April 12, 2026 : 2nd Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday
Jesus Christ is Risen – Alleluia, Alleluia!
The Sunday after Easter is called Divine Mercy Sunday. In light of what our sins did to Our Lord on Good Friday, and His mercy upon us after His Resurrection; this day, Divine Mercy Sunday, is a day in which we meditate upon Our Lord’s mercy, thank Him, and worship Him for it.
In the 1930s Jesus began appearing to a Polish nun named Faustina Kowalska (now a canonized saint) and passed on to her a series of messages that she recorded in her diary which has become a book called Divine Mercy in My Soul. It’s a book about God’s abiding presence and love for us; as well as an underlying warning to turn away from sin and to the infinite mercy of God. This theme of mercy pervades Jesus’ messages to St. Faustina, yet the message of God’s mercy is as old as the Bible itself, and the Church has been proclaiming it for 2000 years. However, Our Lord has made a very special point of emphasizing His mercy to us in the past century through St. Faustina. This raises the question: why did Jesus wait so long? Why did He wait until the 20th century to find a saint to pass along this very special message about His mercy? By comparison, the Rosary was given to St. Dominic by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the early 13th Century—eight centuries ago. The answer to this question lies in our age/generation/epoch of time.
God has allowed our generation to stray as far from Him as at the time of Noah, when God flooded the earth killing everyone except the people on Noah’s ark. God’s tolerance for sin is not infinite. Today, the vast majority of the human race ignores God, let alone its Savior Jesus Christ. Things that almost all people knew were sins and shunned in past centuries are now celebrated. Ignorance and defiance of God and His laws are so great today that if the normal rules of culpability found in past ages were applied to us today, the vast majority of the human race would be lost forever. For these reasons, Christ has chosen unprecedented mercy (unjust mercy if you will) to save souls that in other generations would have been damned for sins we indifferently engage in today. Think of our age as having a special dispensation from heaven; and that dispensation is unprecedented mercy: “...but despite the increase in sin, grace has far surpassed it” (Rm 5:20). It won’t be like this forever, the clock on God’s mercy will naturally turn to His justice (a super good thing too). It always does. During this time of transition from the godless and wicked age that we live in now, to the God fearing and God loving age to come, we have Christ’s mercy found in the chaplet that He gave to St. Faustina; a powerful prayer from heaven for Our Lord’s consolation and ours, as well as the salvation of sinners.
Most of us are aware of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a very popular devotion, one worth learning and praying. Parishioners at Holy Redeemer Parish have been praying it every Friday in the church at 3pm for years. If you’ve ever listened to a Catholic radio station, then you’ve probably heard it sung or said. Every year at Holy Redeemer a nine-day novena is prayed in the church from Good Friday until this Sunday. I encourage you to grab a brochure found in the literature area of your church or online, and start praying for God’s mercy upon all of us poor sinners.
Until you know how to pray the Chaplet from memory, or have a “how to” brochure, I’ve written it down here for you to pray TODAY. Use this pastor’s column as your “brochure” until have a real one. If one is to pray this seven-minute prayer only once a year, let it be today. So get out your Rosary and follow along.
In the Love of Our Merciful Redeemer, Jesus Christ,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
1. Make the Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2. Optional Opening Prayers
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 fount of mercy for us, I trust in You! [Repeat three times]
3. Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.
4. Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
5. The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
6. The Eternal Father
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.
7. On the 10 Small Beads of Each Decade
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
8. Repeat for the remaining decades
On the "Our Father" bead, say the "Eternal Father" prayer (#6 above). Then on the "Hail Mary" beads, say ten "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion" (#7 above).
9. Conclude with Holy God
Once you’ve finished all five decades say this prayer: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” [Repeat three times]
10. Optional Closing Prayers
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.
Jesus, I trust in You! [Repeat three times]
