BIG C CATHOLICS

April 15, 2017 On this second day of the Divine Mercy Novena, we pray for the souls of priests and religious. Christ our Lord and Savior, you told Saint Faustina, "Today bring to Me the souls of priests and religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave Me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind." May we, in reciting this novena, grow ever closer to our Lord's Passion and holy sacrifice. The Divine Mercy novena prayers were given to Saint Faustina by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Each day features a new petition seeking God’s abundant mercy for various individuals. The message of Divine Mercy is one of conversion and forgiveness. For a complete guide to praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet go here . Novena Prayer Day 2 (Holy Saturday) The souls of priests and religious Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrat

April 14, 2017 On this the first day of the Divine Mercy Novena, may these Divine Mercy prayers strengthen us as we fast and do penance on Good Friday. We also aspire, through the reciting of this novena, to grow closer to our Lord's Passion and holy sacrifice. The Divine Mercy novena prayers were given to Saint Faustina by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Each day features a new petition seeking God’s abundant mercy for various individuals. The message of Divine Mercy is one of conversion and forgiveness. For a complete guide to praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet go here . Novena Prayer Day 1 (Good Friday)   All mankind, especially sinners Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Fat

The Divine Mercy Novena begins on Good Friday, April 14th, 2017, and continues until the second Sunday of Easter — the feast of Divine Mercy. The Divine Mercy novena prayers were given to Saint Faustina by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Each day features a new petition seeking God’s abundant mercy for various individuals. The message of Divine Mercy is one of conversion and forgiveness. For a step by step guide showing how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet go here . Novena Prayer for Sinners (Day 1)  Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionat

October 5th, is the optional memorial of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, (1905-1938) the 20th century Polish nun who Jesus chose to deliver to the world His message of Divine Mercy. She was born, Helena Kowalska, in Głogówiec, Poland, the third of ten children to poor, Catholic peasants Stanisław and Marianna Kowalska. Her father was a carpenter and her mother an occasional housekeeper. At 15, Helena left school to help support her family. As a young child, she felt called by God to a religious vocation. In 1925, she entered the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw, taking the name Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. This simple nun with only three years of formal education lived a short but very consequential life . Through her, God reveled His compassion, His desire to forgive sins and reconcile mankind to Himself. She endured great hardships in carrying out this divine mission, in which, she was disbelieved and her diary suppressed. Faustina receiv

The Sunday After Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday How should we prepare for this great Feast of Mercy? Jesus told St. Faustina that this Feast of Mercy would be a very special day when  “all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened.”  (Diary 699) Our Lord made a great promise to all those souls who would go to Confession and then receive Him in Holy Communion on the Feast of Mercy, on the Sunday after Easter, which is now called Divine Mercy Sunday throughout the Catholic Church. Jesus promised that  “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.”  (Diary 699) He went on to say “ I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My Mercy.”  (Diary 1109) We want to encourage everyone to take advantage of this incredible promise and the additional Plenary Indulgence on this great Feast of Mercy “Divine Mercy Sund

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday April 19, 2009 You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You! Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. For information about the image of Christ shown above click here . To learn about Saint Faustina, the Divine Mercy Chaplet or Divine Mercy Sunday see Who is Saint Faustina? and The Sunday After Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday .

Who is Saint Faustina? Helena Kowalska was the third of ten children, born August 25, 1905, in Głogówiec, Poland. At fifteen she left school to help support her family. Helena felt called by God to a religious vocation. In 1925, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, taking the name Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. This simple nun with only three years of formal education lived a short but consequential life. Through her, God reveled His compassion, His desire to forgive sins, and reconcile mankind to Himself. She endured great hardships in carrying out this Divine mission. Sister Faustina received visions of our Lord, in which, Jesus instructed her to tell the world of His infinite love and mercy. She kept a diary of these visions; later published under the title Divine Mercy in My Soul: The Diary of St. Faustina . Read it online here . Sister Faustina was thirty-three when she succumbed to tuberculosis. Following her death her writ