This copy of the Vilnius Image of Divine Mercy, originally created under the direction of Sister Faustina, was blessed by Bishop George J. Lucas at a celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday April 19 at Blessed Sacrament Church in Springfield.Divine Mercy Sunday was celebrated April 19 at Blessed Sacrament Church in Springfield, with Bishop George J. Lucas presiding. The ceremony included Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, veneration of the Image of Divine Mercy, and recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
"The merciful father in the story of the prodigal son helps us understand that God's mercy is different in kind from human mercy," Bishop Lucas told those attending. "The older son is used to human mercy, which we feel must be earned or deserved. It is clear in the action of the father that divine mercy is a gift - pure and simple. We would never receive the mercy that leads to life in the risen Christ if it were dependent on our earning it."
On April 30, 2000, the late Pope John Paul II announced that the Second Sunday of Easter would be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday throughout the universal church. On the same day, he canonized Sister Faustina as the first "Saint of the Great Jubilee Year."
Sister Faustina was an uneducated Polish nun from the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland. In the 1930s, through private revelations, Jesus asked her to be "diligent in writing down every sentence" related to her concerning God's mercy. (Diary, 1142) The revelations contained in the diary she kept, Divine Mercy in My Soul, included the requests to have the first Sunday after Easter celebrated as the Feast of Mercy, to spread the message of God's mercy. St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her we "are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere ... and not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve" ourselves from it. (Diary, 742)
During the celebration, Bishop Lucas blessed two large images of Divine Mercy that were available for veneration. Sister Faustina stated that she saw Jesus "... clothed in a white garment. One hand (was) raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment ... there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale ... . Jesus said, " ... Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated ... throughout the world." (Diary 47)
One of the images blessed is a copy of the original painting done by Eugene Kazimirowski under the direction of Sister Faustina and is commonly known as the Vilnius Image, after the town where the image was painted and first hung for public display. The other image was done by American artist, Robert Skemp.
An information board in the vestibule of Blessed Sacrament contained details of Sister Faustina's life, John Paul II's apostolic blessing for those that say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the sick and dying during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the "A, B, Cs of Mercy": ask for God's mercy; be merciful; completely trust in Jesus.
The image and information board are available for loan to parishes for use in promoting the message of Divine Mercy. Contact the Marian Center in Springfield at (217) 744-3610 for further information.