By Mary Powers
On April 11, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, 75 women gathered in the auditorium of Star of the Sea Catholic Church in San Francisco for a day-long retreat on the love and mercy of God.
The annual archdiocesan Women’s Conference was centered on the Divine Mercy message as revealed to St. Faustina Kowalska, a 20th-century nun from Poland. The day was a moment for the women of the archdiocese take a break from daily obligations to learn about and experience the deep love of God, “snuggling” close to His merciful heart.
Father Jim McCormack of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception opened the day with an overview of the Divine Mercy message and many graces offered each year on Divine Mercy Sunday (the second Sunday of Easter).The Marian Fathers have taken on the devotion in a special way after it was entrusted to Father Joseph Jarzębowski, MIC, by St. Faustina’s spiritual director Father Michael Sopoćko. Father Jarzębowski brought the devotion to the United States, establishing the Mercy of God Apostate, eventually establishing the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA.
Sister Inga Kvassayová, ISSM, dove deeper into the Divine Mercy message in the afternoon, offering a reflection on the intimate personal love that Jesus has for each person and walking through the Divine Mercy image. Jesus’ words to St. Faustina were filled with His attentiveness and desire for each person. He cares about each beat of our hearts and wants His children to come to Him with their misery and offer it to Him. He told St. Faustina, “Come and confide in your God who is love and mercy.” (Diary 1486)
As part of the conference, the women had the opportunity to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and spend an hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament during the 3 p.m. Hour of Mercy. To conclude the retreat, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone celebrated the Vigil Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday.
“We are grateful to Pope St. John Paul II for declaring this Second Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday, in response to our Lord’s will as revealed to St. Faustina in the visions He granted her,” said Archbishop Cordileone in his homily. “The forgiveness of our sins sets us free to live with our lives in this world oriented toward life in the next.”
Photos: Karolina Zapolska, Nicole Ostrowski, Mary Powers
