Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated at Christ Our Shepherd Center

By Melissa Williams Brown
Contributing Writer

GREENSBURG – Faith-filled parishioners in the Diocese of Greensburg packed Christ Our Shepherd Center on Sunday, April 16, for the annual Divine Mercy Sunday Eucharistic Service and outdoor procession with Bishop Larry J. Kulick as presider and homilist.

Divine Mercy Sunday, also known as the Feast of the Divine Mercy, is celebrated the Sunday after Easter. It is originally based on the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy that Saint Faustina Kowalska reported as part of her encounter with Jesus and is associated with special promises from Jesus and indulgences issued by the church.

Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, reported visions and visitations from Jesus and conversations with him. He asked her to paint the vision of his merciful divinity being poured from his sacred heart and specifically asked for a feast of Divine Mercy to be established on the first Sunday after Easter so mankind would take refuge in him, according to the diocesan Web site.

The devotion was actively promoted by Pope John Paul II. On April 30, 2000, the canonization of Faustina Kowalska took place, and the Sunday after Easter was officially designated as the Sunday of the Divine Mercy.

Bishop Kulick reflected on obedience and how trust is a challenge in so many ways.

He said St. Faustina shows us by saying, “Jesus, I trust in you.”