Chaplet of Divine Mercy
ShareIn 1933, Our Lord gave St. Faustina Kowalska a striking vision of His Mercy.
"I saw a great light, with God the Father in the midst of it. Between this light and the earth I saw Jesus nailed to the Cross and in such a way that God, wanting to look upon the earth, had to look through Our Lord's wounds and I understood that God blessed the earth for the sake of Jesus."
Of another vision, on Sept. 13, 1935, she writes:
"I saw an Angel, the executor of God's wrath... about to strike the earth...I began to beg God earnestly for the world with words which I heard interiorly. As I prayed in this way, I saw the Angel's helplessness, and he could not carry out the just punishment...."
Note: In the last vision of Fátima (October 13, 1917), an Angel of Justice had likewise been ready to strike the Earth. There, it was Our Lady who quelled justice. Here it is Our Lord, the Divine Mercy, connecting the message of Our Lady of Fátima with that of Our Lord to St. Faustina.
The following day, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, an inner voice taught her to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet on ordinary rosary beads. Jesus would later say to her regarding this devotion,
"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".
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
A powerful instrument of prayer for ourself and for others.
1. Make the Sign of the Cross on the Crucifix.
On the Our Father Bead, these optional prayers may be said:
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself out upon us. (Diary 1319)
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in you! (Diary 84)
2. On the 3 Hail Mary Beads
An Our Father, a Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed
3. On the Our Father Bead of each Decade:
Note: For the first decade this location is the centerpiece, i.e., where the rosary ends meet.
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
4. On each of the ten Hail Mary Beads of the five Decades:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
5. Conclude the Chaplet by praying three times:
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
6. Conclude with the Sign of the Cross
Note: The Chaplet can be combined with other prayers at the 3 O'clock Hour, such as those found in the Three O’clock Hour Prayerbook from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.