On August 17, 2002, at the new Shrine of the Divine Mercy, Pope John Paul II consecrated the whole world to The Divine Mercy, saying: “I wish solemnly to entrust the world to the Divine Mercy.  I do so with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful love, proclaimed here through St. Faustina, may be made known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope.”

Join St. Monica online every Friday at 3 p.m. PT to pray this beautiful devotion:

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What is Divine Mercy:

Divine Mercy is a devotion to Jesus Christ that focuses on God’s mercy and love for all sinners, no matter how great their sins are. By accepting God’s mercy and returning it to those around us, we are obeying the two greatest commandments given to us by Jesus: love God and love your neighbor.

Pope Francis, in his Easter Urbi et Orbi message on March 31, 2013, sums up the Divine Mercy perfectly:  “Let God's mercy renew us, let Jesus love us, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.”

The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy:

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a prayer of intercession prayed on ordinary rosary beads in as little as ten minutes. Yet, its prayerful recitation comes with a plethora of graces and promises. 

“Through the chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will” (Jesus to St. Faustina - Diary, 1731).

Click HERE for instructions on how to say the Chaplet.

Click HERE for a list of the Promises Jesus made to St. Faustina, regarding the Divine Mercy Devotion.

Divine Mercy: the Right Antidote for Hard Times

We live in difficult times, and our world seems to be barrage of non-stop negativity and bad news. 

With a global pandemic, climate change, endless mass shootings, growing political division in our country, and the threat of nuclear war looming over us as tensions between Ukraine and Russia increase, it seems impossible to find refuge.

In a message Pope John Paul II prepared for Divine Mercy Sunday on April 3, 2005, he wrote, “As a gift to humanity, which sometimes seems bewildered and overwhelmed by the power of evil, selfishness and fear, the Risen Lord offers his love that pardons, reconciles and reopens hearts and gives peace. How much the world needs to understand and accept Divine Mercy.”.

On April 2, 2008, on the 3rd anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death, Pope Benedict said, “In fact, only Divine Mercy is able to impose limitations on evil; only the almighty love of God can defeat the tyranny of the wicked and the destructive power of selfishness and hate.”

Faustina and How it All Began:

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, a humble and uneducated Polish nun received a special calling.  On Sunday, February 22, 1931, while she was in her cell, Jesus appeared to Sister Faustina. He was wearing a white garment with red and pale rays emanating from his Sacred Heart. Jesus then directed Faustina to paint what she saw.

 "Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You" (Jesus to St. Faustina – Diary, 47-48).

This image is now one of the most iconic and venerated images of Jesus in the world today.

Jesus would continue to appear and speak to her for four years.  St. Faustina, at the request of her spiritual director, recorded Jesus' words, her visions, and her own thoughts and prayers in a personal diary.

On Friday, Sept. 13, 1935, St. Faustina Kowalska received a vison of devastation about to hit a major Polish city. An angel of God was about to execute the Divine wrath upon this city.  St. Faustina prayed fervently, but nothing would stop the Divine wrath.

In her Diary, she writes:

“When I saw the sign of Divine wrath, which was about to strike the earth, I began to implore the Angel to hold off for a few moments and the world would do penance. But my plea was a mere nothing in the face of the Divine anger”

She continues:

“Just then I saw the Most Holy Trinity. At that very moment I felt in my soul the power of Jesus' grace, which dwells in my soul. I found myself pleading with God for the world with words heard interiorly. As I was praying in this manner, I saw the Angel's helplessness: he could not carry out the just punishment which was rightly due for sins. Never before had I prayed with such inner power as I did then.” (St. Faustina – Diary, 474)

The words she heard interiorly and prayed were the basis of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

“Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us.” (St. Faustina, Diary, 475)

If the words given to St. Faustina by Jesus, stopped the righteous destruction of a city by God, imagine what those same words can do for our own intentions.