Day 2: Priests and religious

On the second day of the Divine Mercy Novena, the Lord narrows the circle from all mankind to the souls of priests and religious. They are, the Lord tells Saint Faustina, the channels by which His mercy is poured into the world, and so they are also the souls who carry the heaviest spiritual responsibility and most need our intercession.

The Lord's words to Saint Faustina

"Today bring to Me the souls of priests and religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave Me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them, as through channels, My mercy flows out upon mankind." (Diary 1212)

The Lord's words honor the priesthood and the consecrated life as participants in the very strength of His Passion. The faithful priest, the faithful religious, is not merely a functionary but a soul through whom the mercy of Christ reaches the rest of the Church.

Today's prayer (from Diary 1213)

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service, that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard, upon the souls of priests and religious; and bestow upon them the blessing of Your power. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation, and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as on Day 1. Offer it today specifically for priests and religious: for those preparing for ordination or vows, for those struggling with the burdens of their vocation, for those in spiritual or moral crisis, for those serving the dying and the poor in difficult missions, for those who have served you sacramentally throughout your life.

Reflection

The Catholic faithful are sometimes tempted, in moments when the priesthood is in public crisis, to forget that the priesthood itself remains the gift of Christ to His Church. The Lord Jesus is the High Priest; every ordained priest acts in persona Christi, in the person of Christ, when he absolves sins, consecrates the Eucharist, and administers the other sacraments. The crisis of any individual priest is a crisis in the very channel through which God's mercy reaches the people. To pray for priests is to pray for the integrity of that channel.

The same is true of the religious life. Catholic theology has always understood the consecrated life as a sign of the Kingdom in this present world. "Religious life in its various forms is called to signify the very charity of God in the language of our time" (CCC 926). The religious community that lives its vows faithfully is, in the order of grace, a witness in the city of man to the city of God. Their souls bear, on Day 2 of this novena, the weight of our intercession.

If you have a particular priest or religious you wish to lift today (your pastor, a confessor who has helped you, a religious sister or brother who taught you, a friend in seminary or formation, a priest you read about in the news in difficulty), name them now. Bring this person, with all the priests and religious of the Church, into the unfathomable mercy of Christ.

Closing prayers

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

Jesus, I trust in You.