Day 1: All mankind, especially sinners

The first day of the Divine Mercy Novena begins with the broadest possible circle: all mankind, and within that, especially all sinners. Saint Faustina records the Lord's instruction directly. The Lord Jesus desires that the novena begin with the universality of His mercy, before it narrows on the following days to specific groups within the human family.

The Lord's words to Saint Faustina

"Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me." (Diary 1210)

The bitter grief of which the Lord speaks is the grief of the Sacred Heart over souls who turn away from His mercy. The first day of the novena is, in effect, an act of consolation offered to the Heart of Christ. The petitioner brings every sinner ever born or yet to be born into the fount of mercy.

Today's prayer (from Diary 1211)

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, show us Your mercy, that we may praise the infinite power of Your mercy forever and ever. Amen.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy on ordinary Rosary beads. The Chaplet opens with the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed. On each large bead, pray once: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. On each of the ten small beads of every decade, pray: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Conclude by praying three times: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Reflection

The Catholic doctrine of universal redemption holds that Christ died for all men. "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). The first day of the novena enters into this universality of the redemptive work. We pray not only for ourselves and our loved ones but for every soul that has ever lived. The petitioner stands, on Day 1, in the place of priestly intercession, lifting the whole human family into the Heart of Christ.

The phrase do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust names the central spiritual disposition of the entire Divine Mercy devotion. The trust ( Jezu, ufam Tobie, "Jesus, I trust in You") is the inscription on the Image of Divine Mercy and the foundation of every petition we make through this novena. We do not approach the throne on the basis of our merit; we approach on the basis of His mercy, claiming the trust He Himself has invited.

If you have a particular sinner on your heart on this first day (a family member alienated from the faith, a friend in serious sin, a public figure whose life shows the wreckage of denial of God), name that person now. Bring this person, with all the sinners of the world, into the ocean of mercy.

Closing prayers

Conclude with the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.

Jesus, I trust in You.