# Divine Mercy Explained and Prayed
*2022-05-03*

> Bill Young reflects on the urgency of praying for the dead, explains the power of Divine Mercy Sunday, and leads listeners through a Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.

## Why We Pray for the Departed

Every hour more than 6,000 people die, about 150,000 each day, and over 55 million each year. Many of those souls are in purgatory, longing for our prayers. I have lost many relatives on both my mother’s and father’s side, and I have felt the love of heaven when I prayed the rosary for them. That love reminded me that heaven is love—Jesus’ command to love our neighbor and even our enemies.

Praying the rosary, especially for those in purgatory, is a way we can share that love and help souls be purified.

## Divine Mercy Sunday and Its Promise

The Church teaches that those who receive the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion, attend Mass, and make the Divine Mercy devotion on Divine Mercy Sunday receive a special grace that can spare them the ordinary purgatorial purification. The devotion includes a consecration to Divine Mercy and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. As the book I’m reading explains, just as a broken window must be repaired after forgiveness, our sins have consequences that must be purified; Divine Mercy offers that purification.

A 1936 diary entry of Sister Maria Faustina (entry 699) proclaims: “My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy… Let no soul fear, for My mercy is greater than any sin.” This underscores the extraordinary mercy offered on Divine Mercy Sunday.

## The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Let us pray the Chaplet together. (Bill invites listeners to request Divine Mercy cards.)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening Prayer: “O Source of Life, fountain of mercy, pour out Your grace upon the whole world. I trust in You.”

Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed are recited, followed by the Eternal Father prayer: “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, for the sins of the whole world.”

Then the repeated invocation: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

We conclude with the Closing Prayer: “Eternal God, whose mercy knows no bounds, look kindly upon us, increase Your mercy in us, and give us confidence to submit to Your holy will. Amen.”

## The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary

We continue with the Rosary, praying the Joyful Mysteries for the souls of our loved ones and for all who suffer.

1. **The Annunciation** – “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee…” (prayer for love of neighbor).
2. **The Visitation** – (prayer for world peace, especially for our Muslim brothers and sisters).
3. **The Nativity** – (prayer for hope that all peoples may come to know Christ).
4. **The Presentation** – (prayer for obedience and the purification of souls).
5. **Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple** – (prayer for the joy of discovering Christ in our lives).

Each mystery is preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Hail Mary, concluding with the Glory Be and the “Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead our souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Your mercy.”

## Personal Intentions and Closing

Please join me in praying for the following: the sisters of the Legion of Mary at St. David’s, my family members who have passed, my friend Roger’s wife Miriam, and Annette in Charlotte, North Carolina, who is battling stage‑four cancer. If cure is not possible, pray for their conversion to Christ.

Thank you for praying with me today. May God’s infinite mercy fill your hearts.

*Our prayers, especially the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Rosary, are powerful channels of love that can aid souls in purgatory and draw us closer to the mercy of Christ.*