Vatican Grants Emergency Plenary Indulgence for Divine Mercy Chaplet

By Chris Sparks

The Church is responding to the problems we all face as a result of this pandemic with great seriousness and generosity. The Holy Father is throwing wide open the doors of the Church’s storehouses of grace for the faithful, making it as easy as possible for all of us to be assured of the graces we need to speed the sick and the dying through Purgatory, and to be assured of the graces needed for salvation at the moment of our deaths.

Spread the news of these special graces to every Catholic on the front lines of facing this disease that you know. Make sure they know how to make use of these graces.

New Plenary Indulgence

Because of the pandemic, anyone who, with “the will to fulfil the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the Holy Father's intentions), as soon as possible,” recites the Divine Mercy Chaplet with the intention “to implore from Almighty God the end of the epidemic, relief for those who are afflicted and eternal salvation for those whom the Lord has called to Himself,” can receive a plenary indulgence each day.

This great news was announced in an official decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary on March 20, 2020.

There are other ways to gain this special plenary indulgence, as well:

• the faithful suffering from coronavirus and subject to quarantine by order of the health authority in hospitals or in their own homes, with a spirit detached from any sin, can gain the plenary indulgence if they “unite spiritually through the media to the celebration of Holy Mass, the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to the pious practice of the Way of the Cross or other forms of devotion, or if at least they will recite the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and a pious invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, offering this trial in a spirit of faith in God and charity towards their brothers and sisters, with the will to fulfil the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the Holy Father’s intentions), as soon as possible.
• “Health care workers, family members and all those who, following the example of the Good Samaritan, exposing themselves to the risk of contagion, care for the sick of Coronavirus according to the words of the divine Redeemer: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15: 13), will obtain the same gift of the Plenary Indulgence under the same conditions.”
• “This Apostolic Penitentiary also willingly grants a Plenary Indulgence under the same conditions on the occasion of the current world epidemic, also to those faithful who offer a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, or Eucharistic adoration, or reading the Holy Scriptures for at least half an hour, or the recitation of the Holy Rosary, or the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross, or the recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, to implore from Almighty God the end of the epidemic, relief for those who are afflicted and eternal salvation for those whom the Lord has called to Himself.”

And here’s a crucial concession to us all, in case we can’t receive the Anointing of the Sick during this period of pandemic and quarantine:

• “The Church prays for those who find themselves unable to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and of the Viaticum, entrusting each and every one to divine Mercy by virtue of the communion of saints and granting the faithful a Plenary Indulgence on the point of death, provided that they are duly disposed and have recited a few prayers during their lifetime (in this case the Church makes up for the three usual conditions required). For the attainment of this indulgence the use of the crucifix or the cross is recommended (cf. Enchiridion indulgentiarum, no.12).”

Divine Mercy graces and promises

And more: Make sure they know of the special graces promised to us by our Lord through St. Faustina. Make sure people know that we can obtain unimaginable graces for ourselves, for those suffering as a result of this coronavirus, and for the whole world as we groan beneath the burden of this pandemic.

Jesus told St. Faustina of a number of ways to help people make sure that their final destination is Heaven.

Jesus made extraordinary promises for praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet:

At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the pardon is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 811).

… when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior (Diary, 1541).

He also made extraordinary promises for veneration of the Divine Mercy Image:

Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory (Diary, 47 and 48).

Jesus made extraordinary promises for those who trust in Him.

The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is — trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive (Diary, 1578).

My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself. From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. No soul that has approached Me has ever gone away unconsoled. All misery gets buried in the depths of My mercy, and every saving and sanctifying grace flows from this fountain. My daughter, I desire that your heart be an abiding place of My mercy. I desire that this mercy flow out upon the whole world through your heart. Let no one who approaches you go away without that trust in My mercy which I so ardently desire for souls.

Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties, obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer. 

You know the whole abyss of My mercy, so draw upon it for yourself and especially for poor sinners. Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul (Diary, 1777).

