All aboard! Last call, all aboard, as the conductor calls the people before closing the doors to the passenger train. With a wave of his red lantern, the train lurches forward and the journey begins.

Divine Mercy Sunday is Jesus calling us to come aboard. The red lantern is his merciful heart, full of love and mercy for his children. Our journey is to his sacred heart to be nourished by his body and blood. “My great delight is to unite myself with souls . . . when I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, my hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay any attention to me. They leave me to myself and busy themselves with other things. Oh, how sad I am when souls do not recognize LOVE! They treat me as a dead object (Diary 1385; see also 1288 and 1447).

Our Lord’s promise of complete forgiveness is both a reminder and a call. He is reminding us that he is truly present and truly alive in the Eucharist. It is also a call for us to be washed clean in His love through confession and Holy Communion!

What Jesus is saying is get on board, I am offering you a new start!

This then brings us to the theological analyses of the Extraordinary Graces which are promised on Divine Mercy Sunday. The Theology of the extra ordinary graces are summed up as such: (1) The “special grace” was promised in the context of the Feast of Mercy. (2) It is directly attached to receiving Holy Communion on this day. (3) It consists in the total remission of sins and punishment. (4) It is theologically possible. These four points are summed up in Jesus declaration: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Font of My mercy . . . on that day are open all the divine flood gates through which graces flow.”

Please note – This is the Day of Divine Mercy – with great and limitless trust for all the graces Jesus wants to lavish on the Sunday. This is why we obey his call – All Aboard.

Now that you are on board, what can you gain from Jesus’ mercy and love?

Well, Pope John Paul II, so motivated by an ardent desire to foster in Christians this devotion of Divine Mercy, with the hope of offering spiritual fruit to the faithful. In the audience granted on the 13th of June, 2002, to those responsible for the Apostolic Penitentiary, granted the following indulgences: a plenary and partial indulgence. The conditions for a plenary indulgence can be gained by: 1) Sacramental Confession on Divine Mercy Sunday (or the vigil mass). 2) Eucharistic Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday (or the vigil mass). 3) Participation in the prayers and devotion at a church or chapel celebrating Divine Mercy or recite the Our Father, the Apostles Creed, and a prayer such as “Jesus, I trust in You!”.

Note – if you are unable to complete these requirements for a plenary indulgence (due to sickness or other serious reasons, you may obtain a partial indulgence by completing the following: 1) Pray with a contrite heart to the Merciful Heart of Jesus a pray such as “Jesus, I trust in You!”.

Well my brothers and sisters in Christ, that wraps it up – the train leaves Saint Anthony of Padua Church at 2:00 pm TODAY. Jesus calls out with His great mercy and love – All Aboard!

Deacon Ron Michieli