REV. PATRICK J. WEST, Pastor
REV. GIOVANI ROMERO, Parochial Vicar
REV. MR. DANIEL MARLEY, Deacon
MR. AUGUSTO LUCERO, Director of Religious Education
MR. ROBERT WEIGEL, Director of Music Ministry
(from www.catholicity.com)
Saint Faustina was born Helena Kowalska in the village of Glogowiec west of Lodz, Poland, on August 25, 1905. She was the third of ten children. When she was almost twenty, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, whose members devote themselves to the care and education of troubled young women.
The following year she received her religious habit and was given the name Sister Maria Faustina, to which she added "of the Most Blessed Sacrament," as was permitted by her Congregation's custom.
In the 1930s, Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world.
The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; she has been recognized by the Church as a "Saint"; and her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to The Divine Mercy. She would not have been surprised, for she had been told that the message of God's mercy would spread through her writings for the great benefit of souls.
Through Saint Faustina, Jesus also revealed special ways to live out the response to His mercy–one of which is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, as both a novena and a prayer for the three o'clock hour–the hour of His death.
How to Pray the chaplet
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is prayed using rosary beads.
OPENING PRAYERS (from the Diary of St. Faustina)
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!
1.
Make the
Make the
Sign of the Cross.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2.
Say the Lord’s Prayer.
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.
3.
Say the “Hail Mary”.
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
4.
Recite the Apostles Creed.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.
6.
On each of the small beads in each decade say:
For the sake of His
sorrowful Passion,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
On each of the small beads in each decade say:
For the sake of His
sorrowful Passion,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
5.
On each of the large beads before each decade say:
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.
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.
7.
Say the closing prayers:
Holy God, Holy Mighty One,
Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us
and on the whole world (recite 3 times)
Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us
and on the whole world (recite 3 times)
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.
Jesus,
I Trust in You!
I Trust in You!