Devotion to Divine Mercy as a Means of Deliverance and Healing

From the Marians of the Immaculate Conception Website

The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy In 1935, Saint Faustina received a vision of an angel sent by God to chastise a certain city. She began to pray for mercy, but her prayers were powerless. Suddenly she saw the Holy Trinity and felt the power of Jesus' grace within her. At the same time, she found herself pleading with God for mercy with words she heard interiorly:

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; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world (Diary, 476).

As she continued saying this inspired prayer, the angel became helpless and could not carry out the deserved punishment (see Diary, 474, 475).

The next day, as she was entering the chapel, she again heard this interior voice, instructing her how to recite the prayer that our Lord later called "the Chaplet." From then on, she recited this form of prayer almost constantly, offering it especially for the dying.

In subsequent revelations, the Lord made it clear that the Chaplet was not just for her, but for the whole world. He also attached extraordinary promises to its recitation.

"Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you" (Diary, 1541)."Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death" (Diary, 687). "When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the Merciful Savior" (Diary, 1541). "Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy" (Diary, 687). "I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy" (Diary, 687). "Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will" (Diary, 1731).

Prayed on ordinary rosary beads, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is an intercessory prayer that extends the offering of the Eucharist, so it is especially appropriate to use it after having received Holy Communion at Holy Mass. It may be said at any time, but our Lord specifically told Saint Faustina to recite it during the nine days before the Feast of Mercy (the first Sunday after Easter). He then added: "By this Novena, [of Chaplets] I will grant every possible grace to souls" (Diary, 796).

It is likewise appropriate to pray the Chaplet during the "Hour of Great Mercy" three o'clock each afternoon (recalling the time of Christ's death on the cross). In His revelations to Saint Faustina, Our Lord asked for a special remembrance of His Passion at that hour.

On Good Friday, 1937, Jesus requested that Saint Faustina make a special novena before the Feast of Mercy, from Good Friday through the following Saturday. He, Himself, dictated the intentions for each day. By means of a specific prayer, she was to bring to His Heart a different group of souls each day and thus immerse them in the ocean of His mercy, begging the Father -- on the strength of Jesus' Passion -- for graces for them.

Unlike the novena of Chaplets, which Our Lord clearly wants everyone to use, this second novena seems to have been intended primarily for Saint Faustina's personal use. This can be seen from Our Lord's instructions, which address her with the word "you" in the singular.

But, since Saint Faustina was commanded to write it down, Our Lord must have intended the novena to be used by others, too. Once published, it immediately became very popular, and people prayed the novena, not only in preparation for the Feast of Mercy, but at other times as well.

The wide range of intentions, which do not include personal needs, makes the great popularity of this novena all the more astounding. In this novena we truly make the Lord's intentions our own -- a beautiful expression of the Church's privilege and duty, as the Bride of the Lord, to be the intercessor at Christ's side on the throne of mercy.

The Mercy Chaplet  |  The Mercy Novena

The information contained on this page is from the booklet The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion (EM17). To purchase your copy, please call 1-800-462-7426 from anywhere in Canada or the United States. You may also order through the following On-Line Catalogue. For foreign orders, please write to: The Association of Marian Helpers, Eden Hill, Stockbridge, MA 01263.

The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion © 1995 Marians of the Immaculate Conception. All rights reserved. Diary: Divine Mercy In My Soul © 1987 Congregation of Marians. All rights reserved.