Solemn Divine Mercy Novena Begins Today - First Day Intention: For All Mankind, Especially All Sinners

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy (Sunday, April 7) be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena

In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:

"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy ... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls."

Each day pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet as you pray for the daily intention listed below. Scroll down to the bottom for instructions on how to pray the chaplet.

During the Solemn Novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy should be offered each day for the day's intentions.
 
First Day - Good Friday

"Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me."

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

Praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy 

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a powerful instrument of prayer for ourselves and for others. 

1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross on the Crucifix, then on the three small beads, an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed.

2. Then on the Our Father Bead of each decade, pray:

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.

3. On the ten Hail Mary Beads of each decade, pray:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

(Repeat steps two and three for all five decades).

Repeat for all five decades.

4. Conclude the Chaplet by praying three times:

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Learn more about the Feast of Divine Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday) and the Divine Mercy Novena here.

History of the Chaplet

In 1933, Our Lord gave St. Faustina Kowalska a striking vision of His Mercy.

"I saw a great light, with God the Father in the midst of it. Between this light and the earth I saw Jesus nailed to the Cross and in such a way that God, wanting to look upon the earth, had to look through Our Lord's wounds and I understood that God blessed the earth for the sake of Jesus."

Of another vision, on Sept. 13, 1935, she writes:

"I saw an Angel, the executor of God's wrath... about to strike the earth...I began to beg God earnestly for the world with words which I heard interiorly. As I prayed in this way, I saw the Angel's helplessness, and he could not carry out the just punishment...."
The following day an inner voice taught her to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet on ordinary rosary beads. Jesus would later say to her of this devotion, 

"Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who says it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as the last hope. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this Chaplet even once, will receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. I want the whole world to know My Infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy… When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person not as the just judge but as the Merciful Savior".