www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Divine Mercy Sunday

Dear Friends,

Father asked us last night to consider how we might honor what God has already given us in St. Thomas Sunday and honor the request of our Roman brothers and sisters regarding Divine Mercy Sunday. It seemed to all that while Roman Catholics seemed to honor ideas we seem to honor events. St. Thomas Sunday honors the event of the extraordinary mercy of Christ. We have no need to overlay a new name for it.

Let us pray for all of our Holy Priests that they lead us in honoring the mercy of God by reemphaising His great mercy shown to St. Thomas and to all of us.

CDL

Okay, John, I mean no respect here, and I don't intend to start a debate on something that's clearly intended to be informational-- thank you for for the information, by the way.

However... this is precisely the type of thing I have a problem with in the Latin rite.

Firstly, when we make a sincere and complete confession, aren't we supposed to receive complete forgiveness of sin anyway?

Secondly, I don't like the legal/judicial model of sin/salvation as "reward" and "punishment." God Himself does not "punish", our sins themselves punish us. Purgatory is not a state of "punishment", but of catharsis and theosis.

Lastly, I have a big problem with the whole idea that God gives special graces/favors on specific days.

I mean, logically, if Catholics don't ordinarily get complete forgiveness of sin when we make a sincere and complete confession, and we get a "get out of purgatory free" card on a specific day, then no wonder so many Catholics don't go to confession during the year! Just wait till "Divine Mercy" Sunday, then you can get "complete" forgiveness and avoid "punishment". :rolleyes:

I apologize for being negative about this, but I simply had to get this off my chest. There, I feel better now.

God bless,

Karen

With all due respect, John, I find it equally imprudent to accept as authentic every "vision" of "Jesus" people claim to have.

God bless,

Karen

I tend to agree with you on both points. This is an excellent example of how the latin spirituality is so ubiquitous in the 'Catholic' Communion, it has spread all over the commmunion. Yet it clashes with some eastern Christian beliefs.

For Latins, temporal punishment is not remitted automatically at confession, while the guilt or responsibility is forgiven.

For Orthodox (and IMO presumably Byzantine Catholics) the forgiveness is total.

The promise allegedly given by Jesus for Divine Mercy Sunday is an indulgence, this is an alien concept in the east.

Many Latins who encounter the East through the Byzantine Catholic churches (myself included BTW) simply start attending DL on a regular basis and do not go through a "conversion" process as such. Also there is no catechumenate required for Latins.

This means that we start out interiorly as Latins and exteriorly as Byzantines. I suppose most of us eventually become enamored enough with the eastern church to catechize ourselves, primarily through independent reading; and through participation on this board (and elsewhere) one can pick up a lot of knowledge. The reading recommendations one can get here are always great but the process of formation is less than adequate.

Many Latins never transfer into the BC, it's not really expected of them. Many who do transfer do not adopt Byzantine spirituality in total and "mix-N-match" their spirituality. it should not be a surprise that a great many Byzantine Catholics have made western devotions their own, even generations ago. This kind of inter-jurisdictional traffic will continue indefinately it seems.

It is one thing to accept that the two major belief systems are dynamically equivalent, quite another to mix them.

This devotion (Divine mercy) is a good example of the difficulties of mixing:
If one accepts eastern theology, the special promise for DM Sunday has no meaning. If one believes in the promise then the Byzantine theology on forgiveness of sins through confession is rendered null, and that opens up all kinds of issues including ones understanding of purgatory and indulgences.

+T+
Michael

I don't know all the details of the DM indulgence/forgiveness, but the pre-requisite for any indulgence is confession, that's what I was told anyway.

It is private revelation and no Catholic, East or West, is obliged to believe it.

Thank you anamchristi! I was thinking of mentioning that same thing.

Christos anesti!

Carole

For me, Divine Mercy Sunday is not a western versus eastern issue; nor is it a kind of magic day when the infinite mercy of Jesus Christ is somehow more so.

