Devotions- Most Necessary At this Time
Generation after generation, heaven continues to send us aid, grace and relief in form of many devotions.
Let us learn more about them and practice them in our day to day- and let us stay attuned to the signs of the times.
DIVINE MERCY
About Divine Mercy
The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion
The message of The Divine Mercy is simple. It is that God loves us – all of us. And, he wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy.
The Divine Mercy message is one we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC:
A - Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.
B - Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.
C - Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.
This message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread.
The message and devotional practices proposed in the Diary of Saint Faustina and set forth in this web site and other publications of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception are completely in accordance with the teachings of Church and are firmly rooted in the Gospel message of our Merciful Savior. Properly understood and implemented, they will help us grow as genuine followers of Christ.
Spend time to learn more about the mercy of God, learn to trust in Jesus, and live your life as merciful to others, as Christ is merciful to you.
For a full understanding of Divine Mercy, we recommend Divine Mercy Message and Devotion, by Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC.
Forms of Devotion
Through St. Faustina, the Merciful Savior has given the aching world new channels for the outpouring of His grace. These new channels include the Image of The Divine Mercy, the Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday), the Chaplet, the Novena to The Divine Mercy, and prayer at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the Hour of Great Mercy.
Although these means of receiving God’s mercy are new in form, they all proclaim the timeless message of God’s merciful love. They also draw us back to the great Sacrament of Mercy, the Holy Eucharist, where the living Lord, who suffered and died on the Cross and whose Heart was pierced with a lance, pours forth His mercy on all mankind, and grants pardon to all who draw near and honor Him. As Jesus told St. Faustina:
My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners…[I]t is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy. For them I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy. (Diary, 367)
Divine Mercy Sunday
“The soul that will go to Confession and received Holy Communion on the Feast of Divine Mercy shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” (Diary II, 138)
“Therefore let no soul fear to draw near to me, even though its sins be scarlet” (Diary II, 138)
“The Feast of Mercy was born in my heart for the consolation of the whole world. All that exists is enclosed in My Mercy much more profoundly than a baby is in the womb of the mother.”
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
“By this (the Chaplet) Novena, I will grant souls all possible graces” (Diary II, 197)
“…by saying the Chaplet you are bringing humankind closer to Me.” (Diay 754)
“When this chpley is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelopes the soul.” (Diary 811)
“It please Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the Chaplet (Diary 1541)…if what you ask is compatible with My will.” (Diary 1731)
3 O'Clock Prayer
"I remind you, My daughter, that as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world - mercy triumphed over justice." (Diary, 1572)
"At three o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for poor 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, 1320)
Divine Mercy Novena
The Lord told me to say this chaplet for nine days before the Feast of Mercy. It is to begin on Good Friday. By this novena, I will grant every possible grace to souls.(Diary 796)
Jesus is commanding me to make a novena before the Feast of Mercy, and today I am to begin it for the conversion of the whole world and for the recognition of The Divine Mercy... So that every soul will praise My goodness. I desire trust from My creatures. Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Let the weak, sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for even if it had more sins than there are grains of sand in the world, all would be drowned in the unmeasurable depths of My mercy.” (Diary 1059)
Image of Divine Mercy
“The rays represent the blood and water which gushes forth from the depth of My Mercy when My agonizing Heart was pierced on the Cross. The pale rays represent the water which cleanses and purifies the soul. The red ray represents the blood which gives new life to the soul. These rays will shield the soul before the Justice of My Father. Fortunate are those who live in His shelter, for the Justice of God will not reach them there.”
“I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I further promise to that soul victory over enemies here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself, shall defend that sould as My own glory…”
Mercy in Action
Corporal Works of Mercy
1. Feed the hungry.
2. Give drink to the thirsty.
3. Clothe the naked.
4. Shelter the homeless.
5. Comfort the imprisoned.
6. Visit the sick.
7. Bury the dead.
Forms of Devotion
1. Admonish sinners.
2. Instruct the uninformed.
3. Counsel the doubtful.
4. Comfort the sorrowful.
5. Be patient with those in error.
6. Forgive offenses.
7. Pray for the living and the dead.
Messages of Jesus to St. Faustina
Trust
“The graces of My Mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, that is TRUST. The more a soul trusts the more it will receive.”
“Distrust tears at My Heart.”
“The lack of confidence in chosen soul hurts Me most. Tell ailing mankind to grow close to My Merciful Heart and I will fill them with peace. Mankind will not find solace until it turns with confidence to My Mercy and Love.”
Mercy
“You are to be My living reflection through Love and Mercy, be always merciful towards other people, especially towards sinners.”
Love everyone out of love for me”
“The greater the sinner, the greater the mercy.”
