Divine Mercy Sunday

No fixed feast day in the calendar

Divine Mercy Sunday: the back of the card, with its short story, lesson and a QR code that opens it in the Catholic Information app. The full text is below.

Flip the card and scan the QR code on the back to open it in the app

The risen Jesus opens wide his mercy, forgiving and giving peace to everyone

What is this feast?

Divine Mercy Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter, which closes the Octave of Easter. The Church gives this day to thanking God, who is rich in mercy, who forgives sins and lets people rise to new life in grace. Mercy means loving and helping people who are suffering, and forgiving those who have done wrong.

The story

The Gospel for this day tells how, on the evening of Easter Day, the disciples had locked the doors because they were afraid. Jesus came and stood among them, wished them peace, showed them his hands and his side, then breathed on them, gave them the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive sins (cf. Jn 20:19-23). Eight days later, the Lord invited Thomas to touch his wounds, and he believed. Jesus said: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (Jn 20:29).

Almost two thousand years later, in 1931, in Poland, Jesus showed himself to a simple nun, Sister Faustina Kowalska, and asked her to have a picture painted like the one she had seen, with two rays, red and white. This is a private revelation, not a page of the Gospel; the Church has welcomed this devotion. On 30 April 2000, when he canonized Sister Faustina, Saint John Paul II named the Second Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday.

Why does the Church celebrate this feast?

Because the risen Lord did not come to scold the disciples who had run away, but to give them peace. The Church wants everyone to know that the door of God’s heart is always open, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Psalm sings too: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” (Ps 118:1).

A lesson for you

When you do something wrong, do not hide from God; go to confession and trust that God forgives you.
Forgive a friend who has made you sad, as God forgives you.
Every day, do one work of mercy: help someone, comfort someone.

Identifying marks

Two rays of light coming from the Lord’s chest, one red and one pale: according to Saint Faustina’s account, they are Blood and Water, recalling the moment when “blood and water flowed out” from the Lord’s side (Jn 19:34); the Blood gives life, the Water washes away sin.
His left hand gently drawing back his robe at the chest: the Lord opens his heart to you; the fountain of mercy never runs dry.
His right hand raised in blessing: the risen Lord gives peace, as when he appeared to his disciples (cf. Jn 20:19).
Small, clean wounds on his hands and feet: the one who died for you is now risen; his wounds are a sign of love (cf. Jn 20:27).
The Lord taking a step forward, in a white robe: he always goes ahead to look for you; white is the glory of the Resurrection.

The text on this page is the card in the Catholic Information app, word for word.