Today is the Second Sunday of Easter known as Divine Mercy Sunday .
Our Holy Father John Paul II had proclaimed, "I give thanks to divine Providence that I have been enabled to contribute personally to the fulfillment of Christ's will, through the institution of the Feast of Divine Mercy." Our Lord also insisted that it be celebrated on a specific day - the Sunday after Easter
During the Mass of canonization of St. Faustina on April 30, 2000, the year of the Great Jubilee, Pope John Paul II proclaimed: "It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church, will be called Divine Mercy Sunday." The readings on that Sunday are always about mercy, trust and the forgiveness of sins.
By the words "the whole message," the Holy Father was referring to the strict connection between the "Easter Mystery of the Redemption" -- the suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, followed by the sending of the Holy Spirit -- and this Feast of Divine Mercy, the Octave Day of Easter. This feast adds so much more meaning to the Easter celebrations. It was Jesus, Himself who asked for it to be celebrated on this particular Sunday following Easter.
This Feast of Mercy is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Day of Atonement (see Lv 16, Lv 23:29-32 and Sir 50) which was an annual feast where all sins and punishment were washed away. The Feast of Mercy is an annual celebration, which, as Jesus revealed, also has the promise of the total forgiveness of sins and punishment. Our Lord Jesus said, "The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened." (Diary, 699) .