It's simply a feastday --a celebration of and a reminder of-- the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ. And if Jesus Christ promised to forgive all sins and punishments by going to Confession and Communion on that special day, it hopefully leads a person to realize that Jesus Christ wants to do precisely that every day -- every day that we need His love and His mercy.

Sometimes, people need reminders of the basic, simple saving Truth of the Gospel; and that's what this feastday does. That's all, but (echoing Dr. Eric) that can mean everything to a soul who is burdened with sin and disbelief and who is afraid to reach out to the Living God.

And thus, I think the Divine Mercy devotion is a perfect mesh with St. Thomas Sunday. Jesus is standing there, for us all, saying to us all: "probe the holes in My hands and feet and side; do not persist in unbelief but believe." That, in my opinion, is the message of Divine Mercy on St. Thomas Sunday: believe in Him, and His love, and His willingness and eagerness to forgive any sin, for He is risen; indeed He is risen.

-- John

I offer the message below without comment. It speaks for itself. Silouan, Mary's unworthy monk

HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER

MASS IN ST PETER'S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION
OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA

Sunday, 30 April 2000



1. "Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius"; "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever" (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of Easter, as if receiving from Christ's lips these words of the Psalm; from the lips of the risen Christ, who bears the great message of divine mercy and entrusts its ministry to the Apostles in the Upper Room: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.... Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn 20: 21-23).

Before speaking these words, Jesus shows his hands and his side. He points, that is, to the wounds of the Passion, especially the wound in his heart, the source from which flows the great wave of mercy poured out on humanity. From that heart Sr Faustina Kowalska, the blessed whom from now on we will call a saint, will see two rays of light shining from that heart and illuminating the world: "The two rays", Jesus himself explained to her one day, "represent blood and water" (Diary, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, p. 132).

2. Blood and water! We immediately think of the testimony given by the Evangelist John, who, when a solider on Calvary pierced Christ's side with his spear, sees blood and water flowing from it (cf. Jn 19: 34). Moreover, if the blood recalls the sacrifice of the Cross and the gift of the Eucharist, the water, in Johannine symbolism, represents not only Baptism but also the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 3: 5; 4: 14; 7: 37-39).

Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the heart of Christ crucified: "My daughter, say that I am love and mercy personified", Jesus will ask Sr Faustina (Diary, p. 374). Christ pours out this mercy on humanity though the sending of the Spirit who, in the Trinity, is the Person-Love. And is not mercy love's "second name" (cf. Dives in misericordia, n. 7), understood in its deepest and most tender aspect, in its ability to take upon itself the burden of any need and, especially, in its immense capacity for forgiveness?

Today my joy is truly great in presenting the life and witness of Sr Faustina Kowalska to the whole Church as a gift of God for our time. By divine Providence, the life of this humble daughter of Poland was completely linked with the history of the 20th century, the century we have just left behind. In fact, it was between the First and Second World Wars that Christ entrusted his message of mercy to her. Those who remember, who were witnesses and participants in the events of those years and the horrible sufferings they caused for millions of people, know well how necessary was the message of mercy.

Jesus told Sr Faustina: "Humanity will not find peace until it turns trustfully to divine mercy" (Diary, p. 132). Through the work of the Polish religious, this message has become linked for ever to the 20th century, the last of the second millennium and the bridge to the third. It is not a new message but can be considered a gift of special enlightenment that helps us to relive the Gospel of Easter more intensely, to offer it as a ray of light to the men and women of our time.

3. What will the years ahead bring us? What will man's future on earth be like? We are not given to know. However, it is certain that in addition to new progress there will unfortunately be no lack of painful experiences. But the light of divine mercy, which the Lord in a way wished to return to the world through Sr Faustina's charism, will illumine the way for the men and women of the third millennium.

However, as the Apostles once did, today too humanity must welcome into the upper room of history the risen Christ, who shows the wounds of his Crucifixion and repeats: Peace be with you! Humanity must let itself be touched and pervaded by the Spirit given to it by the risen Christ. It is the Spirit who heals the wounds of the heart, pulls down the barriers that separate us from God and divide us from one another, and at the same time, restores the joy of the Father's love and of fraternal unity.

