Sunday, April 7, 2013

Divine Mercy Sunday 2013 at SJMV Parish

I fly to your mercy, Compassionate God, who alone are good. Although my misery is great and my offenses are many, I trust in Your mercy, because You are the God of mercy; and, from time immemorial, it has never been heard of, nor do heaven or earth remember, that a soul trusting in Your mercy has been disappointed.

O God of compassion, You alone can justify me and You will never reject me when I, contrite, approach Your Merciful Heart, where no one has ever been refused, even if he were the greatest sinner. [For Your Son assured me:] Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy fail to embrace a trusting heart

Divine Mercy, greatest attribute of God,  I trust in You!

Slide1 (Small)

Once again Divine Mercy devotees of SJMV parish gathered to celebrate the Feast of Mercy. The celebration happened in two folds: chapel level and parish level. The chapel level activities happened in the morning at the newly established chapel of Crestview, dedicated to the Divine Mercy; the congregation initially was part of Our Lady of Fatima chapel (where I am part of). Afterwards, the festivities made its way to the Parish of St. John Mary Vianney (SJMV). The organizers of the festivity are one in all Divine Mercy devotees in fulfilling the task of further spreading devotion to all for our Lord makes it very clear to St. Faustina that the need to proclaim His message of mercy is urgent, because the world needs it as preparation for His coming again.

As Jesus revealed to St. Faustina: My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable Mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.

The souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though it sins be as scarlet.

My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity.

The Feast of mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is my desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Found of My mercy.

Slide2 (Small)

A Special Promise of Mercy. Our Lord's promise to grant complete forgiveness of sins and punishment on the Feast of Mercy is recorded three times in the Diary of St. Faustina, each time in a slightly different way:

(i)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.
(ii)Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.
(iii) The souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment

Slide5 (Small)

Veneration of the Image. The Image of Jesus, The Divine Mercy, is to have a special place of honor on the Feast of Mercy, a visual reminder of all that Jesus did for us through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection...and a reminder, too, of what He asks of us in return--to trust Him and be merciful to others:

I want the Image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it.

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, Have Mercy on us and the whole world.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, Have Mercy on us and the whole world.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, Have Mercy on us and the whole world.

Jesus, King of Mercy, we trust in You!

Slide7 (Small)

Holy Week in SJMV

Since I spend my Holy Week in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan it was only now that I found out that the Parish procured new Holy Week images. This is such a good development for the Parish and I hope our new Parish Priest can further encourage chapels to participate and own Holy Week images.

Slide6 (Small)
New Nazareno, Sto. Entierro and Resuscitado. The images look Paete-made, but I am not sure, I need do some "sleuthing." Our new Parish priest is from Pampanga, he might have connections back home.

Slide3 (Small)
Joy in the resurrection, the passion and death of Christ culminating in His rise and triumph over death, further magnified by the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday wherein Christ endured the pain and death of the cross for our salvation, he was risen so bring eternal hope to us His followers and assurance that His Love, His Mercy and Forgiveness know no end. His passion, death and resurrection is not just a huge turning point in the history of mankind, it is an ongoing story of Hope, Love and Mercy for us His people and its power is eternal as Himself.

Slide4 (Small)
Christ died, Christ was Risen and Christ will come again... Bottom right, imitation of Christ.

I am drawn to the Divine Mercy because of the promise of forgiveness. That no matter how sinful and how wicked my nature is, God's mercy, love and forgiveness are much more stronger that in the end my being sinful and wicked means nothing at all. That I can be pure as the whitest of light and that I will be lifted together with all the Holy in Paradise. The Lord has kept calling us from all throughout our Salvation History, he even came to this world to deliver his message personally and that message endures, and has become more powerful, embracing our humanity with his very Heart. The Lord has been described as many things, a creator, a judge, a Father so on and so forth but greatest of all is him being King of Mercy!

I end this entry with the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Let no one doubt God's Mercy and Love.

Luke 15:11-32

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”


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