Divine Mercy Sunday is the octave, the 8th day, the day of the culmination of the grace of our Lord's Resurrection Feast! It is very special indeed!
Divine Mercy Sunday is God's feast day when all the Divine floodgates of Heaven are open, just like a New Pentecost (see Joel 3:1-5, Acts 2:17-21, Acts 2:1-4)!
St. Pope John Paul II proclaimed it a universal feast day in the Church on April 30th, 2000, and Pope Francis proclaimed a Jubilee Year of Divine Mercy from 2015 to 2016 in order to draw attention to this profound feast day, with the profound message of the Divine Appointed Time of our King Jesus' Final Coming!
In 2024, Divine Mercy Sunday falls on April 7th, 2024, and on the very next day our God sends us His 2nd Great American "Diamond Ring" effect total solar eclipse, on the very feast day of the Annunciation (Announcement)!
When considering the "Diamond Ring" effect the Wedding Feast of the Lamb comes to mind - which is the Divine Appointed Time when our King Jesus returns in Glory in order to "conclude", "consummate" His union of "One Flesh - One Heart and Mind of Truth and Peace with His Bride.
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will conclude a New (Everlasting) Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they did not stand by My covenant and I ignored them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws (Truth) in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts! I will be their God, and they shall be My people and they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen and kinsman, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me (Truth), from least to greatest. For I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sins no more.” When God speaks of a “New” Covenant, He declares the first one obsolete. And what has become obsolete and has grown old is close to disappearing.” (Heb 8:8-13)
“In the beginning was the (fiery) Word (of Truth - Jesus), and the (fiery) Word (of Truth) was with God, and the (fiery) Word (of Truth) was God. And the (fiery) Word (of Truth) became flesh and made His dwelling amongst us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son - full of grace and Truth!” (Jn 1:1, 14)
“The two shall become One Flesh (One Heart and Mind with God). So, they are no longer two, but One Flesh!” (Mk 10:8)
‘It will come to pass in the Last Days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of My Spirit (of Truth) upon all flesh! Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy! Your young men shall see visions! Your old men shall dream dreams! Indeed, upon My servants and My handmaids I will pour out a portion of My Spirit (of Truth) in those days, and they shall prophesy! (speak forth My fiery Words of Truth) And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a (column of) cloud of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls upon the name of the Lord! For on Mount Zion there will be a remnant, as the LORD has said, and in Jerusalem survivors whom the LORD will summon!” (Joel 3:1-5, Acts 2:17-21)
Our King Jesus told St. Faustina that, through this message of the feast day of Divine Mercy Sunday, that she would prepare the world for His Final Coming; that "on this day" all who confess their sin and receive Him in Holy Communion, clinging to His merciful love, He would cleanse their soul of all sin and release them from all the punishment that is due to the sin; that "on this day" the floodgates of Heaven are opened!"
This is fantastic because in essence Jesus has promised a new baptism of our soul, by our doing only 2 things: 1) confessing our sin and 2) receiving Him in Holy Communion, clinging to His merciful love!
In essence Jesus has simplified the Plenary Indulgence offered by the Church because the Church requires us to do 4 things in order to receive the Plenary Indulgence (grace of a cleansed soul), which are 1) confess our sin 2) receive Holy Communion 3) pray for the pope 4) be detached from all sin, even venial sin! Jesus, our Savior, in these Last Days, before His Final Coming has offered us an easier way to have our souls cleansed, and He offers it on the feast of Divine Mercy Sunday - the feast that celebrates His Merciful Love!
He declares to us, through St. Faustina,
"You will prepare the world for My Final Coming!" (Diary #429)
"Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy!" (Diary #1588)
"My Daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and 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 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 grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me even though its 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 forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout all eternity the Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that It be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy." (Diary of St. Faustina #699)
"Everything that exists has come forth 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. The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only and that is trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much because it is My desire to give much, very much." (Diary #1578)
Jesus told St. Faustina to write the following: "Before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy before the Day of Justice arrives there will be given to people a Sign in the heavens of this sort - All light in the Heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the Sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time this will take place shortly before the Last Day. O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You!" (Diary of St. Faustina #83 and #84)
We can see how our Lord's Words to St. Faustina expound on the revelation given in the Books of Matthew and Luke giving details of His return in the Last Days, when he turns His moon to blood and darkens His sun.
