Divine Mercy Sunday

Yesterday was the Feast of Divine Mercy.

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Pop Quiz: Who started the widespread devotion of Divine Mercy?

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St. Maria Faustina Kowalska.  She was a Polish mystic nun during WW II.  Poppop bought me her diary translated into English last year when we were on vacation.  It is very long.  500 pages, I think.  Pope John Paul II, sorry, Blessed JP II, beautified and canonized her on 2 Divine Mercy Sundays (and it wasn't any coincidence that that was the date he was beautified last year). The devotion was most popular in Poland first, before JP II continued Faustina's work.

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Anyway, Jesus appeared to Faustina many times over her time in convent, and one time commanded her to have an image painted of the vision she saw before her, with the inscription 'Jezu ufam Tobie', Polish for 'Jesus, I trust in You'.

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Yesterday we went on the JP II hiking club's annual Easter walk at the park.  It was 4.4 miles, I think.  And it was very long.  We were exhausted.  But the Easter Walk is on Divine Mercy Sunday because..... you got it! Since John Paul II popularized Divine Mercy, it makes sense that a hiking club names after him would have their Easter hike on the day he made universal (or catholic).

My Holy Week went like this...

I have been very busy.  Very busy.
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For the record, remind me not to serve at all of the Triduum Masses without proper sleep.  It was tiring.  Yup, I served at Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are both about 2 hours each, and the Vigil was 3 hours, not counting the hour of practice in the morning on all 3 days.  There were 3 servers who served all 3 Masses: me and 2 sisters.  The only switch on the schedule was that my friend served on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, but not the Easter Vigil.  Our pastor told us that someone from Long Island, N.Y., approached him after the Good Friday service and told him,"Father, I was here last night and today, and it was very prayerful, but what made it for me were the servers.  They were just so attentive to detail and reverent and prayerful."  That was the nicest compliment I think I've ever gotten for my serving (and I've gotten quite a few.)

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Sorry, here is a proper link to Storybird.  Click here for the website.