Jesus also made extraordinary promises to all those who spread the message and devotion of Divine Mercy:

Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior. At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it (Diary, 1075).

Turn to Our Lady

So during this pandemic, let’s thank God for the tremendous graces He’s made available to us through the Holy Father and through St. Faustina. Let’s make sure we spread the word of God’s merciful love, and make regular use of the devotions He’s given to us with such exceptional promises. And let us join the Holy See in asking the Blessed Mother for her special help now:

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of the Church, Health of the Sick and Help of Christians, our Advocate, help suffering humanity, saving us from the evil of this pandemic and obtaining for us every good necessary for our salvation and sanctification.

Pray for me; I’ll pray for you.

Chris Sparks serves as senior book editor for the Marian Fathers. He is the author of the Marian Press book How Can You Still Be Catholic? 50 Answers to a Good Question.

Pope Francis calls on Christians worldwide to combat coronavirus pandemic with midday prayer on March 25

Pope Francis is seen in a window greeting a few nuns standing in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 22, 2020, after reciting his weekly Angelus prayer from the library of the Apostolic Palace. (CNS photo/Alberto Lingria, Reuters)

Pope Francis has called on the leaders of all the Christian churches, communities and confessions worldwide, as well Christians everywhere, to join together in praying the Our Father on March 25 to implore God to rid the world of the coronavirus pandemic that is wreaking havoc everywhere.

He also said that he would lead a prayer service from the front of St. Peter’s Basilica on March 27 and afterwards would offer a blessing “Urbi et Orbi”—“to the city of Rome and the world”—with the Blessed Sacrament.

Francis announced these two prayer events after midday on Sunday, March 22, after reciting the Angelus from the library in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, where he usually meets heads of state, religious leaders and distinguished persons.

“In these days of trial, as humanity trembles at the threat of the [coronavirus] pandemic, I would propose that all Christians join their voices together to heaven,” Francis told a virtual audience following on Vatican News Media.

[Explore all of America’s in-depth coverage of the coronavirus pandemic]

“In these days of trial, as humanity trembles at the threat of the [coronavirus] pandemic, I would propose that all Christians join their voices together to heaven,” Pope Francis said.

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“I invite the heads of the churches and the leaders of all the Christian communities, together with all Christians of the various confessions, to invoke the Almighty, the All Powerful God, by reciting contemporaneously the prayer that Our Lord Jesus has taught us,” he said.

“I therefore invite everyone to recite the Our Father at midday on March 25 next, on the day when many Christians recall the annunciation to the Virgin Mary of the Incarnation of the Word, so that the Lord may listen to the unanimous prayer of all his disciples that are preparing to celebrate the victory of the Risen Christ,” Francis said.

He also announced that he will preside over “a moment of prayer” from the steps of the basilica Saint Peter’s at 6 p.m. Rome time, next Friday, March 27. He said the square would be empty, but he invited people across the world “to participate spiritually” in this prayer which, he explained, would include readings from the Scripture and adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

He invited them to participate through “the means of communication,” that is, by television, radio or social media. He said that at the end of the prayer service he would give a blessing “Urbi et Orbi” with the Blessed Sacrament. Keen to share God’s mercy to people at this deeply troubling moment in human history, Francis said “the possibility of receiving a plenary indulgence” would be linked to the prayer service.

“We wish to respond to the pandemic of the virus with the universality of prayer, of compassion and tenderness.”

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Pope Francis is of course deeply concerned about the spread of the pandemic and the terrible suffering it is causing to some 300,000 people and their families, as well as the fear it has provoked in countless millions across the globe, and the great damage it is doing also to the world’s economy. Last Sunday, he walked “on pilgrimage” on a deserted street in the center of Rome and prayed before two miraculous images, imploring God to rid the world of the coronavirus pandemic.

Today, he told his global audience: “We wish to respond to the pandemic of the virus with the universality of prayer, of compassion and tenderness.” He encouraged everyone: “Let us remain united. Let us make our closeness felt to those who are alone and to those who are most stricken.”

