THE DIVINE MERCY
Pray one of the most beautiful and powerful devotions of all time, brimming with inspiring sacred art!
Exterior of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City
HOW TO PRAY WITH THE BOOKLET
If possible, I highly recommend that you pray the Divine Mercy Novena with the booklet entitled The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion. It is by Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, and it is published by Marian Press. This booklet is a terrific resource on Divine Mercy. I like to have the sacred art on the computer screen in front of me so that I can follow along and pray using the booklet. From a logistical standpoint, it seems to be the easiest and most effective way for me to pray this devotion, so I recommend this to you as well.
HOW TO PRAY WITHOUT THE BOOKLET
However, in a worst-case scenario, I know that sometimes it’s possible that we forget our booklet, or just don’t have it handy, or maybe we are traveling on that particular day. If that’s the case, then I have provided everything you need on this website, for your convenience, so that you can still access the devotion through your smartphone.
SACRED ART
I cannot even begin to describe just how helpful sacred art has been to my prayer life. What I have noticed over time is that gradually, even imperceptibly, sacred art can help develop a stronger relationship with Our Lord, with Our Lady, and even with the saints. Just as we like to have pictures of our loved ones at our office desk when we cannot see them in person, similarly having sacred art in front of us when we pray can be very consoling and comforting.
DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET: MEDITATING ON THE PASSION
When I pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, once again I have sacred art in front of me, beginning with the original painting that Eugeniusz Kazimirowski painted for St. Faustina. But in addition to contemplating Divine Mercy, I’m focusing on the Five Sorrowful Mysteries. So for each decade I offer two prayers while contemplating the Agony in the Garden, two while contemplating the Scourging at the Pillar, two while contemplating the Crowning with Thorns, two while contemplating the Carrying of the Cross, and two while contemplating the Crucifixion. It’s ironic because for years I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Divine Mercy Novena, yet I rarely, if ever, contemplated Our Lord’s sorrowful Passion.
DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET: A DIVINE DRAMA
In addition, like the Holy Rosary, I have structured the Divine Mercy Chaplet like a five-act play, spread out over the course of a week. This is what it looks like:
Prologue — Introductory Prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Sunday)
Act I — The First Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Monday)
Act II — The Second Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Tuesday)
Act III — The Third Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Wednesday)
Act IV — The Fourth Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Thursday)
Act V — The Fifth Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Friday)
Epilogue — The Concluding Prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Saturday)
DIVINE MERCY NOVENA
Finally, there is the beautiful Divine Mercy Novena, which is traditionally prayed from Good Friday through Divine Mercy Sunday (which is one week after Easter). Like the Holy Rosary: A Divine Drama, I pray this while meditating upon a wide variety of classic sacred art. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Truly, it’s a very, very powerful novena. You will find it on the bottom part of this page by scrolling down below the Divine Mercy Chaplet: A Divine Drama.
Pope St. John Paul II, “The Mercy Pope”