By Anne DiBernardo - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | Since the beginning of the year, Deacon Rafael de los Reyes, spiritual director of the Archdiocese�s Apostolate of Divine Mercy, has been busy visiting parishes and holding spiritual retreats in order to prepare members of the faith community for the feast of Divine Mercy.

The Church offers a special plenary indulgence for all who participate in this devotion, which dates back to 1931, when St. Faustina, a Polish nun and mystic, received revelations from Jesus Christ and recorded them in her nearly 800-page diary, �Divine Mercy in My Soul.� Blessed John Paul II canonized St. Faustina in 2000 and declared the Sunday after Easter as the feast of Divine Mercy.

In response to Deacon de los Reyes� outreach, many people throughout the diocese observed the feast of Divine Mercy at their parish, while other devotees who wanted to make a day of it flocked to a special celebration held at the grounds of the future Divine Mercy Sanctuary and Convent already owned by the apostolate in Southwest Miami-Dade County. Close to 1000 people from all corners of the diocese visited the 1.4 acre site located off S.W. 40th Terrace, between 84th Court and 85th Avenue.

Miriam Soto, of St. Maurice Parish in Hollywood, said that it was worth the hour that it took her to get to the grounds. �So many things were trying to prevent me from coming today. I was thinking of so many excuses but I took a shower and the Lord said to me, �Today is my day�.�

Pedro Sanchez from St. Hugh Parish in Coconut Grove said he learned about the event through a flyer posted on the diocesan website. �Today is a very important day and I was looking for a special event,� he said.

Garbed in the distinguishable habit of St. Faustina, Sister Confida Gilera, along with Sister Teresa de la Fuente of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, brought a more conspicuous spirit of their patron to the celebration. Both sisters are from the Philippines and live in Boston, currently their community�s only convent in the Western Hemisphere.

Father Jordi Rivero of the archdiocese, founder of the Love Crucified Community and now living in Atlanta, traveled to Miami to lead the special celebration. In addition to praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Father Rivero led a Eucharistic procession, adoration and Mass, which was concelebrated by retired priest Father Hernando Villegas, his brother Father Dario Villegas from Colombia, and Dominican Father Eduardo Logiste Felix from St. Dominic Church.

Confessions were heard before the Mass, and the celebration included various reflections on the significance of the feast of Divine Mercy given by Father Rivero and Sister de la Fuente.

Father Rivero invited everyone to pay close attention to the greatest act of mercy that God has ever offered to mankind � the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus and how he transported mankind to Calvary.

Sister de la Fuente referred to paragraph 699 of St. Faustina's diary. Reflecting on the word �mercy,� she recalled Jesus� words as recorded by St. Faustina: �My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or angel will be able to fathom it for all eternity� and �All the divine floodgates through which graces flow are open.�

�Floodgates bring to mind powerful, immense volume of water. Imagine, Niagara Falls, and that�s a hair�s breadth comparison! Jesus speaks of pouring out �oceans of grace� on Mercy Sunday. Think of the entirety of our planet�s ocean � the vastness, its depths, and its weight bearing upon the surface of the earth which it covers,� Sister de la Fuente said.

She concluded her reflection by reminding everyone to heed Jesus� voice as recorded in St. Faustina�s diary: �Let no soul fear to draw near to me, even though its sins are as scarlet... The soul that will go to confession and receive holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.�

During his homily, Father Jordi contrasted the views expressed by the secular media with the unchanging Church. �The main interest the secular media expressed regarding the new pope was (whether) he accepts contraception, abortion and same sex unions. They complain that the Church does not change. They don�t get it. Two thousand years ago God became man and revealed to us the truth about God and mankind. All authentic progress must be founded in that unchanging bedrock of truth.�

Deacon de los Reyes also gave a presentation on the progress of the Divine Mercy Sanctuary and Convent, making a plea for donations to help raise the remaining $900,000 in building expenses. Construction is planned for 2014, with occupancy set for the first half of 2015.

�It�s very important for the Church because Miami needs the Divine Mercy. It took a long time to get to this point but it is a great step forward, since there are many Catholics that are devoted to the Divine Mercy,� said Beatrice Arango of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Miami.

Deacon de los Reyes said that after Communion at the Mass, while reflecting and looking around at all the people gathered, �I felt that we are getting closer and closer; that soon we will start construction and before we know it, our Lord of Divine Mercy, Jesus our Lord and Savior, he, who St. Faustina loved so much, will have his home. And so many of us that have come from every country of the Americas and made our homes in Miami, as well as others from our countries will visit the sanctuary and receive his merciful graces. I also thought about the sisters; that they will also have theirs as well, a convent where they will reside while serving the sanctuary and the pilgrims during their visits.�

He also promoted the day-long parish retreats he conducts to spread the message of Divine Mercy.

�This is the answer to a world filled with hate, corruption, disregard for human life and family values,� he said. �Being merciful to others as our Father in heaven is merciful, regardless of who they are, where he or she comes from, how he or she looks and behaves, will change the world, starting with our beloved members of our families � those closest to us.