Note: I did not write what is below; it was sent to me through email (I don't know who the true author is).
----
Here's some background. When we sin we call down suffering upon
ourselves. That suffering takes place in this life or in the next.
When we confess our sins, the guilt is taken away, but the suffering
remains. God purifies our hearts by allowing certain events in our lives.
The purification process can continue in Purgatory.
Now here is a special privilege revealed by the Polish nun Sister Faustina
Kowalska, who was canonized in 2000. The messages to her are OFFICIALLY
APPROVED by the Catholic Church.
Jesus told Saint Faustina that He wanted the Church to recognize the first
Sunday after Easter as the Feast of Mercy. Those who go to Confession and
Communion on that day WILL BE GRANTED COMPLETE FORGIVENESS OF SIN AND
PUNISHMENT.
"On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open," Jesus said. "I
pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of
My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion
shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are
open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear
to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet."
Last April 2000 John Paul II officially set the first Sunday after Easter
as Divine Mercy Sunday.
And the Divine Mercy website has clarified that the confession need not
take place on that Sunday itself. Any confession during Lent would do. Be
in the state of grace, take Communion this Sunday, and you're practically
as spotless as a newly-baptized baby. Check out any Divine Mercy booklet.