He told people, let us also express “our closeness to doctors, to health workers, nurses, volunteers” and “to the authorities that have to take hard measures, but ones that are for our good.”

He added, “let us show our closeness to the police, the soldiers who try to keep order always on the streets, so that the things the government orders for our good can be done,” indeed “let us be close to everyone.”

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/03/22/pope-francis-calls-christians-worldwide-combat-coronavirus-pandemic-midday-prayer

Read: Pope Francis’s prayer to Mary during coronavirus pandemic

Catholic News Service March 11, 2020

       
          O Mary,

you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the cross took part in Jesus' pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.
Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/03/11/read-pope-francis-prayer-mary-coronavirus-pandemic 

Miserific Face of Satan

 

by

 

Damien F. Mackey

 

 

“Now there are a thousand times ten thousand roads down which any one of us may travel for a lifetime, But all of those roads are going to end in front of two faces.

One, the Merciful face of Christ. And the other, the miserific face of Satan”.

 

~Archbishop Fulton Sheen

 

 

 

 

Craig Calvert isn’t into “hooky pooky stuff” but there was no mistaking this.

There, in a photo his friend took, was a “big devil face” emerging from a raging fire in Victoria’s East Gippsland region.

The dairy farmer spent 13 hours defending his property from a fire that spat out 100 metre large fireballs.

“It hit us like four or five times, the chopper pilots are heroes, they saved it (the property) …I’m very glad people did not get killed here,” he told Channel 7.

“We had fireballs coming over, jumping. Some of them were 50 metres to 100 metres across.

“We’ve got a photo a friend took and I’m not into hooky pooky stuff but there was a big devil face in it.”

https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/there-was-a-big-devil-face-in-it-spooky-photo-from-fires/news-story/c08b756dc17757a28a6fcd6db3f9b5e2

 

 

What is the Essence of the Demonic? by Archbishop Fulton Sheen

 

Scott Brossart·Tuesday, 3 December 2019·Reading time: 3 minutes

 

"What then is the demonic? The demonic is the temptation away from the Cross of Christ in redemption. That's the essence of the demonic. This is an example of the demonic: taking down of crucifixes from our hospital rooms, from our school rooms. I went to a bishops' meeting in the convent and the sister was, well she didn't look like a sister, but she said she was. But the essence of the demonic is the anti-Cross and all that it means. It means sin, it means redemption, it means glorification, it means resurrection, it means an eternal peace and joy, but not the Cross. So we have movements in the Church today where we have this spirit without a Calvary. No mention of a Cross or of discipline. Just the celebration. It is because we know what clear water is that we are offended by foul waters. It is only because we know Christ that we begin to see evil in its depth because evil is relational. Evil has no substance of its own. It is a parasite on goodness. And the more Christlike we are, the deeper is our vision of the evils of the world and the evils that can creep into the Church. How long this conflict with evil forces will last, well we do know, but now it is intensifying and it centers so much on the Eucharist which brings us to the necessity of the Holy Hour. I don't know if you have many tabernacles robbed in this diocese, but we do. In one diocese there were two country parishes within 7 miles of one another where the Blessed Sacrament was stolen, corpuses torn of the crucifixes. No Christ on the Cross. There must be a consecrated host for a Black Mass, that is an absolute essential. It is where everything will be done backwards. The Our Father will be said backwards, prayers will be said backwards.

And when the priests join the movement, they have the Body of Christ to recrucify. We may be a little lax in our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, but Satan is not.

Scripture tells us that Satan believes. He believes and therefore he seeks Him out. And this then, is an additional reason for the Holy Hour. One bishop jokingly said, "That means I must give up my alcoholic drinking hour in order to have my Holy Hour." Now there are a thousand times ten thousand roads down which any one of us may travel for a lifetime, But all of those roads are going to end in front of two faces. One, the Merciful face of Christ. And the other, the miserific face of Satan."

