My Sunday Best: Divine Mercy Sunday

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Today is one of my most favorite days in the Liturgical year! Divine Mercy Sunday. I have always had a deep love of this Feast day, especially after I read Saint Faustina's Diary:Divine Mercy in my Heart. It is one of those books that talks to your soul. As I grew older, I also became attached to the Divine Mercy Chaplet. If you haven't had the pleasure of chanting this mesmerizing prayer, today would be the best day to try it out! 

I especially love that the portrait of Divine Mercy is placed near the altar for all to see. The portrait of Divine Mercy is among my favorite painting of Jesus. The symbolism and simplicity of the portrait speak to my heart. 

“The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls... These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him”. (Diary 299)

I have always struggled with Reconciliation. It scares me. I do not feel I deserve pardon from my sins. I fight myself each time I participate in this Sacrament. I am a sinner. I always will be because I am human but I am so grateful that God has given me a way to clean my soul, even when I don't deserve it. Divine Mercy Sunday is one of the best days to participate in Reconciliation because of the special graces that you can receive today. 

Our Lord Jesus said, "The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.... Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy." (699) The plenary indulgence that was issued for Divine Mercy Sunday does not change the promises of Our Lord. Rather it provides the Church's highest mark of approval and endorsement and gives souls more time to go to Confession.

Now for some exciting news! For the past few years I have been praying about whether or not to veil. Today I made the jump and wore my first mantilla to Reconciliation, Adoration and Mass. It was an amazing experience. I felt more reverent and I felt a deeper love and connection between myself and Christ today. Do you Veil? Or perhaps know someone who does? If you have been feeling the pull to try out this beautiful and meaningful devotion, I feel you should give it a try. 

The Mantilla I am wearing I purchased from an adorable Catholic shop in Manitou Springs called Windows of Heaven. It is a Mantilla made by Veils by Lily and I think it is gorgeous. I love the design and the contrast of colors. Goalie, my youngest, kept telling me I looked like Mary. That was the biggest compliment he could have ever given me and I'm sure he doesn't understand that looking like Mary... reverent, modest and and all those wholesome things is part of the reason to veil.

Here are some scripture and quotes to consider during your decision about whether or not to veil:

Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head.

1 Corinthians 11:4

Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.

1 Corinthians 11:5

A man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.

1 Corinthians 11:7

The woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

1 Corinthians 11:10

St. John Chrysostom also spoke both of angels and the veiling of women:

“The angels are present here . . . Open the eyes of faith and look upon this sight. For if the very air is filled with angels, how much more so the Church! . . . Hear the Apostle teaching this, when he bids the women to cover their heads with a veil because of the presence of the angels.”

 Today was an amazing day and I feel blessed that I was able to receive absolution from my sins, receive Communion and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with my children. I began a new devotion that makes me grow in my relationship with our Lord and I feel renewed after a hard Lent. I hope the blessings of today have touched you the way they have me. I am linking this with Rosie over at A Blog for my Mom.

If you have a portrait of the Divine Mercy in your home, here is a blessing that you could do to end your Divine Mercy Sunday:

Image Blessing on Mercy Sunday

Almighty and Eternal Father, in your goodness, bless and sanctify this Image of The Divine Mercy, Your dearly beloved Son, which has been fashioned to reveal to us the great love of our Crucified and Risen Savior, The Divine Mercy Personified. Help us recall to our minds the streams of Blood and Water that had gushed forth from His pierced Heart to be for us a continuous fount of mercy.  Grant to all who invoke Your Mercy with this Image before their eyes, the grace of true repentance, pardon and peace.  Shield them from every danger to soul and body in this life.

Jesus, our loving Savior, establish in this Image the Throne of Your Mercy.  Pour out upon all of us, who approach it with faith and trust, the purifying, healing and sanctifying rays of grace ever emanating from it as a blazing star.  Gaze upon us as you did from the Cross with your great love and mercy so that we may be filled with your grace.

Through this Image, may Your Divine Mercy triumph over all the powers of evil.  May all who venerate this Image never perish.  May it be their joy in life, their hope in death, and their glory in eternity for ever and ever.

This we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord.  Amen!