“Speak to whole world of My Mercy.”
“Do not fear, you will never be alone, because I am with You. And you are always near to My Heart.”
“Recognize My Mercy now while there is still time.”
“No sinner were he an abyss of wickedness, will ever exhaust My Mercy, because the more one draws from it, the more there will be.”
SIn
“My daughter, know without doubt, and once and for all, that only mortal sin drives Me out of a soul, and nothing else. (Diary 1181)
For the Sick and the Dying
“While there is still time, let them take refuge in the Found of My Mercy.”
“In the final hour the soul soul does not have anything in its defense except My Mercy, for Justice will not reach it there.”
For People Who Spread the Devotion
“Souls who spread the honor of My Mercy I shield through their entire life and at the hour of their death I WILL NOT BE A JUDGE FOR THEM BUT A MERCIFUL SAVIOR.”
[Adventure Works]
Predict the future by creating it
AN INVITATION TO BE PART OF THE DEVOTEES OF THE DIVINE MERCY IN ROLP
Resurrection of our Lord Parish
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
FORMATION
· Monthly Formation Meetings (One Friday / Month)
· BOSOM
PROPAGATION
· Monthly Formation Meetings (One Friday / Month)
· BOSOM
WORKS OF MERCY
· Feeding Program**
· Medical / Dental Missions**
· Prayers for the Sick **
· Prayers for the Dead **
· Rosary Making Program
· Community Counseling / Talks about Divine Mercy**
· Scapular Making Program
THE BROWN SCAPULAR
About the Brown Scapular
It is a gift to you from your Heavenly Mother.
“WHOSOEVER DIES IN THIS GARMENT SHALL NOT SUFFER ETERNAL FIRE.”
- promise of Our Lady to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251
History
In the year 1251, in the town of Aylesford in England, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite. She handed him a brown woolen scapular and said, “This shall be a privilege for you and all Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall not suffer eternal fire.” In time, the Church extended this magnificent privilege to all the laity who are willing to be invested in the Brown Scapular of the Carmelites and who perpetually wear it.
Devotion
True devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary consists in three things: VENERATION, CONFIDENCE AND LOVE. By simply wearing the Scapular, we can tell her every moment of the day that we venerate her, love her and trust in her protection.
The Scapular Is a Silent Prayer
As Our Lord taught us to say the Our Father, Our Blessed Mother taught us the value of the scapular. When we use it as a prayer, Our Lady draws us to the Sacred Heart of Her Divine Son. It is good, therefore, to hold the scapular in the hand. A prayer offered while holding the Scapular is as perfect as a prayer can be. It is especially in time of temptation that we need the powerful intercession of God’s Mother. The evil spirit is utterly powerless when the wearer of a scapular faces temptation, calling upon the Holy Virgin in this silent devotion. “If you had recommended yourself to me, you would not have run into such danger,” was Our Lady’s gentle reproach to Blessed Alan de la Roche, one of her devoted servants.
Enrollment in the Confraternity
To be eligible for the scapular promise, one must be enrolled in the Brown Scapular Confraternity. This is a simple ceremony which can be performed by any priest (see below). The members of the Confraternity have the added benefit of sharing in all the spiritual benefits of the Carmelite Order.
According to a statement made by the Carmelite Fathers at the National Scapular Center, every priest now has the right to invest the faithful in the Brown Scapular and to substitute the rosary in lieu of the Little Office (see below).
The scapular must be 100% wool without plastic casing and should not be pinned or affixed to clothing. It is worn over the head, under one’s clothes, with one square of wool hanging on the chest and the other on the back. Pictures are not necessary.
The Sabbatine Privilege
The Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel has promised to save those who wear the scapular from the fires of hell; She will also shorten their stay in purgatory if they should pass from this world still owing some debt of punishment.
This promise is found in a Bull of Pope John XXII. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and, speaking of those who wear the Brown Scapular, said, “I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in purgatory I shall free so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”
The Blessed Virgin assigned certain conditions which must be fulfilled:
1.Wear the Brown Scapular continuously.
2.Observe chastity according to one’s state in life (married/single).
3.Recite daily the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin OR Observe the fasts of the Church together with abstaining from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays OR With permission of a priest, say five decades of Our Lady’s Most Holy Rosary OR With permission of a priest, substitute some other good work.
Pope Benedict XV, the celebrated World War I Pontiff, granted 500 days indulgence for devoutly kissing your scapular.
