Sunday, April 19, 2020

Is the Divine Mercy Really Catholic?

[catholictruthblog] As we approach Divine Mercy Sunday, it might be a good idea to reflect on this relatively new devotion and Feast Day in the Church. Personally, I’ve never been attracted to it at all. I dislike the image which compares very unfavourably, in my view, to the traditional image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and I’m taken aback by some of the things Our Lord allegedly said to Sister Faustina. However, I realise a lot of faithful Catholics do like the image and pray the Divine Mercy devotions sincerely. This thread is not, in any way, intended to be a criticism of them.

Two articles are offered here to encourage discussion. The first is a very honest enquiry on an American blog, entitled Criticisms and Responses to the Divine Mercy Devotion and the second is the article below, by Fr Peter Scott, a priest of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) which is thought provoking. After reading the articles, please feel free to share your thoughts on the topic proposed for discussion: Is the Divine Mercy Devotion Catholic?

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What are we to think of the Divine Mercy devotion?

Many people have certainly received graces from the devotion to Divine Mercy propagated by St. Faustina, and her personal piety was certainly most exemplary. However, this does not necessarily mean that this devotion is from God. It is true that Pope John Paul II promoted this devotion, that it was through his efforts that the prohibition was lifted on April 15, 1978, and that he even introduced a feast of Divine Mercy into the Novus Ordo. However, the fact that good and pious people receive graces and that Sister Faustina was pious do not necessarily means that it is from heaven. In fact, it was not only not approved before Vatican II. It was condemned, and this despite the fact that the prayers themselves of the chaplet of Divine Mercy are orthodox.

Link....

https://catholictruthblog.com/2014/04/24/is-the-divine-mercy-devotion-catholic/?fbclid=IwAR33omrVRKD-YY10a2RKMnbLvu7BeKFrqDWNKppvSMPxWaBHWXl6rquNSVA AMDG

8 comments:

JBQ said...

The date of April 15, 1978 is a bit confusing. There were three pontiffs in 1978. Paul VI passed away after 15 years of service on August 6. Alberto Luciani, the smiling one, was elected on August 26. The Polish pontiff was elected on October 16.---St. Faustina was obviously Polish. Nevertheless, just how much influence could Cardinal Wojtyla be on the universal Church in regard to the good nun. She died at the age of 33 when he wasn't even the primate of Poland? I happen to think that someone looked at the deadline for their tax return and consequently used the wrong date for Papa Wojtyla. He happened to have served then for 26 and almost 27 years.

M. Prodigal said...

Swimming in the ocean of mercy today as my pastor allowed me to come to the rectory and gave me Holy Communion. Love the Divine Mercy devotion and chaplet and pray it daily. If someone else pooh-poohs it and does not want the graces associated with it, that is up to them. And this TLM attendee also likes the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary as well! So there.

Unknown said...

I couldn't open those links. Are they links?

This is just anecdotal, so not worth much, but I had somewhat of a devotion to it, and felt happy I had prayed the DM prayers for 3 of my loved ones who passed. I went to Stockbridge one year and has an unusual spiritual experience, very positive. But when I read some of the diary of Sr. Faustina, frankly I was turned off. I couldn't square some of her comments with Catholicism, the comments sounded wrong when compared with other locutions or apparitions.
I gave away my DM prayer book and don't want anything to do with it now. I don't care for the image either, but I can't say why.
It's like Medjudgorge (spelled that wrong), which has devotees and skeptics. But if you challenge the skeptics, they might take your head off.

Unknown said...

"has" should be "had". Sorry.

Tancred said...

I didn't have any trouble with the link but I embeded it in a link text if you want to click on that.

Anonymous said...

JBQ his name was Albino, you keep calling him Alberto
Tancred the links don't work.

Anonymous said...

I read the Diaries over a year while at Adoration. Some of the same statements struck me also as fantastic, but the prayers themselves capture a tenderness of the Father for the Son and for His great sacrifice in the short prayer which is hard to ignore as a contribution. For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and the whole world gives credit to Jesus and His Father and to no human work.

The lead prayer is even more direct to the intimate love from the Father for the Son. I offer you the body and blood of Your dearly beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ, also distinguishes the heavenly from anything of our own will and with a tenderness that is unlike anything born of human motivation.

The prayers aren’t meant to replace the Sorrowful Mysteries. Even the statements questioned encourage one to believe that one’s prayers really do matter to Jesus. Yes it is spectacular to think that Jesus may have spared a country due to the intimate prayers of a single nun, but such does encourage one to remember that a single Hail Mary is more valuable than the world. Or is one supposed to dismiss the same as we’ve heard many times because it’s a statement of human comparison?

When one contemplates the shame the Lord took on for the sins of our individual person, it is penance to stand with Him accepting the dung and isolation our own shame. Accepting our own shame in that prison the night before His execution isn’t a credit to us that one brags about. It is to understand that it’s our condition, due to the condition of sin. The insight is inseparable from an understanding of His purity and forgiveness, of who Christ is. Or are we to throw out forgiveness with the New Mass? Don’t laugh, I’ve already heard it many times.

Tancred said...

@Anonymous April 20, 2020 at 2:25 PM They work for me.

*SHRUG*