MADISON/SAUK CITY — Two events in the Diocese of Madison will celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy on Sunday on May 1.
The Diocese of Madison will host a celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy on Sunday, May 1, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison
The day begins at 1 p.m. with recitation of the Holy Rosary with prayers. An opportunity for Confession will be available between 1 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.
Mass begins at 2 p.m. with celebrant Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer and homilist Msgr. James Bartylla.
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and Recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy will follow Mass.
In Sauk City, Divine Mercy Sunday will be celebrated on May 1, at St. Aloysius Church, 115 Madison St. The festivities will begin at 12:30 p.m. and conclude with the holy sacrifice of the Mass at 4:30 p.m.
The festivities will begin with a movie at 12:30 p.m., followed by a welcome and introduction at 1:15 p.m., in the St. Aloysius School gym. This will be followed by a procession with the Divine Mercy image to the church.
A featured speaker, music, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, and Confession will continue in the Church, with Mass scheduled for 4:30 p.m. There will also be refreshments, videos, and literature available in the lobbies and adjoining building. Childcare and assisted listening devices will be available.
Divine Mercy Parish (St. Aloysius Parish and St. Mary Parish, Merrimac), is joining with cluster parishes Holy Cross Parish (St. Barnabas Parish, Mazomanie, and St. John Parish, Mill Creek) and St. Norbert Parish, Roxbury to celebrate this great event.
About Divine Mercy
The Divine Mercy Devotion stems from the diary of Polish nun St. Faustina Kowalska. The uneducated young nun, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God’s mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to the Divine Mercy had begun to spread.
The Feast of Divine Mercy, which takes place on the Sunday following Easter, was declared by Pope John Paul II in 2000 following the canonization of Sr. Faustina.
In the decree establishing the feast, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stated, “Merciful and gracious is the Lord (Ps 111:4), who out of the great love with which he loved us (Eph 2:4) and with unspeakable goodness, gave us his Only-begotten Son as our Redeemer, so that through the Death and Resurrection of this Son he might open the way to eternal life for the human race, and that the adopted children who receive his mercy within his temple might lift up his praise to the ends of the earth.
“In our times, the Christian faithful in many parts of the world wish to praise that divine mercy in divine worship, particularly in the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, in which God’s loving kindness especially shines forth. The liturgical texts of the day, the second Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and are thus already suited to the request of Our Lord. These papal acts represent the highest endorsement that the Church can give to a private revelation, an act of papal infallibility proclaiming the certain sanctity of the mystic, and the granting of a universal feast, as requested by Our Lord to St. Faustina.”
Plenary indulgence
In 2002, the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See promulgated a decree creating new indulgences that may be gained in connection with the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. An indulgence is the granting of full or partial remission of temporal punishment due to sacramentally forgiven sins.
A plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions — Confession, reception of the Eucharist, and prayer for the intentions of the pope — to the faithful who, “in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin,” take part the prayers and devotions held in honor of Divine Mercy in any church or chapel on Divine Mercy Sunday, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. “Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!”).
A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who, at least with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a legitimately approved invocation.
For more on Divine Mercy, visit thedivinemercy.org