The Morning Offering
O my God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary (here kiss the scapular as a sign of your consecration), I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars throughout the world, joining with It the offering of my every thought, word and action of this day. O my Jesus, I desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can, and I offer them, together with myself, to Mary Immaculate, that she may best apply them to the interests of Thy most Sacred Heart. Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
The Popes and the Brown Scapular
Pope Leo XIII: “The Carmelite Scapular’s nobility of origin, its extraordinary spread among Christian peoples for many centuries, the spiritualizing effects produced by it and the outstanding miracles worked in virtue of it render the Scapular of Carmel commendable to a wondrous degree.”
Pope Pius XI: “In consideration of the munificent goodness of the heavenly Mother towards her children, it surely ought to be sufficient merely to exhort those who belong to the Scapular Confraternity to persevere in the holy exercises which have been prescribed for the gaining of the indulgences to which they are entitled.”
Pope Pius XII: “All Carmelites, whether they live in the cloisters of the First or Second Orders or are members of the Third Order or of the Confraternities, belong to the same family of our Most Blessed Mother and are attached to it by a special bond of love. May they all see in this keepsake of the Virgin herself a mirror of humility and purity; may they read in the very simplicity of the Garment a concise lesson in modesty and simplicity; above all, may they behold in this same Garment, which they wear day and night, the eloquent expressive symbol of their prayers for divine assistance.”
Pope John XXIII: He spoke “of the Mother of God who is honored in this Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Devotion to her becomes a necessity; towards Our Lady of Mount Carmel we are drawn with a most tender, yet irresistible, attraction.”
Pope Paul VI, speaking of Marian devotions, especially of the Scapular, says “Let the faithful hold in high esteem the practices and devotions to the Blessed Virgin approved by the teaching authority of the Church. It is Our conviction that the Rosary of Mary and the Scapular of Carmel are among these recommended practices. The Scapular is a practice of piety, which by its very simplicity is suited to everyone.”
THE ROSARY AND THE SCAPULAR ARE INSEPARABLE.
PRAY THE ROSARY DAILY.
Procedure for Blessing and Investiture
English (Latin)
Priest - Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy. / Ostende nobis Domine misericordiam tuam.
Respondent - And grant us Thy salvation. / Et salutare tuum da nobis.
P - Lord, hear my prayer. / Domine exaudi orationem meum.
R - And let my cry come unto Thee. / Et clamor meus ad te veniat.
P - The Lord be with you. / Dominus vobiscum.
R - And with your Spirit. / Et cum spiritu tuo.
P - Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, sanctify + by Thy power these scapulars, which for love of Thee and for love of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Thy servants will wear devoutly, so that through the intercession of the same Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and protected against the evil spirit, they persevere until death in Thy grace. Thou who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Oremus. Domine Jesu Christe, humani generis Salvator, hunc habitum, quem propter tuum tuaeque Genitricis Virginis Mariae de Monte Carmelo, amorem servus tuus (ancilla tua) devote est delaturus(a), dextera tua sancti+fica, ut, eadem Genitrice tua intercedente, ab hoste maligno defensus(a), in tua gratia usque ad mortem perseveret: Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
THE PRIEST SPRINKLES WITH HOLY WATER THE SCAPULAR AND THE PERSON(S) BEING ENROLLED. HE THEN INVESTS HIM (THEM), SAYING:
P - Receive this blessed scapular and beseech the Blessed Virgin that through Her merits, you may wear it without stain. May it defend you against all adversity and accompany you to eternal life. Amen.
Accipe (accipite) hunc, habitum benedictum precans (precantes) sanctissimam Virginem, ut ejus meritis illum perferas (perferatis) sine macula, et te (vos) ab omni adversitate defendat, atque ad vitam perducat aeternam. Amen.
AFTER INVESTITURE THE PRIEST CONTINUES WITH THE PRAYERS:
P - I, by the power vested in me, admit you to participate in all the spiritual benefits obtained through the mercy of Jesus Christ by the Religious Order of Mount Carmel. In the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. + Amen.
Ego, ex potestate mihi concessa, recipio te (vos) ad participationem omnium bonorum spiritualium, quae, cooperante misericordia Jesu Christi, a Religiosis de Monte Carmelo peraguntur. In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
May God Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and earth, bless + you, He who has deigned to join you to the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel; we beseech Her to crush the head of the ancient serpent so that you may enter into possession of your eternal heritage through Christ our Lord.
Bene+dicat te (vos) Conditor caeli at terrae, Deus omnipotens, qui te (vos) cooptare dignatus est in Confraternitatem beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo: quam exoramus, ut in hora obitus tui (vestri) conterat caput serpentis antiqui, atque palmam et coronam sempiternae hereditatis tandem consequaris (consequamini). Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
R - Amen.
THE PRIEST THEN SPRINKLES AGAIN WITH HOLY WATER THE PERSON(S) ENROLLED.