The Chaplet of Divine Mercy comes from the Diary of Saint Faustina Kowalska, the Polish religious sister whom Saint John Paul II canonized on 30 April 2000 while declaring the Second Sunday of Easter 'Divine Mercy Sunday' for the whole Church. It is an offering of the Passion of Jesus to the Father for the sins of the world, prayed on ordinary rosary beads, and it is short enough to pray in ten minutes: at three in the afternoon, the hour of Christ's death, at a sickbed, or on the way to work.

What you need

• An ordinary five-decade rosary
• About ten minutes
• An intention: the chaplet is traditionally prayed for the dying and for sinners

When to pray it

Any time, and especially at three o'clock in the afternoon, the Hour of Mercy, when Saint Faustina's Diary records Jesus asking her to recall his Passion. It is also prayed as a novena from Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday, and at the bedside of the dying.

Steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Make the Sign of the Cross and, if you wish, the opening prayers

   Make the Sign of the Cross▾. You may pray the optional opening from the Diary: "You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us." Then three times: "O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You!"

2. 2

   Step 2: Pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostles' Creed

   On the opening beads of the rosary pray one Our Father▾, one Hail Mary▾ and the Apostles' Creed▾. These three prayers place the chaplet within the faith of the whole Church before its own petitions begin.

3. 3

   Step 3: On the large bead pray the Eternal Father

   On the large bead before each decade pray: "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."

4. 4

   Step 4: On the ten small beads pray For the sake of His sorrowful Passion

   On each of the ten small beads pray: "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." Keep the Passion before your eyes as you repeat it, in the same way the Rosary keeps a mystery before the mind.

5. 5

   Step 5: Repeat for all five decades

   Pray the Eternal Father on each large bead and the ten petitions on the small beads of each decade, five times in all, until you return to the medal. The five decades are sometimes offered for the five wounds of Christ, though no particular intention is prescribed.

6. 6

   Step 6: Pray the Holy God three times

   After the fifth decade pray three times: "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world." This is the ancient Trisagion of the Eastern liturgies, which the Diary places at the close of the chaplet.

7. 7

   Step 7: Pray the closing prayer and make the Sign of the Cross

   Conclude with the closing prayer: "Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen." Make the Sign of the Cross▾. Many add, three times, "Jesus, I trust in You."

Tips

• Divine Mercy Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter. In 2002 the Apostolic Penitentiary granted a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Holy Communion and prayer for the Pope's intentions), to the faithful who on that day take part in devotions in honour of Divine Mercy, or who before the Blessed Sacrament pray the Our Father and the Creed and add a devout prayer to the merciful Jesus, such as 'Merciful Jesus, I trust in you'.
• If you cannot pray the whole chaplet at three o'clock, stop for a moment at that hour and say: 'Jesus, I trust in you.'
• Pray it for someone who is dying; that is the intention Saint Faustina most often records for it.
• It can be sung; many parishes chant it before or after Mass on the Sundays of Easter.

Related devotions

• The Divine Mercy Chaplet

Related saints

• Saint Faustina Kowalska
• Saint Pope John Paul II