(Catholic Herald photos/Kevin Wondrash)
MADISON — “St. John XXIII, pray for us.”
“St. John Paul II, pray for us.”
Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general for the Diocese of Madison, led those short, but poignant prayers at the outset of some brief announcements before Divine Mercy Sunday Mass on April 27 at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison.
They were the first words spoken to a filling chapel of people who came to pray and take full advantage of the Lord’s mercy.
By that point, confession lines were dwindling in size, but the spiritual effects were still robust after several dozen penitents, some who arrived as early as two hours before Mass, lined up along the full length of the side walls of the O’Connor Center’s chapel to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
It was a powerful illustration of the impact the newly canonized St. John Paul II had on the Church.
While he was pope in 2002, John Paul II officially designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.
John Paul II, along with St. John XXIII, who is best known for calling the Second Vatican Council, were both canonized saints earlier that morning by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
Afternoon of prayer
As penitents lined up and received the Sacrament of Reconciliation from several priests from the Diocese of Madison, those who wished to participate prayed the Rosary together — praying the Glorious Mysteries appropriate for a Sunday.
A marathon of prayers, many for Marian devotion, followed the Rosary, including the Memorare, prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and a prayer to the Virgin Mary for all “mothers afraid to be mothers.” The pro-life prayer was written by Fr. Frank Pavone from Priests for Life.
In keeping with the events of the early morning, a prayer of “Conversion, Communion, and Solidarity in Americas” by St. John Paul II was also prayed, along with the prayer of thanksgiving from the canonizations held several hours prior.
Divine Mercy Mass
As Monsignor Bartylla and other priests from the diocese processed in for Mass, members of the Knights of Columbus honor guard carried in the Divine Mercy image to the sanctuary, where it was prominently displayed throughout the afternoon.
The image is a depiction of Jesus based on the revelations to St. Faustina Kowalska.
During his homily, Monsignor Bartylla started with a reflection on the recently released film Heaven is for Real, using themes from the movie to show that God and love are also “for real.”
He added more examples of love being for real, reflecting on the day’s canonizations — remarking that St. John Paul II forgave his would-be assassin after the pope was shot in 1981.
Monsignor Bartylla called it “truly a magnificent testimony to mercy and forgiveness.”
He also spoke about a time when St. John Paul II, then the soon-to-be-ordained Fr. Karol Wojtyla in 1945, helped a refugee and Holocaust survivor in his native Poland who appeared near death. He carried the weakened young woman on his back more than three kilometers in the snow to a train station at Krakow, Poland. The survivor was later taken in by a relative there.
“Love is for real. Heaven is for real.” Monsignor Bartylla remarked.
Exposition and Divine Mercy Chaplet
As Mass ended and the three o’clock hour arrived, a consecrated host was placed into a monstrance for Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
Monsignor Bartylla, along with Fr. Tait Schroeder, judicial vicar of the Diocese of Madison and two Mass servers, knelt in front of the Blessed Sacrament for the praying of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Father Schroeder led the chaplet, which was given to St. Faustina through visions and conversations with Jesus later recorded in her diary Divine Mercy in My Soul.
After the chaplet, Monsignor Bartylla gave the Eucharistic blessing and Benediction.
Prior to the Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the hymn of “Holy God We Praise Thy Name,” Father Schroeder, along with saying a prayer of intercession to St. Faustina, closed the spoken word part of the afternoon the same way it began.
“St. John XXIII, pray for us.”
“St. John Paul II, pray for us.”