The Diocese of Greensburg is planning a special celebration of Divine Mercy, with Bishop Larry J. Kulick inviting the faithful to share in the event at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the St. Joseph Chapel at Christ Our Shepherd Center.

“Weather permitting, the Eucharistic procession will be outdoors,” the diocese posted on Facebook. “Divine Mercy celebrates the love that Christ has for all of us, despite our sins that separate us from Him. Always celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, the liturgy commemorates the Divine Mercy of Christ, as revealed to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun.” 

Divine Mercy Sunday celebrates God's love for us, which has been revealed through Scripture and in the writings of the saints, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) says. 

In the 1930s, as mankind was experiencing an “eclipse of the sense of God," Jesus appeared to St. Faustina. Jesus emphasized mankind's need to for the message of Divine Mercy and implored, at least 14 times, the establishment of a Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday). St. Faustina recorded these messages in her diary, according to the USCCB.

"My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy […]” she wrote in one of her diary entries of his message to her, “It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” 

Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter Sunday. The Divine Mercy says the feast day offers a renewal of baptismal promises and a cleansing from sin. Jesus told St. Faustina that in preparation for a Feast of Mercy, the faithful should make a complete Confession, and then should receive Holy Communion on the feast day itself. 

St. Faustina instituted the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The prayer follows the pattern of the Rosary, according to The Divine Mercy, but on the "Our Father" beads, the faithful pray instead: "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." On the "Hail Mary" beads, pray instead: "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”