Novena Prayers: Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.” Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father’s favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages.
Amen.
The message of Divine Mercy was given to a Polish nun named Sister Faustina. It was revealed to her by Jesus in a private revelation that is fully approved by the Church. The message of Divine Mercy is not something that is new or additional to the Gospel message. In fact, it is the same core message presented in a particular way with a few new devotions. This novena is one of those devotions.
St. Faustina reports in her diary that she transcribed the words of the novena as Jesus dictated them to her day-by-day beginning on Good Friday.
While this novena can be prayed any time, it is fitting that this novena begins on the day that Jesus gave us His Life. Good Friday is the perfect time to begin meditating on the Mercy of God towards us who need His mercy so much.
We end the novena on the eve of the Feast of Mercy, a feast day established by Pope John Paul II in response to St. Faustina’s revelation. This is a very important feast and the novena is an important part of our preparation for the Feast of Mercy, Divine Mercy Sunday.
“The Lord told me to say this chaplet for nine days before the Feast of Mercy. It is to begin on Good Friday. ‘By this novena, I will grant every possible grace to souls.’”? (Diary 796)
On April 30th, 2000 Pope John Paul II instituted Divine Mercy Sunday as an official feast of the Church. In doing this he said, “by this act today, I pass on the message of Divine Mercy to the new millennium. I pass it on because I want people to know the better face of God, and that of his Divine Mercy, and through it, the better face of their brethren. The light of the message of Divine Mercy which the Lord wished to renew in the world, will be as much a beacon of hope for the third millennium, as the apostles were in the first.”?
This is clearly a very important and powerful devotion.
You can pray the Divine Mercy Novena for any reason you want. God’s Mercy is relevant and effective in all parts of our lives. However, there are some specific reasons you may want to call on the Divine Mercy in your prayer life.
So, let us join together and beg for God’s Divine Mercy together through this Divine Mercy Novena!