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.
THE 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 — First Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet: The Agony in the Garden (Monday)
Act II — Second Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet: The Scourging at the Pillar (Tuesday)
Act III — Third Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet: The Crowning with Thorns (Wednesday)
Act IV — Fourth Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet: The Carrying of the Cross (Thursday)
Act V — Fifth Decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet: The Crucifixion (Friday)
Epilogue — The Concluding Prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Saturday)
I have included meditation on the sorrowful mysteries because this helps me to do what Our Lady recommended to St. Faustina: “…fix your gaze on the Passion of my Son…." (Diary 449). So in the first five prayers of each decade, I meditate upon sacred art depicting one of the sorrowful mysteries. Then, in the last five prayers, I meditate upon sacred art depicting The Divine Mercy.
In The Holy Rosary: A Divine Drama, the emphasis is on meditation, and the same is true for The Divine Mercy Chaplet: A Divine Drama. The only difference is that there is a laser focus on one of the sorrowful mysteries and also divine mercy. Just as the darkness is followed by the light, the crucifixion is followed by the resurrection, and the sorrowful mysteries are followed by the glory of Divine Mercy.
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). Once again, the emphasis is on contemplation, so I pray this while viewing 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”