Novena to The Divine Mercy
This devotion uses ordinary rosary beads and begins with an Our Father, Hail Mary and The Apostles Creed. On the large bead before each decade of the Rosary say:Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
On the ten, small beads of each decade say:For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
After praying for five decades, conclude by saying three times:Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Novena to The Divine Mercy
Jesus also requested that Sister Faustina compose and pray a special novena before the Feast of Mercy. The Feast of Mercy is celebrated each year on the Sunday after Easter. The nine day novena starts on Good Friday and ends on the Saturday before the Feast of Mercy. Jesus asked Sister Faustina to bring to His Heart a different group of souls each day. She was to immerse them in the ocean of His mercy and beg the Father, on the strength of Jesus’ Passion, for graces for them. The specific intentions that Jesus gave Sister Faustina each day, together with the prayers and poems she composed, have become known as the Novena to The Divine Mercy. For each day of the nine-day novena, Jesus asks:
| First Day: | Today bring to Me all Mankind, especially all sinners. |
| Second Day: | Today bring to Me the souls of priests and religious. |
| Third Day: | Today bring to Me all devout and faithful souls. |
| Fourth Day: | Today bring to Me the pagans and those who do not yet know Me. |
| Fifth Day: | Today bring to Me the souls of heretics and schismatics. |
| Sixth Day: | Today bring to Me the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. |
| Seventh Day: | Today bring to Me the souls who especially venerate and glorify My mercy. |
| Eighth Day: | Today bring to Me the souls who are in the prison of Purgatory. |
| Ninth Day: | Today bring to Me the souls who have become lukewarm. |
Image of Divine Mercy
On Feb. 22, 1931, as Sister Faustina relates the experience:
“I saw Jesus dressed in a white garment. He held one hand raised in blessing and with the other, He was touching the garment at the breast. From under the garment came two rays of light, one red, the other pale.”
As she knelt motionless, immersed in cross currents of joy and fear, Our Lord spoke:
“Paint a picture according to the vision you see and with the inscription, ‘Jesus I Trust in Thee’. I desire that this picture be venerated first in your chapel and then throughout the whole world.”
This apparition of Jesus, King of Mercy, repeated itself several times. Sister Faustina’s confessor advised her to ask for an explanation of red and white rays. She did and was instructed:
“The rays on the picture represent the blood and water, which gushed forth from the depth of My Mercy when my agonizing Heart was opened on the Cross. The pale rays symbolize the water, which justifies the soul; and the red rays represent the blood, which is the life of the soul. These rays shield the soul before the wrath of My Father. Fortunate is he who lives in their brilliance, for the just hand of God will never reach him.”(Words of our Lord to Sr. Faustina)
