EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine — “To celebrate Saint Faustina is to celebrate the great gift she passed on to the whole Church, the devotion of the Divine Mercy”, it was once observed.
Locally that devotion to the Divine Mercy will be celebrated in words, prayers and songs on Sunday, April 7, when St. Peter’s Church, East Millinocket, and St. Martin’s Church, Millinocket, join together as members of Christ The Divine Mercy Parish to observe Divine Mercy Sunday, the feast day of the parish.
The service will take place at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 7, at St. Peter’s Church, 58 Cedar St., East Millinocket, and will be followed in the late afternoon by a chicken stew supper served in the parish hall. Also, for those interested persons, a showing of a 47-minute film about the life of St. Faustina Kowalska will air in the parish hall following the Divine Mercy Sunday celebration.
Integral to the observance of Divine Mercy Sunday is the fact that confessions will be held throughout the entire service and will bring special blessings to those who go to confession and receive the Holy Eucharist that day. Christ promised St. Faustina Kowalska, as recorded in her diary, that those who do so on that day will be forgiven all sins and punishment.
Faustina, a canonized saint, nun, visionary and mystic venerated by the church and known as the apostle of Divine Mercy, had a special devotion to Christ The Divine Mercy. Accounts of her visions, conversations with Christ, and His revelations about Divine Mercy, were recorded by her in her 600-page diary.
The special forms of devotions to the Divine Mercy scheduled for the afternoon of April 7 follow closely those outlined in the now famous Diary of Blessed Faustina Kowalska.
The ABCs of Divine Mercy, as espoused by St. Faustina, are as follows: ask for his forgiveness; be merciful and trust completely in God.
The observance will include: exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, readings from St. Faustina’s diary, singing of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, blessing of the Divine Image, veneration of a St. Faustina relic, Benediction and other ceremonies.
Participating in this observance will be members of the Knights of Columbus, Council 680, Deacon Dan Watson, the Rev. Joel Cyr, pastor, children and youth of the parish, and other parishioners.
Divine Mercy Sunday, always observed on the Sunday following Easter Sunday, has been celebrated locally for more than 16 years with both churches alternating the service. A group of people from both parishes are coordinating efforts to make this year’s feast day observance especially meaningful.
For more information call St. Peter’s Church office at 746-3333.
