Teelynn - The Divine Mercy is more than a devotion, it is a way of life. If you have any good Catholic book stores available in your area, go there and buy two or three things. 1. There is a small manual of Divine Mercy. It gives the background, history, prayers, novena, etc. Small, but very informative. 2. Get St Faustina’s diary. It is truly awesome reading. It gives a fantastic insight into her soul and the graces available to her and to those who follow this way of life. 3. At the bookstore, get the cenacle formation manuals. There are three. The first one gives instructions on forming a cenacle, what the way of life entails, the different roles each member can fulfill. The first 1/2 of the first manual is really an eyeopener into the extent of God’s mercy and what God wants of us.
The cenacle meetings, at least those that I attend have at least one priest, one or more deacons and many committed lay people. We hold our meetings every Monday night and they usually last from 2 hours to 2 1/4 hours. It involves prayer, study of the diary as it relates to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Scripture. Either the priest or I explain and answer questions that may arise. We have about 20 - 25 attend each week, on Monday nights. from 7 PM to 9 PM. The ideal number for a cenacle is 10-12 and we are now dividing into two groups. The purpose is to learn about the way of life and spread it to different parishes by teams going and giving a talk and explanations about all that is involved. We end each meeting by praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. There is so much to say that I could go on and on. Those of us who are involved make solemn promises to the Holy Eucharist, held in a monstrance right in front of us. At this time, we become “Eucharistic Apostles of Divine Mercy”
In addition to spreading the devotion, we have teams who go to the dying and pray the Chaplet around the death bed. We do this for lay people, priests and nuns. We have suffering souls who are bed ridden who offer their pain for others. Pain is the redemptive prayer of Jesus on the Cross and is what won for us our salvation.
If you want more information, I can send it to you by e-mail. Places to get the Manuals, books, i.e. all that is necessary to celebrate the Devotion on Divine Mercy Sundays. The manual also has the history, and documents from Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI which are useful in explaining the devotion and how to organize it. Once you get into it, you will not be the same.
Prayers & Blessings
Deacon Ed B,