The heart of the early Catholic Church life in Jerusalem after the Resurrection of Our Lord is highlighted in our celebration of His Divine Mercy Sunday.
A communal structure
One of the great constants of the Catholic Church has been its reliance from inception that “[t]hey devoted themselves to the apostles ’teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42.
This communal expression was not merely a gathering of individual believers, but a life centred on God’s mercy at a time dominated by a Roman occupation and local Jewish leader resistance.
Pope Saint John Paul II, in his establishment of Divine Mercy Sunday, intended to call the Church back to its original pattern whereby our communal participation in the Eucharist reflected an active participation in Our Lord’s divine sacrifice of mercy.
Divine Mercy is proclaimed by our personal restoration into the family of God, not only by the nourishment we receive in Christ’s Body and Blood, but also by the transformation we experience in witnessing Christ’s Mercy to others. The early Catholics noted likewise in so doing that, “[t]he Lord added to their number daily.” Acts 2:47.
Today, His Catholic Church continues to grow precisely by those who are attracted to the Truth of its original teachings in a world that increasingly distances itself from them.
The ultimate Truth structure
We see that historically the four pillars of the church have been: Apostolic teaching, community, Eucharist and prayer.
Therefore, the communication of the Truth of God’s Merciful heart have been equally found in His Word, written as preserved in Holy Scripture, and as food for the journey as preserved in the Eucharist.
Additionally, that Word is faithfully safeguarded in the Sacred Tradition where we find the authoritative interpretation of what the words of Scripture convey.
Finally, in an Apostolic Succession that preserves that Truth in a Magisterium, a teaching authority of Bishops, who trace their office to the Apostles both in a historic lineage and as guardians of the Truth.
Divine Mercy Sunday uniqueness
The Diary of Saint Faustina records that Jesus told her a Divine Mercy Feast would be so distinct, as to be a “complete forgiveness of sins and punishment” if accompanied by Confession and Eucharist and a total trust in His mercy. Devotion to these words is preserved with a further clarification by the church, such that the promise in the Diary is not exactly the same as the conditions of the Divine Mercy Sunday Plenary Indulgence as proclaimed in June of 2002.
The Church established a Plenary indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday that is available to the faithful who fulfill the “usual conditions” of Sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Pope, along with complete detachment from all sin, including venial. We recognize the Plenary conditions to be the same as other Plenary Indulgence norms, here with the act of some participation in a Divine Mercy prayer or devotion such as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
The minimal requirements for obtaining the Divine Mercy Indulgence reflect Our Lord’s merciful heart in the simplicity with which one can strive to obtain a complete reparation for the effects of all previously forgiven sin.
More information on indulgences can be found in the “Handbook of Indulgences, Norms and Grants” widely available for purchase.
May God continue to bless us. Amen.
