Divine Mercy message spreads on the Sunday after Easter

An image of Jesus of Divine Mercy is seen as Pope Francis leads a prayer service on the eve of the feast of Divine Mercy in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 2, 2016.
An image of Jesus of Divine Mercy is seen as Pope Francis leads a prayer service on the eve of the feast of Divine Mercy in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 2, 2016.

Divine Mercy Sunday will be observed April 8 across the world and across the Diocese of Little Rock.

St. John Paul II put the devotion on the Church’s universal calendar for the Sunday after Easter. St. Faustina Kowalska is the Polish nun who promoted the Divine Mercy devotion and was canonized by St. John Paul II in 2000. The devotion began in the late 1930s by St. Faustina, who had a vision of Jesus where he asked for devotions to divine mercy.

During Lent Pope Francis seemed to be fixated on the wounds of Christ.  Meditating on “the five sacred wounds” became popular in the 12th and 13th centuries, but it also enjoyed a resurgence in the 20th century with the growing attention to the Divine Mercy devotions of St. Faustina. The nun wrote in her diary that Jesus told her, “When it seems to you that your suffering exceeds your strength, contemplate my wounds.”

Pope Francis will celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday Mass April 8 in St. Peter’s Square concelebrated with “missionaries of mercy.”

More than 25 parishes will host holy hours for Divine Mercy Sunday, which could include praying the Divine Mercy chaplet, adoration, confession, music and Benediction.

 

Bella Vista

St. Bernard, 3 p.m.

Bentonville

St. Stephen, 3 p.m.

Berryville

St. Anne, 2:15 p.m.

Center Ridge

St. Joseph, after Mass

Charleston

Sacred Heart, chaplet prayed after all Masses and 3 p.m. Benediction

Cherokee Village

St. Michael, 3 p.m.

Fayetteville

St. Joseph, 3 p.m. (bilingual), veneration of the Divine Mercy image and St. Faustina’s relic and confessions

Fort Smith

St. Boniface, 10 a.m. 

Hope

Our Lady of Good Hope, 3 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. (Spanish)

Hot Springs

St. John, 3 p.m.

St. Mary, 3 p.m.

Hot Springs Village

Sacred Heart of Jesus, 3 p.m.

Little Rock

Our Lady of the Holy Souls, 3 p.m.

Monticello

St. Mark, 10 a.m.

Mountain View 

St. Mary, 11:30 a.m.

North Little Rock

Immaculate Conception, 3 p.m., prayers, procession around campus and singing of the chaplet and adoration in the church

Immaculate Heart of Mary (Marche), 3 p.m.

St. Augustine, 12:30 p.m.

Paris

St. Joseph, 3 p.m.

Pine Bluff

St. Joseph, 2:50 p.m.

Ratcliff

St. Anthony, chaplet prayed after Mass

Saint Vincent

St. Mary, 3 p.m.

Stuttgart

Holy Rosary, 3 p.m.

Subiaco

St. Benedict, 5:30 p.m. benediction with the monk in the Abbey Church

Van Buren

St. Michael, 3 p.m. (bilingual)

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