Saint Faustina: The Saint of Divine Mercy

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Saint Faustina is most known for her connection with Divine Mercy. Saint Faustina was born in Poland to a poor but religious family. She was the third of 10 children. During a vision where she witnessed the Suffering Christ, Saint Faustina entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and took the name Sr. Maria Faustina of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Saint Faustina became God's messenger of of Divine Mercy and began writing a diary that focused entirely on Divine Mercy. On February 22, 1931, Jesus appeared to Saint Faustina and she shared thoughts about Divine Mercy and what would later be the the portrait of Divine mercy.

Resources to help you learn more about this amazing Saint are listed below:

Glory Stories CD Vol 4: St. Teresa of Calcutta & St. Faustina Kowalska

The Story of St. Faustina Kowalska 27-Page Coloring Download

The two links above are listed at a special price on Holy Heroes as Deals of the Day  in honor of Saint Faustina

Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids

Divine Mercy Craft from Little Ways Blog

Catholic Icing Divine Mercy Craft

Items from Totally Catholic

Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

To celebrate today we enjoyed a nice Polish soup I prepared in the crockpot. Kielbasa and Cabbage Soup! Everyone loved it. Ironically enough, the local grocery store was running a "half-way to Saint Patrick's Day" Sale. I've never heard of a Sale like that before but it helped me buy the cabbage at a great price!

2 Links Kielbasa (Sliced)

1 Large Onion (Diced)

1/2 lb Shredded Carrots

1 lb Red Potatoes (Diced)

1/2 Small Cabbage ( Chopped)

1/4 Cup Minced Garlic

32 oz Vegetable Broth (you can use whatever broth you like, this is what I had on hand)

2 Tbsp Parsley (Chopped)

Black Pepper and Salt to taste

Dump all ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 4-6 hours. 

We also enjoyed some pumpkin eggnog with whipped cream and pumpkin spice for dessert. It was a nice quiet evening. I hope your celebration was just as good!

Saint Faustina, pray for us!

#WorthRevisit: Divine Mercy Sunday

Today is the Feast of Saint Faustina so I decided to search through the archives and find my post on Divine Mercy Sunday since Saint Faustina is most commonly known due to her correlation with the Divine Mercy picture. I will be sharing our plans for the Feast of Saint Faustina later today but until then here is my post for #WorthRevisit with Theology is a Verb and Reconciled to You.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Divine Mercy Sunday

Today was the first time in a VERY LONG time that we missed Mass. Circumstances beyond our control but I am still sad we missed the beautiful Chaplet that is normally said after Mass on this special Feast Day, Divine Mercy Sunday. Today also ends the Divine Mercy Novena that was started on Good Friday.

To celebrate today I had the children color a black and white "Jesus I Trust in You" picture from this link here. And I explained the reason this picture is so important and what the colors of the rays coming from Jesus' side. We didn't get to discuss Sister Faustina as much as I would have liked but I think the boys understood the general concept of the day.

Squishy tried eating more crayons than actually coloring so his picture looks a little incomplete. Little Man decided to color Jesus in a rainbow of colors but did color the rays the appropriate colors. I was quite impressed!

We also created the Divine Mercy Statues from Catholic Icing! Little Man was really excited about displaying this in his room.

Little Man already loves the Chaplet for Kids and the Rosary for Kids that we say together from EWTN but we made lacing chaplets from construction paper as we said the Chaplet of Divine Mercy together. He has one more reason to be more excited to say the Chaplet now. 

For our special Divine Mercy Dinner we ate Lasagna and water :o) Very simple but incorporated the colors of red from the lasagna and blue water that poured from Jesus. 

I really liked the idea of Divine Mercy Sundaes from Catholic Icing but I only had sherbet :o) We made sundaes anyways and I think it was a perfect ending to the day. Although the day was definitely incomplete without receiving the Eucharist at Mass or the Chaplet sung afterwards it was a good day. I can't wait to receive Reconciliation this Saturday and feel Jesus' Divine Mercy once again.

Here is the completed crafts hung next to our Alleluia Banner in the Dining Room. They add a lot of Easter flair with all the bright colors don't you think?

Jesus I trust in You!

Have a blessed Divine Mercy Sunday!