The Coming of the Son of Man
"Immediately, after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then The Sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man Coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and He will send out His angels with a trumpet blast and they will gather His elect from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matt 24:29-31)
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (Lk 21:25-28)
In Scripture our God promises us grace which "overflows" all the more (in Rivers of Life - Giving Water)! Might we consider how the Feast of His Divine Merciful Love of Divine Mercy Sunday is the fulfillment of such grace! The feast of Divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus' feast of celebrating His merciful Love, is the octave - the 8th day, of His Resurrection Feast, which means it is the day of the "culmination of grace" of His Resurrection feast, poured out upon mankind! Oh what a Day! What a Day of celebration it its! :)
"The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more!" Alleluia! (Romans 5:20)
Through our God giving us these Great Signs in the Heavens, in 2024, we can understand that our God will "stop us in our tracks" by giving us His Divine Appointed Times of the Three Days of Darkness (Holy Triduum Mar. 28th, 29th, 30th, 2024?), which will prepare us for when He gives us the Illumination of Conscience (Resurrection Sunday Mar 31st, 2024? - the prophesied day when He reveals each soul to itself as He sees it, as times stands still, in silence, in order to correct our conscience in the Breath of Life of His Holy Spirit of Truth - 1 Cor 15:51-52, Lk 12:2-3, Mt 12:36-37, Rev 8:1, Is 6:5-9), which prepares us to fully repent on the feast day of Divine Mercy Sunday (April 7th, 2024), so that we receive the grace of an immaculate soul / heart on this feast day, which prepares us to fully receive the indwelling of our God on the feast day of His promised New Worldwide Pentecost Great Miracle (May 19th, 2024? when God sends us His Comet Wirtanen which in Finnish means "Rivers" see Jn 7:37-39, Joel 3:1-5, Acts 2:17-21) -- the Divine Appointed Time when He pours out the Breath of Life of His Holy Spirit of Truth, upon "all flesh", into our hearts in Rivers of Life - Giving Water, which then restores us, His Bride, in His Image and Likeness of Truth, which then manifests His promised restoration of Earth to Heaven, enabling His Bride to live in His Divine Will. (Rev 21, Is 61, Is 11)
God's Promised New Worldwide Pentecost Great Miracle, in the Last Days, Upon "All Flesh!"
‘It will come to pass in the Last Days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of My Spirit (of Truth) upon all flesh! Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy! Your young men shall see visions! Your old men shall dream dreams! Indeed, upon My servants and My handmaids I will pour out a portion of My Spirit (of Truth) in those days, and they shall prophesy! (speak forth My fiery Words of Truth) And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a (column of) cloud of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls upon the name of the Lord! For on Mount Zion there will be a remnant, as the LORD has said, and in Jerusalem survivors whom the LORD will summon!” (Joel 3:1-5, Acts 2:17-21 - see also Jn 7:37-39)
NASA stated on Sept 2nd, 2020 (the year of the Coronavirus outbreak) that the moon is turning red due to "hematite" and "hematite" in Greek means "blood", so we can understand that God is now turning His moon to blood, and the very day "after" the feast day of Divine Mercy Sunday, on April 8th, the day of the feast of the Annunciation, God will darken His sun (April 8th, 2024) , AND just 40 days later, on the feast day of Pentecost on May 19th, 2024, God sends us His Comet Wirtanen which in Finnish means "Rivers" which brings to mind what our King Jesus declared to us that He will pour out His Holy Spirit of Truth into our hearts as "Rivers of Life - Giving Water."
“Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to Me (Truth) and drink. Whoever believes in Me (Truth), as Scripture says, ‘Rivers of Life- Giving Water will flow from within his heart!’” He said this in reference to the Spirit (of Truth) that those who came to believe in Him were to receive!” (Jn 7:37-39)
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of Truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows Me. But you know Me, because I remain with you, and will be in you! I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you! In a little while the world will no longer see Me ( King Jesus Who is Truth), but you will see Me, because I (Truth) live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me and I (Holy Spirit of Truth) in you.” (Jn 14:16-20)
"I also saw the holy city, a New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them [as their God] H e will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.” The One who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.” He said to me, “They are accomplished. I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the Spring (Rivers) of Life-Giving Water." (Rev 21:2, 5-6)
"Then the angel showed me the River of Life-Giving Water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of its street. On either side of the River grew the Tree of Life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him (in Spirit and in Truth – Jn 4:24). They will look upon His face, and His name will be on their foreheads(minds – 1 Cor 2:16, Song of Songs 8:6, Eph 1:13, Rev 7:2-3, Rev 9:3-5, Rev 19: 12-13). Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever." (Rev 22:1-5, 16-17)
"Then he brought me back to the entrance of the Temple (remember Scripture reveals to us that our heart and mind is God’s New Temple where He desires to dwell richly), and there I saw (Life Giving) Water flowing out from under the threshold of the Temple toward the east, for the front of the Temple faced east. The (Life Giving) Water (of God’s Holy Spirit of Truth) flowed out toward the right side of the Temple to the south of the altar. He brought me by way of the north gate and around the outside to the outer gate facing east; there I saw (Life – Giving) Water trickling from the southern side. When he continued eastward with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the Water; it was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and once more had me wade through the Water; it was up to the knees. He measured another thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was up to my waist. Once more he measured off a thousand cubits. Now it was a River I could not wade across. The (Life – Giving) Water (of God’s Holy Spirit of Truth) had risen so high, I would have to swim—a River that was impassable! Then he asked me, “Do you see this, Son of Man?” He brought me to the bank of the River (of Life – Giving Water of God’s Holy Spirit of Truth), and had me sit down. As I was returning, I saw along the bank of the River a great many trees on each side. He said to me, “This (Life – Giving) Water (of My Holy Spirit of Truth) flows out into the eastern district, runs down into the Arabah and empties into the polluted waters of the sea to freshen them! Wherever The Life – Giving Waters of the River of My Holy Spirit of Truth flows, the River teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound. Where these Waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the River goes. Fishermen will stand along its shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will become a place for drying nets, and it will abound with as many kinds of fish as the Great Sea. Its marshes and swamps shall not be made fresh, but will be left for salt. Along each bank of the River every kind of fruit tree will grow; their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fresh fruit because the (Life Giving) Waters of the River flow out from the Sanctuary (Heart of God). Their fruit is used for food, and their leaves for healing.” (Ez 47:1-12)
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers. Rather, the law (of Truth) of the Lord is his joy; and on God’s Law (of Truth) he meditates day and night. He is like a tree, planted near streams (Rivers) of (Life – Giving) Water that yields its fruit in season; it’s leaves never wither; whatever he does prospers." (Ps 1:1-3)
"I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure.
During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life." (Rev 21:22-27)
On May 19th, 2024 God is sending us His 2nd Great American "Diamond Ring" effect total solar eclipse (think Wedding Feast of the Lamb - Rev 19:9-21, Mt 4:4, Jn 1:1, 14, Rev 3:20-21) on the very day after the feast of Divine Mercy Sunday AND just 40 days later, He is sending His Comet Wirtanen, "Rivers" to us - ON THE VERY FEAST DAY OF PENTECOST!!
indeed, we can understand these Great Signs of our God to be His signaling to us that our King Jesus is Returning in Glory, in order to fulfill His promise to restore Earth to Heaven, just as He has promised to do, by restoring His Bride in His Image and Likeness of Truth, by the breathing forth of the Breath of Life of His Holy Spirit of Truth upon "all flesh" during His promised New Worldwide Pentecost Great Miracle of Joel 3:1-5 and Acts 2:17-21, on these feast days, during the time when He turns His moon to blood and darkens His sun!. (Rev 21, Is 61, Is 11)
"The heavens declare the Glory of God! The firmament proclaims the works of His hands. Day unto day pours forth speech, night unto night whispers knowledge. There is no speech, no words – their Voice is not heard. A report goes forth through all the earth, their messages to the ends of the world. He has pitched in them a tent for the sun. It comes forth like a Bridegroom from His canopy and like a hero joyfully runs it’s course. From one end of the heavens it comes forth; its course runs through to the other nothing escapes its heat…By them your servant is warned obeying them brings much reward!" (Psalm 19)
Please feel free to click on the Divine Mercy Image in order to read more about the Great Signs of our Times which appear to be announcing the Return of our King Jesus in Glory, through the pouring out of the Breath of Life of His Holy Spirit of Truth upon "all flesh" in the year of 2024!
Also, you are invited to click on the following link in order to read the Diary of St. Faustina, "Divine Mercy In My Soul" as a pdf:
https://liturgicalyear.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/divine-mercy-in-my-soul.pdf
Below is a link to view the many 30 minute episode of the series on Divine Mercy presented by Fr. Chris Alar.
The following episodes represent the acronym FINCH:
F - Feast
I - Image
N - Novena
C - Chaplet
H - Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration
The Feast of Divine Mercy Episode 26 - " How To Prepare For the Feast"
https://youtu.be/B4vDQ8H0o6c?si=dTEGiaUNpLWmmQM1
The Image of Divine Mercy - Episode 27
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1o31tfuyvk
The Novena of Divine Mercy Episode 28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Al8a1jmqg&t=156s
The Chaplet Episode 29
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3ZAUZs_y8
The Hour of Divine Mercy Episode 30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljqwOogUPF4