THE DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET

In 1935, St. Faustina received a vision of an angel sent by God to chastise a certain city presumed to be Warsaw (more on Warsaw below). She began to pray for God to be merciful, but her prayers were powerless. Suddenly, she saw the Holy Trinity and understood that the power of Jesus’ grace was within her and she found herself pleading with God for mercy with words she heard interiorly:

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; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us. (Diary, 475)

As she continued saying this prayer over and over, the angel gradually became helpless and ultimately could not carry out the deserved punishment. That was September 13, 1935.

The next day, on September 14, as she was entering the chapel, she heard this same interior voice, instructing her how to recite the prayer that our Lord later called "the Chaplet." This time, however, after "have mercy on us" were added the words "and on the whole world." From then on, she recited this prayer almost constantly, offering it especially for the dying.

The next morning, when I entered chapel, I heard these words interiorly: Every time you enter the chapel, immediately recite the prayer which I taught you yesterday. When I had said the prayer, in my soul I heard these words: This prayer will serve to appease My wrath. You will recite it for nine days, on the beads of the rosary, in the following manner: First of all, you will say one OUR FATHER and HAIL MARY and the I BELIEVE IN GOD. Then on the OUR FATHER beads you will say the following words: “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.” On the HAIL MARY beads you will say the following words: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.” In conclusion, three times you will recite these words: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” (Diary 477)

In subsequent revelations, the Lord made it clear that the Chaplet was not just for her, but for the whole world. He also attached extraordinary promises to its recitation.

1. Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you (1541).

2. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death (687).

3. 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 (1541).

4. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy (687).

5. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy (687).

6. Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will. (1731)

Praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy after having received Holy Communion during Holy Mass is especially appropriate because the prayer is pleading for mercy for the world based on the merits of the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. It can (and should) be said at any time, but Jesus specifically told St. Faustina to recite it during the nine days before the Feast of Mercy (the first Sunday after Easter). He then added: "By this Novena, I will grant every possible grace to souls." Click HERE for the full text of the Novena prayers.

It is also appropriate to pray the Chaplet during the "Hour of Great Mercy" — three o'clock each afternoon (recalling the time of Christ’s death on the cross). In His revelations to St. Faustina, Our Lord asked for a special remembrance of His Passion at that hour.

At three o‟clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of me in virtue of My Passion. (Diary 60)

And finally it is very important to pray the Chaplet for those who are approaching death. Jesus promised to defend those who will venerate the Original Image of Divine Mercy, recite the Chaplet, and who will proliferate devotion to Jesus, King of Mercy.

At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son. (Diary 811)

I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory. (Diary 47)

But God has promised a great grace especially to you (Fr. Sopoćko) and to all those … who will proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death, as My own glory. And even if the sins of souls were as dark as night, when the sinner turns to My mercy, he gives Me the greatest praise and is the glory of My Passion. When a soul extols My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to the very bottom of hell. (Diary 379)

Why Warsaw?

As we read in her diary, Saint Faustina was led to pray for her home country, Poland, many times. In the early part of the last century, between World War I and II, Warsaw was the abortion capital of the world. Some estimates say that as many as one third of Warsaw’s children were murdered in this way. It is also known that people would travel to Warsaw to procure this evil procedure. Saint Faustina died in 1938, and two years later, WWII came to Poland and more than 700,000 Poles died and Warsaw was flattened. Photos of the destruction are ubiquitous on the internet.

It is not documented in Saint Faustina’s diary that Warsaw was the city the angel was sent to destroy, but it is not difficult to deduce this from her writings in light of the historical facts.

One of Saint Faustina’s prayers for her homeland.

“Most merciful Jesus, I beseech You through the intercession of Your Saints, and especially the intercession of Your dearest Mother who nurtured You from childhood, bless my native land. I beg You, Jesus, look not on our sins, but on the tears of little children, on the hunger and cold they suffer. Jesus, for the sake of these innocent ones, grant me the grace that I am asking of You for my country.”

In light of the events memorialized in the Saint Faustina’s diary, it is plain to see that, in many parts of the world today, mankind has surely awaked the wrath of our Heavenly Father to whom all justice belongs. So while we strive to work for good, speak truth, and honor all that is beautiful, we beg for God’s mercy. through the prayers of the powerful Diviner Mercy Chaplet. In the words of Jesus to Saint Faustina,

Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.