Solemn Divine Mercy Novena - Second Day Intention: For the Souls of Priests and Religious

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.

Second Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

* In the original text, Saint Faustina uses the pronoun "us" since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use. 

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".