The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a prayer asking God's mercy for ourselves and for the whole world. It is prayed on ordinary rosary beads and takes about 7 to 10 minutes.
It is especially prayed at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the hour Jesus died on the cross, known as the Hour of Mercy.
The Prayers of the Chaplet
On the large beads:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
On the small beads:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
To conclude (three times):
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
How to Pray It, Step by Step
1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross. Make the Sign of the Cross on the crucifix.
2. Pray the opening prayers. On the first beads, pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed.
3. On each large bead, pray "Eternal Father..." On the large bead before each decade, pray: "Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world."
4. On each of the ten small beads, pray "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion..." "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."
5. Repeat for all five decades. One "Eternal Father" on each large bead, and ten "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion" on the small beads.
6. Conclude with "Holy God" three times. "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world."
7. End with the Sign of the Cross.
Many people end by saying: "Jesus, I trust in You."
The Hour of Mercy: 3 O'Clock
Jesus died on the cross at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon (Luke 23:44–46). Devotion to Divine Mercy keeps this hour as a time to remember His Passion and ask for His mercy, for ourselves and especially for sinners.
If you can't pray the full chaplet at 3 o'clock, even a short pause to remember Jesus' death and ask His mercy is a beautiful practice.
Where It Comes From
The Divine Mercy Chaplet comes from the private revelations of St. Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), a Polish religious sister. She recorded in her diary that Jesus taught her this prayer in 1935, in Vilnius.
St. Faustina's message centers on God's endless mercy and our response of trust. She was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2000, and on the same day he established Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter, the Sunday after Easter.
When to Pray It
- At 3 o'clock, the Hour of Mercy
- For the dying: it is a powerful prayer to pray at the bedside of someone near death
- As a novena beginning on Good Friday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday
- Anytime you need God's mercy, for yourself or for others
What It Means
- "Eternal Father, I offer You...": we offer God the Father the greatest gift we can give, His own Son, Jesus, whole and entire.
- "In atonement for our sins and those of the whole world": we join our prayer to Christ's sacrifice on the cross for the salvation of everyone.
- "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion": we ask mercy not because we deserve it, but because of what Jesus suffered for us.
- "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One": an ancient prayer of the Church, called the Trisagion ("thrice holy"), still prayed in the liturgy, especially on Good Friday.