Divine Mercy Novena Day 1

"Today bring to Me All Mankind, especially all sinners and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me."

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

Image available at Saints Market
Divine Mercy Website

So far...

...so good! We didn't have our Seder supper with friends this year, but we did have a Holy Thursday meal. I fixed the Seder foods Barbara described in her post (and now I don't even have to link recipes because she has). Half my family was missing. All the big boys and dad were gone. Happily, I have lots of lamb left with which to make gyros on Saturday. And, since we had so few of us yesterday, there were just enough leftover St. Joseph Bisque Tortonis to go around.
    Feeling rather overwhelmed by the thought of taking  the five little ones to Mass by myself particularly after having taken them Easter shoe shopping and major grocery shopping earlier in the day, I remembered that EWTN was televising Mass from the National Shrine. Oh, yeah, that's why I had the five little ones by myself, wasn't it? Mike was directing that Mass. So, we watched Mass on television and I discovered that we could see things on TV that we don't see when we are there in person. Because of all the different angles and the exceedingly good judgment of the director, the experience at home was an unexpected blessing. I found myself moved to tears at the end.
I'm still working out the details of today and tomorrow (the Vigil will be televised as well)  but I am so encouraged by yesterday that I'm hopeful that we can make it all work! If you are at home tomorrow evening, do take a peek at EWTN. I was struck yesterday by what a blessing television can be. And I'm griping much less about Mike's absence when I consider what it is he's out there doing.
    Don't forget! The Divine Mercy novena begins today. And if you are going to make Resurrection Cookies tomorrow to have waiting Easter morning, you need to be sure to have the ingredients on hand. I think I'm going to make Resurrection Rolls this year for Easter Morning. Rolls and a smoothie and a hard boiled egg, and I think we can dash out the door and back to the Shrine for Easter morning Mass.

Good Friday

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross,to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.”
– John 19:17-18

Be with Christ today. Stand beside the cross and unite your sufferings with His. Compare your wounds with His and see that they are small, but give them to Him anyway. Compare your strength to His and see that you are weak, but give yourself to Him anyway. Walk with Him, bleed with Him, die with Him today.

image from Fisheaters.com
Read more about Good Friday at CatholicCulture.org

The Divine Mercy Novena Begins Today or Tomorrow (depending on when you want to finish)

Image from Divine Mercy Notecards carried at The Saints Market

The 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 of mercy is that God loves us — all of us —no matter how great our sins. 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. It is a message 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.

From EWTN: Read More about Divine Mercy

Holy Thursday

             

“Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’”
– John 13:9


Call on Christ today — the same Christ who broke bread, passed the cup, and washed the feet of His disciples. Feel his healing hands. Open your heart and let Him in. Let Him feed you. Let Him quench your thirst. Let Him wash you clean.

image from Fisheaters.com
Read more about Holy Thursday at CatholicCulture.org