4. It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called "Divine Mercy Sunday". In the various readings, the liturgy seems to indicate the path of mercy which, while re-establishing the relationship of each person with God, also creates new relations of fraternal solidarity among human beings. Christ has taught us that "man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but is also called "to practise mercy' towards others: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy' (Mt 5: 7)" (Dives et misericordia, n. 14). He also showed us the many paths of mercy, which not only forgives sins but reaches out to all human needs. Jesus bent over every kind of human poverty, material and spiritual.

His message of mercy continues to reach us through his hands held out to suffering man. This is how Sr Faustina saw him and proclaimed him to people on all the continents when, hidden in her convent at �agiewniki in Krak�w, she made her life a hymn to mercy: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.

5. Sr Faustina's canonization has a particular eloquence: by this act I intend today to pass this message on to the new millennium. I pass it on to all people, so that they will learn to know ever better the true face of God and the true face of their brethren.

In fact, love of God and love of one's brothers and sisters are inseparable, as the First Letter of John has reminded us: "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments" (5: 2). Here the Apostle reminds us of the truth of love, showing us its measure and criterion in the observance of the commandments.

It is not easy to love with a deep love, which lies in the authentic gift of self. This love can only be learned by penetrating the mystery of God's love. Looking at him, being one with his fatherly heart, we are able to look with new eyes at our brothers and sisters, with an attitude of unselfishness and solidarity, of generosity and forgiveness. All this is mercy!

To the extent that humanity penetrates the mystery of this merciful gaze, it will seem possible to fulfil the ideal we heard in today's first reading: "The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather everything was held in common" (Acts 4: 32). Here mercy gave form to human relations and community life; it constituted the basis for the sharing of goods. This led to the spiritual and corporal "works of mercy". Here mercy became a concrete way of being "neighbour" to one's neediest brothers and sisters.

6. Sr Faustina Kowalska wrote in her Diary: "I feel tremendous pain when I see the sufferings of my neighbours. All my neighbours' sufferings reverberate in my own heart; I carry their anguish in my heart in such a way that it even physically destroys me. I would like all their sorrows to fall upon me, in order to relieve my neighbour" (Diary, p. 365). This is the degree of compassion to which love leads, when it takes the love of God as its measure!

It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person. Thus the message of divine mercy is also implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is precious in God's eyes; Christ gave his life for each one; to everyone the Father gives his Spirit and offers intimacy.

7. This consoling message is addressed above all to those who, afflicted by a particularly harsh trial or crushed by the weight of the sins they committed, have lost all confidence in life and are tempted to give in to despair. To them the gentle face of Christ is offered; those rays from his heart touch them and shine upon them, warm them, show them the way and fill them with hope. How many souls have been consoled by the prayer "Jesus, I trust in you", which Providence intimated through Sr Faustina! This simple act of abandonment to Jesus dispels the thickest clouds and lets a ray of light penetrate every life. Jezu, ufam tobie.

8. Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo (Ps 88 [89]: 2). Let us too, the pilgrim Church, join our voice to the voice of Mary most holy, "Mother of Mercy", to the voice of this new saint who sings of mercy with all God's friends in the heavenly Jerusalem.

And you, Faustina, a gift of God to our time, a gift from the land of Poland to the whole Church, obtain for us an awareness of the depth of divine mercy; help us to have a living experience of it and to bear witness to it among our brothers and sisters. May your message of light and hope spread throughout the world, spurring sinners to conversion, calming rivalries and hatred and opening individuals and nations to the practice of brotherhood. Today, fixing our gaze with you on the face of the risen Christ, let us make our own your prayer of trusting abandonment and say with firm hope: Christ Jesus, I trust in you! Jezu, ufam tobie!

