Baptismal promises at the Easter Vigil, also reaffirm the Sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist on this day.

Now we come to the bit about Sr Faustina Kowalska. If I'm interpreting things correctly, then the idea of the Feast of Mercy was not something newly created by Sr Faustina after her reported private revelations. The celebration of the Octave Day of Easter was mentioned by several in the early Church including St Thomas the Apostle, St Gregory of Nazianzen and St Augustine. You can go into it all in more depth here.

I think that like many 'Catholic practices' I am getting used to it! When I was first received into the Church, I really didn't 'get' the Rosary. I couldn't understand how people could find it prayerful. Now, after many years of going along on a Sunday afternoon to join with others in a public recitation of the Rosary, I too have come to love this method of prayer and the Rosary is usually the first prayer I turn to.