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Celebrating compassion
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The Feast of Divine Mercy, celebrated on the Sunday after Easter, is a reminder of Christ's mercy and the spirit of reconciliation.
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HELENA KOWALSKA was born of poor parents in a tiny village in Poland almost a hundred years ago, on August 25, 1905. She grew up to be a pious girl. At 21, she became a nun in the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. From her childhood, she wanted to become a saint. Beginning from her seventh year, all her life she had mystical experiences. She had a series of divine apparitions, revelations and raptures. Sister Faustina had only three years of elementary education, but in obedience to God, she wrote her diary- `Divine mercy in my soul.' The diary portrays her own divine experiences and the unfathomable and inexhaustible mercy of Lord Jesus for man. Her diary has become a unique spiritual epic.
One day she saw a vision of Christ clothed in a white garment; one hand raised in a gesture of blessing, the other touching the garment at the chest. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the heart, there emanated two large rays, one red, the other pale. She was asked to paint the image with the words `Jesus, I trust in You'. "I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world," the Lord told her. "I promise that the soul that venerates this image will not perish. I also promise victory, especially at the hour of death." "I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you will paint, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, that Sunday is to be the Feast of Divine Mercy." As instructed, the painting of the image of Divine Mercy was executed by artist E. Kazimierowski under the guidance of Sr. Faustina. The image is kept in the Chapel of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy at Warsaw.
The feast
The greatness of this Feast of the Divine Mercy is measured by the measure of extraordinary promises that the Lord attached to this Feast. Pope John Paul II beautified Sr. Faustina, in Rome on the first Sunday after Easter, which is celebrated around the world as Divine Mercy Sunday on April 18, 1993. The same Pope canonised her in Rome again on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 30, 2000 during the great Jubilee Year 2000. The Pope then officially declared that the Sunday after Easter from then on throughout the Church would be called Divine Mercy Sunday. In the twin cities The Feast of Divine Mercy is celebrated in different churches. A huge congregation at St. Mary's Church, Secunderabad celebrates the feast with prayers separately in Telugu and English. This year the feast falls on Sunday, April 3.
B.F. SHOWRAYYA
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Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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