|
Dear Sister and Brothers in the Lord:
According to the new Roman Missal today, the second
Sunday of Easter is now also designated as ‘Divine Mercy Sunday’. A
devotion focused on the mercy of God arose as a result of the efforts
and writings of Sister Faustina Kowalski, who lived for many years in
Krakow where Pope John Paul II was bishop before his election as pope.
The Divine Mercy devotion is associated with prayers called the ‘Chaplet
of Mercy’ and an image of Christ with rays of light emanating from his
heart with the words “Jesus, I trust in you”
inscribed on the image. After her death in 1938, the devotion to Sister
Faustina and to Divine Mercy spread from Krakow where it had begun and
grew in popularity throughout Poland. In 1995 the Holy Father granted
the request of the bishops of Poland to observe the Sunday after Easter
as ‘Divine Mercy Sunday’.
Sister Faustina was canonized in May 2000. At the same
time, a decree was issued from the Congregation for Divine Worship and
the Discipline of the Sacraments announcing that the observance of
Divine Mercy Sunday was extended to the entire Roman rite. The title
Second Sunday of Easter was to be followed, in parentheses, by the
additional designation ‘or Divine Mercy Sunday’. It is in
exactly this form that it now appears in the Ordo. The same
decree also noted that the prayers and readings set down in the
Sacramentary and Lectionary for the second Sunday of Easter are ‘always
to be used for the liturgical celebration of this Sunday’. In other
words, the Church continues to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection on
this octave day of Easter. The secondary designation Divine Mercy
Sunday’ emphasizes the theme of the Gospel reading from John for
this Sunday, which is one of the forgiveness of sins-- “Whose sins
you shall forgive, they are forgiven”.
The balance that is evident in the Vatican decree
reflects what the Second Vatican Council had to say about the place of
popular devotions in relation to public worship. The Constitution on
the Sacred Liturgy stipulated that popular devotions “…harmonize
with the liturgical seasons and accord with the sacred liturgy, sincethe
liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them” (CSL 13). The
overarching principle in the revision of the liturgical year was that
“other celebrations,unless they are truly of overriding importance, must
not have precedence over Sunday” (CSL 106).
This understanding is reiterated in the 2002
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: “The faithful should
be made conscious of the pre-eminence of the liturgy While sacramental
actions are necessary to life in Christ; the various forms of
popular piety are properly optional “(DPPL 11). The document goes on
to say: “The formulae proper to pious exercises should not be
commingled with the liturgical actions precedence must always be given
to Sunday, solemnities, and to the liturgical seasons and days” (DPPL
13).
The decree on Divine Mercy Sunday is an attempt to
harmonize a devotion to Christ into the liturgical season without
detracting from the importance of Easter, our annual celebration of the
fundamental mystery of our faith – the death and resurrection of Christ.
Happy Easter! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let’s
give our minds and hearts to the Lord!
Father Joe |
