Divine Mercy Sunday

The Sunday after Easter will always be known as Divine Mercy Sunday, as people pray the novena handed down to us by St Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun and visionary, who was pushed away by many church authorities in her time and after her death. But Pope St John Paul, a Polish himself, re-opened her case and authenticated her visions, and even canonized her in the year 2000, precisely on Divine Mercy Sunday. The faithful pray the novena by reciting 50 times "For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." The image of Jesus as depicted here was described by Saint Faustina, with two rays of light emanating from the heart of Jesus, one in white and one in red. The phrase "Jesus, I trust in you" is frequently included.

Helena Kowalska was born and raised in and around Warsaw, Poland and is contemporaneous with St. John Paul II. She was poorly educated and left school when she was 15, after three years to support her poor family. In spite of her difficulties she entered into a convent after bring refused so many times. She was given the name Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska. After being the convent less than five years, she reported that she had visions of Jesus appearing to her. The visions focused on Jesus as the King of Divine Mercy. She continued to write a diary from 1931 until just before her death in 1938.