~Archbishop Fulton Sheen

 

Maybe, when one legislates against Creation - as has recently been the case in Australia (extreme abortion laws; euthanasia; yes to gay ‘marriage’) - then Creation may legislate against the legislator.

 

The fires that have been raging all the way down the eastern side of Australia have become so fierce and unstoppable that standard descriptions such as “bushfire” have had to be replaced with words like “atomic”.

 

“Up until an hour or so ago it was pitch black, you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you. It was just insane”.

 

The Rural Fire Service said firefighters were in "uncharted territory" at the peak of the crisis ….

 

… with one responding to footage of the NSW “megafire” with …. “This looks like hell.”

 

"Within 30 minutes this great wall of fire just came from the back of our cul de sac and within seconds the trees were catching fire, and the sky was orange and yellow. It was like Armageddon …".

 

MidCoast Mayor David West, who lives in Brimbin, said that he had never seen anything like the nearby fire.

"I'm looking at a sky that's screaming danger, that's saying 'get out of my way, I'm going to kill you'," he said.

"I know that sounds melodramatic but it's not. This is a fire that's devouring everything in its path."

 

 

 

1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

On the Maccabees and Bar Kochba

 

 

by

 

Damien F. Mackey

 

 

“… your conclusion: “Judas the Galilean” who “appeared in the days of the census”, according to Gamaliel, may just be that required link between the Maccabees and the census of Luke 2." seems "minimalistic" after many findings here and there.

What are historical implications of your findings?”

 

A Reader

 

This particular correspondent has written in full, commencing with reference to my article:

 

Maccabees need to be greatly lowered on the time scale

 

https://www.academia.edu/36414256/Maccabees_need_to_be_greatly_lowered_on_the_time_scale

 

 

Hi Damien,

I read your article on Maccabees, which does record several interesting literary parallels.

But your conclusion: “Judas the Galilean” who “appeared in the days of the census”, according to Gamaliel, may just be that required link between the Maccabees and the census of Luke 2." seems "minimalistic" after many findings here and there. What are historical implications of your findings?

That Maccabees did not exist as well as Bar-Kochba? That the only historical character was Judah Ha-Galili mentioned in Acts? That all Books of Maccabees are of the 1st century CE?

But Josephus, born in 37 CE and who claimed descent from Maccabees, lived not far from this time - why did he contribute to the confusion?

And why Bar-Kochba (or bar-Koziba as per Talmud) is mentioned at all? Why Sephoris is Modiin? You must prove you know Hebrew when you talk about Jewish history by finding a common etymology of two different words.

Talmud is not just "Jewish legends" as you wrote. It is important collection of historical facts. In my article about Encounter, I show that Talmud is more trustworthy than e.g., Josephus who was prong to "edit" his sources when needed.

The Second Temple of Herod was of marble. The one built by Zerubavel - of wood. Which "unworthy notion" do I create here?

….

PS As for Elijah I have an opinion that he was not an "angel" but was simply murdered by Elisha.

PSS I may agree that Haman is a purely mythological figure and many could be his prototype.

….

 

 

 

 

Damien Mackey replies:

 

….

You are like various people I have encountered over the years who read one or more of my articles and then criticise me for things that I have never actually written or thought. "... a thing which I never ... spoke of, nor did it ever enter my mind," (Jer. 19:5).

Maccabees DID exist, as well as Bar Kochba. (The dating/era just needs to be corrected) - see e.g. my article:

"A New Timetable for the Nativity of Jesus Christ"

https://www.academia.edu/36672214/A_New_Timetable_for_the_Nativity_of_Jesus_Christ

 

Gamaliel's Judas WAS Judas Maccabeus, but Gamaliel gives an appalling description of the great man as if he were a mere flash in the pan. Nor any mention by G. of Judas's mighty brothers after him, Jonathan and Simon (who, incidentally, is marvellously described in Sirach 50:1-21).

