HE Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a prayer which may be prayed on rosary beads. The Chaplet is an intercessory prayer that extends the offering of the
Eucharist. It may be said at any time, but Our Lord specifically
requested that it be used as a novena on the nine days before the Feast
of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday which is the first Sunday after Easter).
Devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska a Polish nun (canonised in April 2000 by Pope John Paul II). In obedience to her spiritual director, St. Faustina recorded in a diary the revelations she received about God’s mercy.
While devotion to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread before her death in 1928, it received greater impetus when, during the Mass of canonization of St. Faustina, 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.
In her diary Saint Faustina records Jesus saying to her:
"Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy . . . I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy." (Diary 687)
"The souls that will say this chaplet will be embraced by My mercy during their lifetime and especially at the hour of their death." (Diary 754)
"At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same." (Diary 811)
"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 Saviour." (Diary 1541)
