Here’s how to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at home

In order to worthily sanctify the 2nd Sunday of Easter,
Aleteia proposes this celebration of the Word of God at home.

In collaboration with Magnificat magazine

Instructions:

• This celebration requires the presence of at least two people.
• If you’re alone, you can simply read this celebration, united in your heart and spirit with the Church.You can also watch the Mass on television.
• Choose the most convenient time, from Saturday evening (the vigil of Sunday) to Sunday evening.
• This celebration is particularly suitable for use with family. In order to respect quarantine measures, you should refrain from inviting others from outside your household. If anyone in your house is ill, make sure they remain in isolation to ensure that all safety guidelines are strictly followed.
• Set up the needed number of chairs in front of a prayer corner, respecting an appropriate distance of at least a yard between each.
• Take the time to renew a little the prayer corner’s decorations: images, candles, real or artificial flowers, drawings by your children, garlands, etc.
• A simple cross or crucifix must always be visible in the background.
• Designate a person to lead the prayer.
• The leader will also direct the preparation of the celebration, during which he or she will mark the length of the periods of silence.
• Designate readers for the readings.
• During the preparation of the celebration: you can prepare petitions for the Prayers of the Faithful or Universal Prayer (in case that is not possible, a standard list of petitions is provided here for use during the course of the celebration); you can decide whether or not to use the Easter Sequence; and suitable hymns may be prepared as well.

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

Celebration of the Word

“His mercy endures forever.”

The leader of the celebration reads:

Brothers and sisters,
Sunday, the first day of the week,
it is for us Christians the day of the Lord,
the day instituted to celebrate his Resurrection.

Thus, in a special way
on this second Sunday of Easter,
how much we wish we could get out of the house
to visit our beloved parish church,
and meet there with an assembly of our brothers and sisters,
an assembly in which
it will be granted to us once more to recognize the Body of Christ
and to nourish ourselves with his real presence.

Indeed, brothers and sisters, how our hearts burn
on this holy Sunday with the desire to attend Sunday Mass,
so that nourished and strengthened,
we can become for others what we have received there:
the Body of Christ, loving His own who are in the world,
and loving them to the end.

Sadly, on this Divine Mercy Sunday,
concern for the present, fear for the future,
compassion, suffering, and for some, death,
are still sharing our lives.

How can it be
that when we have the greatest need
of the graces of Sunday Mass,
our doors are locked, and we are confined!

Brothers and sisters, let us not be sad:
Christ has truly risen!
Are we shut in?
Let it be so:
The resurrected Jesus will be here among us!
And he will indeed say to us:
“My peace, my joy be with you!”

Yes indeed,
since we are gathered to pray in his name,
Christ Jesus is right here among us.

Yes, since we are going to read His Word as members of the Church,
the Word of God himself will be present among us,
and there’s no doubt he will talk to us.

Pause

O Jesus, during this time we are prevented from
perpetuating the offering of your life
by the celebration of the Eucharist:
more than ever, we ask you to make it present
in the way we love each other
as you loved us.

After three minutes of silence, all rise and make the Sign of the Cross, saying:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The leader continues:

To prepare ourselves to receive God’s Word
and in order for it to heal us,
we recognize ourselves as sinners.

The penitential rite follows. For example:

Have mercy on us, O Lord.
For we have sinned against you.
Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
And grant us your salvation.

May Almighty God have mercy on us;
forgive us our sins,
And bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

The following is said or sung:

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Gloria is then said or sung:

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you,
we adore you, we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.

Glória in excélsis Deo
et in terra pax homínibus bonae voluntátis.
Laudámus te, benedícimus te,
adoramus te, glorificámus te,
gratias agimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam,
Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis, Deus Pater omnípotens.
Dómine Fili Unigénite, Jesu Christe,
Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris,
qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis;
qui tollis peccáta mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dóminus,
tu solus Altíssimus, Jesu Christe,
cum Sancto + Spíritu : in glória Dei Patris.
Amen.

PRAYER

The leader says the opening prayer:

O God, who on this day,
through your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death
and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant, we pray, that we who keep
the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection
may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit,
rise up in the light of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity
of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

All sit down.

FIRST READING (Acts 2:42-47)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

They devoted themselves
to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life,
to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone,
and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their property and possessions
and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
Every day they devoted themselves
to meeting together in the temple area
and to breaking bread in their homes.
They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,
praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.
And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

PSALM(118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24)

R/ Alleluia ! Alleluia ! Alleluia !

Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”R/

I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:R/

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.R/

SECOND READING (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you
who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,
to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while
you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

SEQUENCE

If you have chosen to do so, all recite the Victimae paschali in two alternating groups.

Christians, to the Paschal Victim
Offer your thankful praises!