Sepphoris as Modein ("declarers") is a highly tentative connection (no name likeness claimed here). Logically, however, if Judas the Galilean were Judas Maccabeus whose ancestral home was Modein, then Modein might well be Sepphoris, the base for Judas the Galilean.

After all, archaeologists cannot find the elaborate Maccabean tomb (I Maccabees 13:27-3) at the presumed 'Modein' near Tel Aviv.

Re Zerubbabel's Temple of Yahweh: "'The glory of this present House will be greater than the glory of the former House',” said the Lord" (Haggai 2:9).

You have turned it into a log cabin.

"Haman ... a purely mythological figure"?

I prefer the legends of the Jews that accord him historical reality, as a Jew. He was a long-lived King of Judah.

Damien.

 

 

An academic exchange regarding Hadrian and the Bar Kochba Revolt

 

 

by

 

Damien F. Mackey

 

 

“But if the Temple is indeed depicted on the Bar Kochba coins (e.g., as a national symbol) then there is a way to check your hypothesis - "our" Bar Kochba could depict only magnificent Herod's Temple, while "your" Bar Kochba - only the previous one, a puny hut”.

Canadian Reader’s comment

 

 

Canadian reader:

 

…. Is your paper [not referenced by this reader] academic? Much of what you write is known. See e.g., this paper which can be also found on Academia:

https://sci-cult.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/1-BELENKIY_formatted-corrAB_reformatted.pdf

Cheers ....

 

Damien Mackey:

…

But then you're quite wrong in writing that: "Much of what you write is known".
Who else today, but I, writes about Epiphanes as Hadrian (supposed to be some 300 years apart)?
Or who else argues that there was no Second Jewish Revolt after the First one?

….

 

Canadian reader:

 

Damien, I am missing something.

 

….

>The so-called Second Jewish Revolt is actually, rather, the revolt of the Maccabees (e.g. Simon) during the reign of Epiphanes.

 

Do you mean there was no Bar-Kochba revolt?

….

 

Maccabees 4 is of late origin. What's the point arguing from that? It could have been written after 135.

 

The usual nomenclature is the First revolt of 66-70 and Second of 132-135. Are you saying one of them was never happen?

….

Damien Mackey:

 

Absolutely … I am saying that the 'Second' Revolt did not - no, could not - have happened as there was nothing left to destroy after 70 AD, with the city and Temple burned to the ground and the people either killed or taken into captivity.

How could the Jews have launched a massive war of resistance not so very long after that!
Hadrian, who Jewish legend has in place of Antiochus Epiphanes (because Hadrian WAS Antiochus IV), was not a contemporary of a later revolt, but of an earlier one, the Maccabean revolt.

That is why the coins of Simon Bar Kochba (presumably Simon Maccabee) have the Temple of Yahweh represented on one side. What would have been the point of that if the Temple was no longer standing?

….

 

Canadian reader:

 

Well, do you read Hebrew, Damien? Just for a record.

 

Jewish history does not claim Bar- Kochba operated from Jerusalem but rather from the small fortified cities like Beitar conducting a partisan war.

But if the Temple is indeed depicted on the Bar Kochba coins (e.g., as a national symbol) then there is a way to check your hypothesis - "our" Bar Kochba could depict only magnificent Herod's Temple, while "your" Bar Kochba - only the previous one, a puny hut. ….

 

Damien Mackey:

 

Yes … I have studied Hebrew at University level and won a Jewish prize for it.

If Bar Kochba was Simon Maccabee, as I am maintaining, then Jewish history (Maccabees 1 and 2) has he and his brothers), perhaps based in Modein, operating all over the land.

I know of only two Temples of Yahweh: (i) that of Solomon, and (ii) that of the era of the Persians (Cyrus and Darius). See e.g. my article:

 

“‘… there shall not be left one stone upon another’. How to explain Jerusalem today?”

 

https://www.academia.edu/35924092/_there_shall_not_be_left_one_stone_upon_another_._How_to_explain_Jerusalem_today

My best wishes,

Damien.