Divine Mercy Novena starts today

(Text from EWTN)

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to theDivine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday.  He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:

"These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.' The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy."
In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:
"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy ... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls."
The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are:
DAY 1 (Good Friday) - All mankind, especially sinners
DAY  2 (Holy Saturday)- The souls of priests and religious
DAY 3 (Easter Sunday) - All devout and faithful souls
DAY 4 (Easter Monday)- Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him
DAY  5 (Easter Tuesday)- The souls of separated brethren
DAY  6 (Easter Wednesday)- The meek and humble souls and the souls of children
DAY  7 (Easter Thursday)- The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy
DAY  8 (Easter Friday)- The souls who are detained in purgatory; 
DAY  9 (Easter Saturday)- The souls who have become lukewarm.
TheChaplet of Divine Mercy may also be offered each day for the day's intention, but is not strictly necessary to the Novena. (click here for instructions on how to pray the Chaplet)


Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#ixzz1KHmaXuNA

Intellect, Will and Emotions (emphasis added)

From St Faustina III:1103

The quintessence of love is sacrifice and suffering. Truth wears a crown of thorns. Prayer involves the intellect, the will, and the emotions.

III: 1152

It is no easy thing to bear sufferings joyfully, especially those which are unmerited. Fallen nature rebels, and although the intellect and will are above suffering, because they are able to do good to those who inflict suffering on them, nevertheless the emotions raise a lot of noise and, like restless spirits, attack the intellect and will. But when they see they cannot do anything by themselves, they quiet down and submit to the intellect and will. Like some kind of hideousness, they rush in  and stir up a row, bent on making one obey them alone so long as they are not curbed by the intellect and will.

Humility (from St Faustina)

From The Diary of St Faustina (Notebook 1:270):

Without humility, we cannot be pleasing to God. Practice the third degree of humility; that is, not only must one refrain from explaining and defending oneself when reproached with something, but one should rejoice at the humiliation.

 

Discipline/Suffering

"All discipline, at the time we get it, seems to be a matter for sadness rather than joy - but later on it produces fruit that yields peace and righteousness in those who have been trained by it. Therefore brace up your drooping hands and your weakened knees, and make straight tracks with your feet, in order that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather cured." (The letter to the Hebrews 12:11-13, freshly translated by Fr Nicholas King, SJ)
I was struck when I read this passage this morning. It seemed to be saying to me that I should submit to the sufferings of this life so that they can bear fruit. That if I were to fight against them, then all the good that could come from the "training" would bear less fruit as the healing would not be proper. The author of the letter urges us to accept any suffering with the correct disposition so that it may bear much fruit. How difficult this is! Humanly, impossible, but with God's help it can be done.
Suffering is a divine thing indeed, as witnessed by Jesus and many Saints who have managed to heed the advise given in the letter to the Hebrews. May God help us to appreciate this gift He imparts in the understanding that training can cause pain. But, as we often hear, and I apologise for using such a crude colloquial phrase: "No pain, no gain."
One last thought from St Faustina: "If the angels were capable of envy, they would envy us for two things: one is the receiving of Holy Communion, and the other is suffering." (Divine Mercy in My Soul, Saint Faustina)