Divine Mercy Sunday

This was my first class since Easter so we made the changes to our prayer table.  

Our purple table cloth was replaced by white. 

We replaced our purple Lenten candle with a white one and added this pretty 

Paschal Candle printable from Celebrations in the Catholic Home.  

They offer it free on their blog.

We replaced the thorns with silk flowers and brought back our Alleluia.

It also happened to be Divine Mercy Sunday so we watched the 

EWTN DVD: The Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids.  

It has a long and short version in both English and Spanish.  

Perfect for teaching children the history of this devotion and the special love Jesus 

gave to St. Faustina to share with us of his Divine Mercy.

Source

We made our Divine Mercy image found at Catholic Icing.  Lacy offers a free printable of Jesus with the radiant rays to color and attach onto a toilet paper tube.  

I didn't get a picture of the ones we made in class so I'm borrowing one of Lacy's.  

Thank you Lacy!

Catholic Icing

Through Lacy's blog, I learned of the Divine Mercy Chaplet craft that she offers for free at

Making Music Praying Twice.  On cardstock, I downloaded her pattern with prayers (scroll down on her page) and then created my own "Eternal Father" prayer to be recited on the Our Father beads.

We colored the prayers to make them pop.

 I also made some Divine Mercy cupcakes.

I had seen this idea online to make the inside blue and red.

I've done it before for the 4th of July cupcakes and they worked great too for Divine Mercy Sunday.

That Resource Site has a great selection of printable resources to celebrate this day.  

I downloaded the St. Faustina trading card for each of my students.

I've linked this post up at Training Happy Hearts and Home to 4 Kiddos.

May God's Divine Mercy be upon you,

Noreen

Jesus in the Public Square

During Holy Week, the Thomas More Society with some private donors, sponsored "Jesus in Daley Plaza" in downtown Chicago.  As part of the "Divine Mercy Project: Prayer in the Public Square," they erected a 14 foot cross and a very large Divine Mercy painting right in front of the Picasso structure that already resides there.  They held prayers there during the Holy Triduum and it's still there!  I'm guessing it will be up until after Divine Mercy Sunday.  Here are a couple of photos from Being Catholic Really:

What a powerful witness that must have been during Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter to the hundreds and hundreds of people who pass by there every day!  And it's been up all week!  My friend took pictures of it yesterday as she passed by.

Jesus in the public square being praised, adored and worshiped!   

Alleluia!

Easter Blessings,

Noreen

A Call to Prayer in Chicago

Prayer in the Public Square

Divine Mercy Project

     

12 Midnight between Holy Thursday and Good Friday: 

     April 22nd to midnight of Divine Mercy Sunday, May 1, 2011        

                                                

            Daley Plaza---24 Hours Each Day

         50 W. Washington Blvd. Chicago, Illinois                

   INFO@thedivinemercyproject.org

   Sponsors: Thomas More Society / Heralds of the Divine Mercy

 Institute of Christopher Leaders

  CONTACT:  RICH WENZEL COORDINATOR AT (773)-909-4508 OR

                     MIKE O’DONNELL VOLUNTEER AT (773)-631-2265

A Humbling Moment

My husband and son were out yesterday afternoon for fun outdoor scout activity and after I walked my 95 pound dog for 2 miles, we had the house to ourselves.  Toby went to rest after his jaunt and I threw in a load of laundry, swept and mopped the floors and turned on EWTN.  It was just in time for The Divine Mercy Chaplet in song.  I LOVE hearing it this way.  In fact, it brings me to tears in a most profound, humbling way as we pray for His mercy on us and on the whole world.

I am extremely grateful that Jesus does not give up on us.  That throughout the course of history, he has come in visions, sent his angels and sent his Mother Mary to remind us to follow her son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

In 1931, Our Lord appeared to Sister Faustina (a simple nun who lived in Poland) in a vision and instructed her to have a painting made of this vision (as seen above)  and explained that the two rays denote blood and water.  The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous.  The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls.  While Sister Faustina was praying for mercy she heard interiorly the prayers that  is now known as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. 

From the Diary of St. Faustina,
"Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who
says it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests
will recommend it to sinners as the last hope. Even the most
hardened sinner, if he recites this Chaplet even once, will
receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. I want the whole world to
know My Infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to
those who trust in My Mercy...."
"....When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I
will stand between My Father and the dying person not as the just
judge but as the Merciful Savior".

Very humbling indeed...

At Jesus' request, we now celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday on the 2nd Sunday of Easter.

We have a loving and merciful Lord!  Please see the below listed sources for additonal information.

http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm

Association of Marian Helpers, The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion Pamphlet.