CDL wrote : "It seemed to all that while Roman Catholics seemed to honor ideas we seem to honor events".
The theology written about below indicates that this Feast of Divine Mercy is NOT based on the revelations of Jesus to Saint Faustina.
To quote below: "The Feast of Mercy focuses on God's mercy as an event! It focuses on God's continuing action of mercy throughout salvation history as we see it recorded in the letter to the Romans, chapters 9, 10,11, culminating in His loving plan to have mercy on all! (See Rom 11:32.)"
I believe the Holy Father was encouraged and inspired by the revelations to Saint Faustina; but, even if these revelations NEVER took place, the Feast is of great importance to the Universal Church, East and West, and is revealed in the Sacred Scriptures and deserves to be celebrated. How this world thirsts for this Mercy from the open and wounded Heart of the Redeemer!!
THEOLOGY OF
THE FEAST OF THE DIVINE MERCY

The establishment of the Feast of The Divine Mercy on the octave day of Easter fulfilled the purpose of the restoration of the liturgical year, allowing "the faithful through their faith, hope and love to share more deeply in the whole mystery of Christ as it unfolds throughout the year" (Moto Proprio of Pope Paul VI, 1969, on the Liturgical Year and Roman Calendar, quoting Vatican II on the Liturgy, 102). It ensures even greater prominence to the paschal mystery of Christ, so that the faithful more effectively "lays hold of the mysteries of Christ and are filled with His saving grace" (Ibid).

How does it achieve these purposes? In a number of ways: The Feast of Mercy has its roots deeply planted in the Old and New Testament and in the early Church Tradition. It is a feast with three distinct dimensions, each emphasizing an aspect of the paschal mystery that needs to be brought out more clearly and appropriated by the faithful: merciful love, atonement, and covenant.

The Feast of Mercy is a Celebration and a Summation of God's Merciful Love

The Triduum of Holy Week, along with the entire Easter season, focuses on various aspects of the paschal mystery. Holy Thursday celebrates the Mass of the Chrism and the evening Mass of the Mandatum - the washing of the feet of the disciples, ordination to the priesthood, the institution of the Eucharist, and the last discourse of Our Lord promising the sending of the Holy Spirit. Good Friday commemorates the passion and death of Jesus on the cross. The Easter vigil, the pinnacle of the paschal mystery, celebrates the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Redeemer who is our light and salvation, bringing us new life by water and the Holy Spirit. The Easter season continues this celebration, leading to the Ascension of the Lord and to Pentecost - the fulfillment of the promise to send the Holy Spirit.

The Feast of Mercy focuses on God's mercy as an event! It focuses on God's continuing action of mercy throughout salvation history as we see it recorded in the letter to the Romans, chapters 9, 10,11, culminating in His loving plan to have mercy on all! (See Rom 11:32.) This Feast is a summation of the event to His mercy active in our lives now. It is because of His mercy that we have forgiveness of sin and new life as children of God. This needs to be celebrated!

The Feast of Mercy is a Day of Atonement

The Feast of Mercy is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Day of Atonement (see Lv 16, Lv 23:26-32 and Sir 50). It is a day of forgiveness of sins for those who approach the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is an annual celebration like the Day of Atonement - all sins and punishment are washed away in His infinite mercy. The focus of this paschal event is on God's mercy for us sinners and His free gift to those who turn to Him with trust.

Interestingly enough, the texts of the liturgy for that Sunday (Second Sunday of Easter) already focus on the forgiveness of sins and mercy. The gospel is of Jesus appearing in the upper room and bestowing the authority to forgive sins (see Jn 20:19-5 1), and the other readings are about the blood and water and the proclamation of mercy (there was no need to change the texts)!

Our Easter liturgy had fulfilled the major feasts of the Old Testament - Passover and Pentecost - and was only missing the Day of Atonement. This Feast of Mercy now completes the needed fulfillment of Old Testament feasts.

