Divine Mercy Chaplet
What is the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
In the 1930s, Jesus appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska, a humble and kind Polish nun, and revealed to her the depths of His mercy. St. Faustina entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925, but she passed away just thirteen years later from tuberculosis in 1938. Throughout her life of holiness, she continually received revelations from Jesus and diligently wrote down what He told her in her diary. St. Faustina was canonized by St. (Pope) John Paul II on April 30, 2000.
In 1935, an angel appeared to St. Faustina, and she heard the call to pray for mercy. The next day, Christ appeared and urged her to pray the Chaplet herself and with others at the hour of death. She wrote down this revelation in her diary:
"Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. 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. 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. Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything if what you ask for is compatible with My will."
- St. Faustina’s Diary
Why do we pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
"Jesus, I trust on you"
We pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for mercy — in our own lives and in our neighbors, too. And we also pray to remind ourselves that we must rely on God; we must recognize our weakness and replace our anxieties and worries with abounding trust in God. We pray so that we might honestly live out the words “Jesus, I trust in You.”
How to Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
The Divine Mercy Chaplet can be prayed with traditional Rosary beads, though to do so isn’t necessary. The Chaplet only takes a few minutes, and thousands of Catholics around the world pray it every day to ask for God’s mercy.
