The Graces of Divine Mercy Sunday

Jesus told St. Faustina that on the Feast of Mercy, “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” (Diary - Divine Mercy in My Soul, 699) On Divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus is asking us to approach the Fountain of Life and receive the Sacraments of Mercy, which are Confession and the Eucharist.
       Jesus promises that He will grant us a grace that will not only forgive our sins, but also wipe away all the punishment we deserve for those sins. This is what the Church calls a plenary indulgence. If we are sincere, we are totally forgiven of our sins when we go to Confession, but we still have to make amends and repair for those offenses and omissions. We should do this by accepting our daily cross, the suffering that the Lord sends us every day.

          If we don’t do it in this life, we have to do it in Purgatory—it’s paying our debt. What Jesus is offering to us is a grace that will totally wipe our slate clean, so that we can begin anew. All that punishment for sin is taken care of, if we are in the right dispositions, totally freed from all attachment to sin. This is a very special grace! Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II officially granted a plenary indulgence for all who do the following:
                        Make a sacramental Confession within 8 days of Divine Mercy Sunday
                        Receive Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday
                        Have no attachment to sin—mortal or venial.
       All the Divine Floodgates of Graces will be opened.  Fr. Ignatius Rózycki, the theologian whom Pope John Paul II as Cardinal Woytlya asked to analyze St. Faustina’s diary, explains that the grace that Jesus wants to give us on the Feast of Divine Mercy is GREATER than a plenary indulgence! Christ explains, “On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.” (Diary, 699)
       A lady told us once, “My father had not been to church in twenty-five years. He never believed in Confession, didn’t want to go to church. I was really urged in my heart to offer this novena of chaplets before the Feast of Mercy for my father.  You know what?" she said, "I found out that on Divine Mercy Sunday, my father confessed his whole life. He went to Confession and received Holy Communion, and now he goes to Mass everyday.” What a tremendous grace! Jesus is reaching out through us to others.