PINE BLUFF — The second year of the Ladies of Divine Mercy will kick off on Friday, Sept. 18, with speaker Fr. Christopher Gernetzke, newly ordained priest of the diocese.
Ladies of Divine Mercy, modeled after the popular Knights of Divine Mercy, is a prayer apostolate which meets the third Friday of each month, September through April, at St. Mary of Pine Bluff Church, 3673 Co. Hwy. P, Cross Plains. The events are open to all women. Nursing mothers are welcome to bring their nurslings. The January and April events will be combined events with the Knights of Divine Mercy.
“We moved to the third Friday of the month this year to allow more women to attend, particularly women currently attending Venite Adoramus,” said Carol Heitzkey, head of the Ladies of Divine Mercy planning team.Each night starts at 6 p.m. with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. An hour of Adoration is followed by the recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and a reflection, usually by a priest of the diocese. During Adoration, two priests are available for the sacrament of confession. This year, Evening Prayer will also be sung at the beginning of Adoration. Benediction follows the talk and the evening concludes with a tea and treats social in the narthex.
“We are being asked to allow God’s grace to surge through us to a waiting world, but nemo dat quod non habet (no one gives what he does not have),” said Fr. Richard Heilman, founder of both the Knights and Ladies of Divine Mercy. “An evening like this allows us to fill up our reservoir of grace.”
The 2015-2016 dates and speakers are:
September 18, 2015 — Fr. Christopher Gernetzke
October 16, 2015 — NOT HELD to allow people to visit the relics of St. Maria Goretti
November 20, 2015 — Fr. David Carrano
December 18, 2015 — Fr. John Sasse
January 15, 2016 — Msgr. James Bartylla (with the Knights of Divine Mercy)
February 19, 2016 — Sr. Patricia Vinje
March 18, 2016 — Fr. Scott Jablonski
April 1, 2016 — End of the year event with the Knights of Divine Mercy