Jesus, I Trust in Thee!

Dear Parishioners, 

Happy Octave of Easter! 

We continue in the octave of Easter. A single day is not enough to celebrate this great solemnity. The Church gives us eight days and then an entire Easter season to rejoice in the Risen Lord. Alleluia! This final day of the octave has been designated Divine Mercy Sunday.

Sister (now Saint) Maria Faustina Kowalska, a young uneducated nun, lived in Poland from 1905 until her death in 1938. Baptized Helena, she was the third of ten children. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy just prior to her 20th birthday. She had only three years of formal education at the time. During her thirteen years in the convent, she worked as a cook, gardener and porter.

At the same time, Sr. Faustina heard an inner voice speaking to her. She wrote down the messages which she said were given to her by Jesus into her notebooks. The compilation of notebooks was eventually published as The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul). The content of these notebooks centered on God’s Divine Mercy. Sr. Faustina described how Jesus gave her the task of “Secretary” of His Divine Mercy.

According to the Divine Mercy website (thedivinemercy.org): 

The years Sr. Faustina spent at the convent were filled with extraordinary gifts, such as revelations, visions, hidden stigmata, participation in the Passion of the Lord, the gift of bilocation, the reading of human souls, the gift of prophecy, and the rare gift of mystical engagement and marriage.

At the time of her canonization in the year 2000 by Pope (now Saint) John Paul II, he also declared the Sunday after Easter Divine Mercy Sunday for the Universal Church. Sr. Faustina described Jesus speaking to her about this day in her dairy:

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 fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. (Diary of Saint Faustina, 699) 

With the crazy times we live in, I suggest (no, urge or implore) that we all make an intention to avail ourselves of a good sacramental confession (when we can talk to a priest personally) if we have not already done so during Lent. Remember sacraments are properly administered person to person and not remotely by phone, by TV or by the internet. Moreover, each night we should make an examination of our consciences and continue to pray the act of contrition as perfectly as possible.

There is a very important spiritual lesson for us here: time and opportunity will run out for all of us. We will not live forever. If we want to experience God’s Divine Mercy, we have first to admit our guilt and acknowledge our sins to Him through the instrument of the priest—as Jesus instructed His apostles (see Jn. 20:23). We hear His words delegating the power to forgive to the apostles in today's Gospel.

Place your trust where we can have absolute certainty of God’s Divine Mercy: Jesus, I trust in Thee!

Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor

Sr. Maria Faustina Kowalska

Divine Mercy Sunday, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

The Sunday after Easter has been designated in the Catholic Church as Divine Mercy Sunday.

On April 30, 2000 (Divine Mercy Sunday of that year), Pope John Paul II canonized St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament and designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.

According to the notebooks of Saint Faustina, Jesus made the following statements about this day:

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 fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. (Diary of Saint Faustina, # 699)

Devotion to Divine Mercy is also associated with an image painted as Jesus wished, based on descriptions by Saint Faustina. The words that accompany the image are "Jesus, I trust in Thee" ("Jezu, Ufam Tobie" in Polish). The rays coming from Jesus' body represent the Blood (red) and water (white) that poured forth from the wound He suffered when pierced by the lance. They are interpreted as representing the Holy Eucharist and Baptism.

The devotion is practiced by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena to the Divine Mercy—both of which may be prayed at any time, but especially at "The Hour of Great Mercy"—3:00 PM, the hour our Lord died, and in conjunction with Divine Mercy Sunday.

I find it particularly interesting that after working to promote devotion to the Divine Mercy and even writing an encyclical about God’s Mercy—Dives in Misericordia or Rich in Mercy (1980)—Pope (now Saint) John Paul II died during the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005.

Is this just mere coincidence or another indication of the hand of God continually at work in our world?

Incidentally, Pope Francis’ funeral Mass is scheduled to be celebrated on the vigil of Divine Mercy (Saturday, April 26) this year.

May God show His Divine Mercy to Pope Francis and may the Holy Spirit guide the College of Cardinals to choose the person God wills to head the Holy Catholic Church as the next successor of St. Peter.

Jesus I trust in Thee!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Sr. Faustina

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Coincidences or Signs from God?

 

Dear Parishioners,

For the past two years I have attended priest conferences given by the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. This year I also plan to attend. Priests gather from all parts of the country to listen to talks on the Sacred Scriptures, to pray together, to offer Mass together and to socialize at a resort in Lakeway, Texas (near Austin). We have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. John Bergsma, Dr. Edward Sri, and others who bring great insight to the Scriptures and Catholic theology. By having attended these annual workshops, my hope is that my preaching and teaching from the pulpit each week has become more informative and inspiring.