A Lamb the sheep redeems;
Christ, who only is sinless,
Reconciles sinners to the Father.

Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous:
The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.

Speak, Mary, declaring
What you saw, wayfaring.

“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;

bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.

Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he goes before you.”

Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining.

Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia.

GOSPEL(John 20:19-31)

Alleluia. Alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are they who have not seen me, but still believe!
Alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

At the end of the Gospel, all sing or say again the joy of the Resurrection:

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

All are seated, and the leader repeats slowly,
as if it were a far-off echo:

“His mercy endures forever.”

All observe three minutes of silence for silent personal meditation.

All then stand to profess the faith of the Church
saying the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.

UNIVERSAL PRAYER

All remain standing for the prayers of the faithful, as prepared ahead of time. The following intercessions may be used instead, separating the intentions with an intervening moment of silence.
The leader of the prayer says:

Strong in the faith of those who believe without having seen,
let us address our prayer to the Father of Mercy:

All say the refrain:

R/ Because eternal is your Mercy!

O Christ, our brother and our God,

• Lord God, pour out the grace of your Mercy
upon your Church. R/
• Send the Spirit of faith
to those who do doubt your mercy; R/
• Send the Spirit of peace and concord
upon our families; R/
• Grant joy to all people who
are suffering from solitude; R/
• Sustain the courage and self-sacrifice
of all those who work caring for the sick
and seeking to find a cure for them; R/
• Come to the aid of people who are hospitalized
and their families R/
• In your mercy, open the gates
of eternal happiness to our deceased. R/

The people present may add, in turn, their own intentions. At the end of each of them, all repeat the refrain together:

R/ Because eternal is your Mercy!

The leader introduces the Lord’s Prayer:

United in the Spirit and in the communion of the Church,
we dare to pray as the Lord Jesus himself
taught us:

All say or sing the Our Father:

Our Father…
Continuing immediately with:
For the kingdom…

Then the leader invites those present to share a sign of peace:

We have just joined our voices
with that of the Lord Jesus to pray to the Father.
We are sons and daughters in the Son.

In the love that unites us with one another,
renewed by the word of God,
we can exchange a gesture of peace,
a sign of the communion
we receive from the Lord.

All then exchange a greeting of peace from a distance: for example, by bowing deeply towards each other in turn; or, as a family, by blowing each other a kiss. Then all sit down.

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

The leader says:

When we cannot receive sacramental communion for lack of a Mass, Pope Francis urges us to practice spiritual communion, also called “communion of desire.”

The Council of Trent reminds us that this “consists in an ardent desire to feed on the Heavenly Bread, with a living faith that acts through charity and that makes us participants in the fruits and graces of the Sacrament.” The value of our spiritual communion depends therefore on our faith in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist as a source of life, love and unity, and our desire to receive Communion in spite of our inability to do so.

With that in mind, I now invite you to bow your head, to close your eyes and recollect yourselves.

Silence

Deep in our hearts,
may a burning desire arise within us to unite ourselves with Jesus,
in sacramental communion,
and then to bring His love to life into our lives,
loving others as He loved us.

All remain in silence for 5 minutes for a
heart-to-heart conversation with Jesus Christ.

You may optionally stand and say or sing a beautiful Alleluia once more:

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

All remain standing, turning to face the Cross of Christ. With hands joined in prayer, the prayer leader, in the name of all, says the prayer of blessing:

FINAL BLESSING

May God, who by the Resurrection of his Only Begotten Son
was pleased to confer on us
the gift of redemption and of adoption,
give us gladness by his blessing. Amen.

May he, by whose redeeming work
we have received the gift of everlasting freedom,
make us heirs to an eternal inheritance. Amen.

May we, who have already risen with Christ
in Baptism through faith,
by living in a right manner on this earth,
be united with him in the homeland of heaven. Amen.

All together, each with hands joined in prayer:

And may the blessing of almighty God,
come down on us and remain with us for ever. Amen.

All make the Sign of the Cross.

Then parents may trace the Sign of the Cross on their children’s foreheads.

To conclude the celebration, the participants may sing the Regina Caeli,
or some other joyful, well-known Marian hymn.

Regína caéli, lætáre, Allelúia!
Quia quem meruísti portáre, Allelúia!
Resurréxit, sicut dixit, Allelúia!
Ora pro nóbis Déum, Allelúia!

O Queen of heaven rejoice! Alleluia!
For He whom thou didst merit to bear, Alleluia!
Hath arisen as he said, Alleluia!
Pray for us to God, Alleluia!

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To continue to sanctify this day, it would be good to reconnect with the venerable tradition of vespers by celebrating, towards the end of the afternoon, the office of the Liturgy of the Hours, or you can pray today’s Evening Prayer, which can be found on the Magnificat website.

You can also find other resources for free on the Magnificat website.