The 3 O'clock Hour: The Chaplet Of The Divine Mercy

I was in a religious store during Lent and I overheard two ladies talking to the lady who owns the store. They were explaining to the store owner that they were looking for gift ideas for a relative that had recently relocated out of the area to take a job. Then about 6 months later, she was told that the company was downsizing and her job was going to be eliminated. They were fearing that their relative was sliding into a depression and they were looking for something inspiring to send to her.

The store owner recommended some items and then asked the two ladies if they had ever prayed The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, to which both ladies responded that they had not and that they were unfamiliar with the prayer. I happened to overhear this conversation and realized that they were older ladies who attended Mass frequently, prayed the Rosary, and participated in their parishes. They had never heard of this devotion, so I decided at some point in the Easter season I would seek to raise awareness of this important prayer that is a vital part of the Catholic faith.

The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a prayer that developed from the diary of Saint Faustina, a nun who had visions of Our Lord Jesus Christ and recorded all that was revealed to her in a book. On Good Friday in 1937, Our Blessed Lord appeared to her and asked her to pray this devotion for nine days until the Sunday after Easter.

Saint John Paul II declared several years ago that every Sunday following Easter would be known as Divine Mercy Sunday so I thought it was an opportune time to share part of my own spiritual journey touched by this devotion.

Awakening

I was similar to the two ladies in the store I mentioned earlier: I attend Mass every Sunday, I have participated in events at Church, and I pray the Rosary nearly every single day. Then, one year ago, during Holy Week, my wife and I heard an announcement about our church having a Novena to the Divine Mercy starting on Good Friday and going for nine straight days until Divine Mercy Sunday.

I was familiar with Divine Mercy Sunday, but I always thought that it was connected more to the mercy of Christ and was a time where my wife and I always tried to get to Confession. I thought the day was connected more with the importance of repentance, forgiveness, mercy, and renewal. That is certainly one aspect of Divine Mercy Sunday, as the Sacrament of Reconciliation is strongly recommended for all Catholics during the Octave of Easter.

However, that Novena and the mini-retreat that concluded it last year on Divine Mercy Sunday was my indoctrination to a whole different prayer devotion. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy was unfamiliar to me, except my wife reminded me that years earlier I had a Mass dedicated to the memory of my mother, and after that Mass we stayed with the congregants to pray the Rosary and they said the Divine Mercy Chaplet. I recall the repetition of it, but I did not totally understand or know what they were doing.

All of that changed last year at the Novena during the Octave of Easter, it was like an awakening for my faith. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a powerful prayer, in fact the Lord told Saint Faustina that it is the most powerful prayer that we can offer for souls in purgatory and for the salvation of the world. The Chaplet requires dedicated concentration because it is a relatively short prayer that can be said in just a few minutes which is why I think it can translate so well to our modern, busy lives.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet can be recited during a break at your respective job, in a parked car, or in the privacy of your home or church. The only requirement is a simple pair of Rosary beads. The high tech, fast paced world we live in has several “apps” for smart phones dedicated to the Divine Mercy prayer. The religious television network, or television channel app if you use an internet streaming service, known as EWTN, has a program where you can pray the Divine Mercy along with the people at the Shrine to Divine Mercy in Massachusetts.

The Chaplet recalls the Passion of the Lord and calls upon His mercy to heal us. Pope Francis recently declared a jubilee year of mercy for the Catholic Church beginning in December. In the event that you are not familiar with the Divine Mercy Chaplet, this may be a good time for you to add it to your respective prayer routine.

The Chaplet is usually prayed at 3 o’clock in the afternoon again recalling the significance of that time of day during the Passion and Death of Jesus at the Crucifixion, but it can be prayed at another point in the day if the afternoon is a time of other obligations for you. The Chaplet is a beautiful and powerful prayer which Jesus revealed to Saint Faustina that He wanted us all to pray this devotion especially for the dying. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy has special significance for those who are dying and can make a dramatic difference in the mercy shown to those souls.

The Rope of Mercy

I was watching a homily on EWTN last night after the Novena at our church, and Father Mark was discussing mercy and said that his friend describes it as Jesus “lowering the rope of mercy” into the hole that is our sin and despair in order to lift us out of it. I found that imagery very profound.

The devotion to Divine Mercy takes on even greater significance when you consider the state of our world today. We need mercy and we need to save our souls and the souls of as many others before Our Blessed Lord makes His return. We need Jesus to lower that “rope of mercy” to bring us out of the depths of despair that can, at points, overwhelm us in the human condition.

This prayer devotion features a nine day Novena which you can pray or you can pray for your own personal intentions. The nine day Novena should be observed each year during the Octave of Easter and features a different intention for each day: priests and religious, all sinners, all faithful people, the souls of children or young people, the souls in purgatory, and other intention types which become like themes for that particular day.

Do you have a family member or friend that has fallen away from the faith? Do you have people you know that do not believe in God? Do you know someone or have you personally gone through the loss of a child? Do you find yourself in need of repentance? I think we all could answer yes to at least one of those questions. In that case, you should consider praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

In my own personal faith journey, I have prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet nearly every single day since the Novena and mini-retreat event I attended last April. I try always to do it at some time between 3 and 4 pm if I can, if not I have done it in the evening. I have found my life to be more peaceful, I have found myself less apt to lose my patience when the days get turbulent, and it makes me feel like I have spent some quality time honoring Our Lord and the ultimate sacrifice He made for our redemption. If you can couple the Divine Mercy with the Stations of the Cross, that makes for a very tranquil holy hour of prayer in the afternoon.

We all are sinners, we all need God’s mercy, and thankfully He is a merciful God. You can help literally thousands of people if you decide to maintain a devotion to this prayer called the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. One year ago I did, and my life is so much better and my prayer life has strengthened because of it. I hope you all will join me in this devotion so we can help bring our family members, friends, and neighbors back to the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. So that we can help repair a world that seems to be falling apart. Finally, because it is a devotion and prayer that calls upon the mercy of Our Lord and He will do anything for His sheep. He is the Good Shepherd and by praying this devotion as often as we can we honor His wishes for us as the children of God. May God bless you all during this Easter season and keep you in the Light of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.