Coincidentally, my first full day in Texas is also the day of the total solar eclipse which will be seen in the early afternoon as the path is directly over us! Moreover, the day is also celebrated as the Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord (transferred from March 25^th because it fell in Holy Week). Let me say that it should be rather interesting to be in Texas during this time.

The Sunday after Easter (this weekend) has been designated as Divine Mercy Sunday.

On April 30, 2000 (Divine Mercy Sunday of that year), Pope St. John Paul II canonized St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament and designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.

According to the notebooks of Saint Faustina, Jesus made the following statements about this day:

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 fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. (Diary of Saint Faustina, 699)

Devotion to Divine Mercy is also associated with an image painted as Jesus wished, based on descriptions by Saint Faustina. The words that accompany the image are "Jesus, I trust in Thee" ("Jezu, Ufam Tobie" in Polish). The rays coming from Jesus' body represent the Blood and Water that poured forth from the wound He suffered when pierced by the lance.

The devotion is practiced by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena to the Divine Mercy—both of which may be prayed at any time, but especially at "The Hour of Great Mercy" – 3:00 PM, the hour our Lord died, and in conjunction with Divine Mercy Sunday. You can find out more about these topics by going to the website for the Marians of the Immaculate Conception (marian.org).

I find it particularly interesting that after working to promote devotion to the Divine Mercy and even writing an encyclical about God’s Mercy — Dives in Misericordia or Rich in Mercy (1980) — Pope St. John Paul II died during the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005.

Was this just another coincidence or truly an indication of the hand of God continually at work in our world? 

With all that is happening throughout the globe today, we all need to say and believe: Jesus I trust in Thee!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday 2023 - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Divine Coincidence?

Pope St. John Paul II

Dear Parishioners,

When Pope St. John Paul II died, the manner and timing of his death struck me as much more than coincidental.

Let me set the scene: 

• Pope John Paul was a proponent of God’s Divine Mercy. In 1980 he wrote the encyclical Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy). He declared the Sunday within the octave of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.
• The day on which there was an assassination attempt made on his life was May 13th—the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Pope John Paul credited Our Blessed Lady with saving his life.  He even had the bullet removed from his body placed in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. It was from Fatima, the First Saturday devotions came about (as a request for reparation for sins against the Immaculate Heart of Mary).
• John Paul’s life was consecrated to Our Blessed Lady as evidenced by his coat of arms with the motto Totus Tuus (Totally Yours) and an M (for Mary) on the right side at the foot of a golden cross.
• John Paul decried the culture of death that seemed to permeate our society. He held that every life was sacred:  the unborn, the handicapped, the elderly, and the infirm.  He died elderly, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, in the public eye as a witness to the value of every life.
• The miracle leading up to his beatification was a cure from Parkinson’s disease of a sister (whose name happened to be Sister Marie Simon-Pierre of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Catholic Maternity Wards).

When did Blessed John Paul II leave this earth? Saturday, April 2, 2005. It was the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday and the First Saturday (Fatima devotion) of the month.

Pope Benedict XVI called our attention to some of these facts in his homily during the Beatification Mass:

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, which Blessed John Paul II entitled Divine Mercy Sunday. The date was chosen for today’s celebration because, in God’s providence, my predecessor died on the vigil of this feast. Today is also the first day of May, Mary’s month, and the liturgical memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker. All these elements serve to enrich our prayer, they help us in our pilgrimage through time and space; but in heaven a very different celebration is taking place among the angels and saints!

I believe that spiritual signs and wonders are all around us calling our attention to God’s Providence ever-present in our lives. With the secular, materialistic, skeptical and unbelieving world in which we live, one might just write off all of this as mere coincidence, if any attention is paid to it at all.

Yet, seeing things with the eyes of faith, I wonder what God has in store for us in the days ahead!

Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor

TOTUS TUUS

The Mercy of God

Dear Parishioners,

Have you ever taken the time to think about the many times we ask for or refer to the mercy of God in our liturgy?

• May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to eternal life. (Penitential Rite)
• Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.  Lord, have mercy.  (Kyrie)
•  Lord Jesus Christ . . . you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; . . . you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.  (Gloria)
• To us, also, your servants, who, though sinners, hope in your abundant mercies . . .  (Eucharistic Prayer I)
• Remember . . . all who have died in your mercy . . .   Have mercy on us all, we pray . . .  (Eucharistic Prayer II)
• For you came in mercy to the aid of all . . . Grant, O merciful Father, that we may enter into a heavenly inheritance . . .  (Eucharistic Prayer IV)
• Deliver us, Lord, we pray . . . that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin . . .  (Prayer following the Our Father)
• Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.  (Agnus Dei)
•  May the receiving of your Body and Blood, Lord Jesus Christ, not bring me to judgment and condemnation, but through your loving mercy be for me protection in mind and body and a healing remedy. (Priest’s Prayer in Preparation for Receiving for Holy Communion)

While mercy in our contemporary thinking may be associated with an act of pardon from punishment, in Catholic theology there is much more to it.

 

Divine Mercy is God’s Love reaching down to meet the needs and overcome the miseries of His creatures.   . . . Divine Mercy, therefore, is the form that God's eternal love takes when He reaches out to us in the midst of our need and our brokenness.  Whatever the nature of our need or our misery might be — sin, guilt, suffering, or death — He is always ready to pour out His merciful, compassionate love for us, to help in time of need . . . . (Dr. Robert Stackpole, STD)

The Sunday in the Octave of Easter is called Divine Mercy Sunday.  On April 30, 2000 (Divine Mercy Sunday of that year), Pope St. John Paul II canonized St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament and designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.  According to the notebooks of Saint Faustina, Jesus made the following statements about this day:

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 fount of My mercy.  The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.  On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened.  Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.  My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.  (Diary of Saint Faustina, 699)

Devotion to Divine Mercy is also associated with an image painted as Jesus wished, based on descriptions by Saint Faustina.  The words that accompany the image are "Jesus, I trust in Thee" ("Jezu, Ufam Tobie" in the Polish).  The rays coming from Jesus' body represent the blood and water that poured forth from the wound He suffered when pierced by the lance.  The devotion is practiced by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena to the Divine Mercy – both of which may be prayed at any time, but especially at "The Hour of Great Mercy" – 3 PM, the hour our Lord died, and in conjunction with Divine Mercy Sunday.  

May the Lord Jesus have mercy on us.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament

Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday 2020 - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Formed

Dear Parishioners,

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  Alleluia!

Please realize that we continue to celebrate the glorious Easter event--the bodily Resurrection of Jesus--right through the celebration of Pentecost (June 9, 2019).  The joy of Easter cannot be contained in a single day, but the Church gives us an entire season to contemplate what Jesus' Resurrection means for us.  We have a promise of eternal life, the forgiveness of sin, and a Christian hope that the world cannot give.

Sadly, the joy of Easter was diminished by the tragic events in Sri Lanka.  The terror attacks that very day killing more than 300 innocent people, sadly reflects how evil continues to rear its ugly head in our world.  May our prayers be with the victims and their families.

This Sunday of Divine Mercy focuses all Christians on the Divine Mercy that Jesus offers to us.  According to the notebooks of St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus made the following statements about this day:

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 fount of My mercy.  The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.  On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened.  Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.  My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. (Diary of Saint Faustina, 699)

Devotion to Divine Mercy is especially associated with an image painted as Jesus wished, based on descriptions by Saint Faustina.  The words that accompany the image are Jesus, I trust in Thee (Jezu, Ufam Tobie in Polish).  The rays coming from Jesus' body represent the Blood and water that poured forth from the wound He suffered when pierced by the lance.

The devotion is practiced by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena to the Divine Mercy -- both of which may be prayed at any time, but especially at "The Hour of Great Mercy" -- 3:00 PM, the hour our Lord died, and in conjunction with Divine Mercy Sunday.

If you want to learn more about Divine Mercy, why not sign up for a free Formed account on your smart phone, tablet or computer?  Instructions were distributed after all the Easter masses and are currently available on our parish web site (www.holyangelsnj.org).  Entertaining movies, enlightening study series, inspiring talks and a selection of eBooks are available to you.  There is an entire section on Divine Mercy on this app.

Since we live in a digital age, Formed is one way to reach more parishioners using their smart phones, computers, tablets or devices.  It is a means to learn more about our Catholic faith and to enjoy entertainment geared to religious formation and family values.  Since the account is free to you, please consider signing up and joining our online parish family.  While nothing substitutes for active participation at Mass or the individual connection involved with the reception of the sacraments, there is a need for continuing Catholic education and formation that coincides with people's busy lives.  Here is another way that we are trying to evangelize and to educate using current technology.

Why not give it a try? 

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

St. Faustina with the image of Divine Mercy