The Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday by publicizing a quote from St. Maria Faustina Kowalska’s diary that expressed her consideration about the day.

“Today the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday, based on the devotion to the Divine Mercy revealed to St. Faustina Kowalska,” the diocese posted. “In His mercy, Christ forgives us of our sins and shares with us the life of the Resurrection.”

It then added an excerpt from St. Faustina’s diary: "Tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.”

Divine Mercy Sunday is a day set aside to celebrate God's love for us. The depth of that love has been revealed through Scripture and in the writings of the saints, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). 

It explained that in the 1930s, when mankind was experiencing an “eclipse of the sense of God," Jesus appeared to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun. In appearing before her, Jesus conveyed a message emphasizing mankind's need for the message of Divine Mercy. St. Faustina recorded messages about his more than a dozen visits in her diary. 

Another excerpt from her dairy, cited by the USCCB, says: "My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy [...] It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.”

Divine Mercy Sunday offers a chance for the faithful to renew their baptismal promises and cleanse themselves of sin. In preparation for a Feast of Mercy, the faithful are directed to make a complete Confession, and they receive Holy Communion on the feast day itself, according to what Jesus told St. Faustina. 

St. Faustina came up with the Divine Mercy Chaplet, The Divine Mercy website says, as a special prayer for the day. The prayer follows the pattern of the Rosary but offers different prayers. 

On the "Our Father" beads, the prayer is: "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 "Hail Mary" beads, the prayer is: "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”