#WorthRevisit: Divine Mercy Chaplet

Thanks to the JEI Linkup and the parent's meeting at the first Sunday of CCD last week I have had prayer on the brain! The parent's at the CCD meeting were discussing how to incorporate prayer and more of our Catholic faith into their lives and the lives of their children. Honestly, I never realized that more parents weren't aware of the amazing Catholic blogs, websites and other resources that are available to them. I am contemplating creating a resource page for my CCD class to send home with students to share with their families.

This week for the #WorthRevisit  at Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb I decided to share a movie review I did for the Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids. This is one of my favorite prayers and I love that my children have grown to love it too. We as parents are the most important factor in determining whether our children will stay within the faith, movies, audios and activities that make their faith come alive make it become apart of them!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids {Movie Review}

This post contains affiliate links. I may be compensated with a commission when you purchase after clicking on a link. I may also have received the product for free. I appreciate your support!

I love that this movie makes it fun to pray! Check it out!

The Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids is a beautiful depiction the Chaplet for the entire family. Sister Faustina is the host of this illustrated Divine Mercy Chaplet. Along with Sister Faustina is a group of young children that learning to say the Chaplet. Sister Faustina explains the way to properly pray the Chaplet and explains when to meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries. The Sorrowful Mysteries are accurately portrayed and but is still sensitive to the eyes of the youngest viewers. The reactions of the children with Sister Faustina help children viewers to understand the overwhelming love that Jesus has for us and the importance of his sacrifice he made for us all. The children characters are easy to relate to and are shown participating in activities such as studying, playing with friends and receiving Reconciliation. I love how all of these daily activities are tied back to the Catholic Faith and the importance of how Jesus wants us to be self-sacrificing and forgiving people.

There are several learning tools utilized in this DVD that make a profound impact on children's ability to retain the prayers and how to use your rosary. The Chaplet is said out loud with Sister Faustina as the lead but it is also captioned below in an easy to follow format. The rosary is also shown along the bottom and lights each bead as the corresponding prayer in the Chaplet is said. In addition to the teaching of this important prayer, I love the music that corresponds with the illustrated story. My oldest son, who is only four, knows the Chaplet by heart thanks to this DVD and very often sings the "Thank you, my dear Jesus" song.  This DVD is the best way to make learning the Chaplet for children of any age easy and fun! 

I wrote this review of The Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids for the free Catholic Book review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source for Baptism Gifts and First Communion Gifts. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River. Since writing this review the link to Aquinas no longer provides information on this product. Please use the link within the review to find the product on Amazon.

Divine Mercy Sunday

Today was the first time in a VERY LONG time that we missed Mass. Circumstances beyond our control but I am still sad we missed the beautiful Chaplet that is normally said after Mass on this special Feast Day, Divine Mercy Sunday. Today also ends the Divine Mercy Novena that was started on Good Friday.

To celebrate today I had the children color a black and white "Jesus I Trust in You" picture from this link here. And I explained the reason this picture is so important and what the colors of the rays coming from Jesus' side. We didn't get to discuss Sister Faustina as much as I would have liked but I think the boys understood the general concept of the day.

Squishy tried eating more crayons than actually coloring so his picture looks a little incomplete. Little Man decided to color Jesus in a rainbow of colors but did color the rays the appropriate colors. I was quite impressed!

We also created the Divine Mercy Statues from Catholic Icing! Little Man was really excited about displaying this in his room.

Little Man already loves the Chaplet for Kids and the Rosary for Kids that we say together from EWTN but we made lacing chaplets from construction paper as we said the Chaplet of Divine Mercy together. He has one more reason to be more excited to say the Chaplet now.

 For our special Divine Mercy Dinner we ate Lasagna and water :o) Very simple but incorporated the colors of red from the lasagna and blue water that poured from Jesus. I really liked the idea of Divine Mercy Sundaes from Catholic Icing but I only had sherbet :o) We made sundaes anyways and I think it was a perfect ending to the day. Although the day was definitely incomplete without receiving the Eucharist at Mass or the Chaplet sung afterwards it was a good day. I can't wait to receive Reconciliation this Saturday and feel Jesus' Divine Mercy once again.

Here is the completed crafts hung next to our Alleluia Banner in the Dining Room. They add a lot of Easter flair with all the bright colors don't you think?

Jesus I trust in You!

Have a blessed Divine Mercy Sunday!