The Feast of Mercy is the Covenant of Mercy

The octave day has its roots in the Old Testament and New Testament as the Day of Covenant. On the eighth day after His birth, a male child was circumcised as a sign of the covenant and given His name (Gen 17:12-14; see also Lk 2:21 for the circumcision of Jesus).

In the early church the newly baptized, newly born in Christ, wore white robes until the Sunday in White (Dominica in Albis) the octave day of Easter, symbolizing their innocence. The Feast of Mercy once again celebrates the white innocence we receive by the Covenant of Mercy.

St. Augustine calls these days "days of mercy and pardon" (# 156, Dominica in Albis) and the Sunday "the compendium of the days of mercy." And then, referring to the setting aside of the white robes, he warns, "Let not our interior purity be lessened as we set aside its exterior symbols." (#156, Dominica in Albis)

Like the covenant of Sinai we, too, prepare for the Feast by purification from our sins and by the sprinkling of blood and proclaiming of the law (Ex 19:14-15; Ex 24:6-8) - but this time we are cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord and the Proclamation of His mercy.

On the octave day of Easter we, too, ratify the Covenant of Mercy, reaffirming not only our Baptism, already renewed at the Easter vigil, but also the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist.

Interestingly enough, all the elements of creation are structured in units of eight (as seen in the periodic table), and musical chords resonate with the octave.

The Feast of Mercy is the octave day of the Resurrection, which strikes the resonant chord of Easter, developing the meaning and richness of the paschal mystery and applying it in a new and deeper way. It resonates with all of nature, sounding anew the grace of the resurrection, alleluia!

Hi,

Let me start by saying that Private devotions are in no way mandatory, not even if they derive from an alleged request from the Lord Himself.

If the matter was so important, we are pretty sure Our Lord would've found a way to let one of the apostles know and include it in one of the writings that eventually became the New Testament or He would've inspired the Fathers at one of the Ecumenical Councils to define a doctrine about the issue.

Still, these private revelations are present in the life of the Church. The Holy Father recognized the legitimacy of the request to have Our Lord's Divine Mercy particularly remembered the Second Sunday of Easter.

Now, the Second Sunday of Easter is the Octave of the Solemnity and, therefore, it is STILL Easter Sunday, liturgically.

That is why the Gospel begins with the apparition to the apostles the evening of the day of the Resurrection (the one that St. Thomas missed).

The Gospel goes on, of course, to complete the narrative with the events from a week later in which St. Thomas confesses the Lordship and Divinity of Christ.

The Church has judged no significant change needs to be done to the liturgy of the Second Sunday of Easter to make it a celebration of the Divine Mercy.

Therefore, I think only the title changed from "Second Sunday of Easter" to "Second Sunday of Easter - Sunday of the Divine Mercy".

The Collect might have been edited as well, but I am not positive about it.

Certainly the Readings and the Rubrics for the Eucharistic prayer did not change.

Shalom,
Memo

So, the East may celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas without any changes. That is what our priest did and I suspect most priests will continue to do. I'm happy that the West is catching up with the East. Thus it seems to always have been and I suspect will always be.

CDL

"Every Sunday in the Byzantine Catholic Church is Divine Mercy Sunday. I'm glad that the Latins are beginning to catch up with us.

CDL"

Axios!

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful posts in this thread. The diversity of the Catholic Church's liturgical life, which spans all 22 of her sui juris Churches, adds to her beauty. I hope that the various liturgical traditions continue to bear fruit in the lives of the members of Christ's body, so that diversity in unity may enrich all mankind.

Dear Michael,

Christ is risen!

You explain it really well. Lately, I've been really studying up on Orthodox theology, and LOVE it. At the same time, I'm starting to see problems with some aspects of Roman Catholic theology.

I was showing this thread to a friend of mine from my parish, and she told me that in the Byzantine Rite, we have a similar belief-- that if you die during Bright Week, you go directly to heaven (provided that you're spirituality oriented toward God).

Is this authentically Byzantine, or is an example of a Latinization?

God bless,

Karen