St. Faustina Kowalska was a Polish nun who received prophetic messages from Christ. These messages included revelations about the infinite mercy of God — coined the “divine mercy” — and her obligation to spread the message to the world as recorded in her diary, “Divine Mercy in My Soul.”
The late pope said in his homily that “the light of divine mercy, which the Lord in a way wished to return to the world through Sr. Faustina’s charism, will illumine the way for the men and women of the third millennium.”
John Paul II granted plenary and partial indulgences to the faithful who observed certain pious practices on Divine Mercy Sunday each year in a June 2002 decree. He did this in order to inspire the faithful in devotion to the Divine Mercy.
What is an indulgence?
An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to sins that have already been forgiven, and it can be plenary or partial.
Plenary indulgence
A plenary indulgence can be obtained by going to a church on Divine Mercy Sunday “in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin,” and participating in the prayers held in honor of Divine Mercy, the 2002 decree says.
Those practices could consist of devotions such as the divine mercy chaplet, eucharistic adoration, and the sacrament of confession.
The faithful could also visit the Blessed Sacrament either exposed or in the tabernacle and recite the Our Father, the Nicene Creed, and a devout prayer to Christ. The example of a devout prayer that is given in the decree is “Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!”
In order to receive the indulgence, the three usual conditions of going to confession, receiving holy Communion, and praying for the intentions of the Holy Father must also be met. While it is appropriate that the two sacraments be received on the same day, the Church permits them to be received up to about 20 days before or after the day the indulgenced work is performed.
