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Prayer Life

- Catholic Devotions at St. Faustina Parish
  
  Devotions are prayers or actions devoted to God. Devotions help you develop your relationship with God by by cultivating a familiarity with and love of theological truths and revealed mysteries of faith. St. Faustina Parish offers many opportunities for both public and private devotions.
- Divine Mercy
- The Rosary
- First Friday / First Saturday
- Stations of the Cross
- Divine Mercy Devotions
  
  Devotion to the Divine Mercy, as revealed to St. Faustina by Jesus, involves venerating the image of Mercy (see picture at right), celebrating the Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter), praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy (click here for instructions), completing a novena of Chaplets (a novena is nine consecutive days of prayer), and observing the Hour of Mercy (every day beginning at 3 p.m., the hour that Jesus died on the cross for us).
  
  Every Thursday at 5 p.m., join us for group prayer of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and veneration of the image.
  Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated together with St. Malachy Parish of Sterling Heights.
  To receive the grace of Divine Mercy Sunday, you simply need to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) before or on the day of the feast (sometime during Lent is fine); be in the state of grace on Divine Mercy Sunday itself (no mortal sin); and receive Holy Communion on that day with the intention of obtaining the promised grace.
  
  More information about Divine Mercy may be found by reading "Divine Mercy in My Soul-Diary of Sister M. Faustina Kowalska", as well as many other Catholic informational sources.
- The Rosary
  
  The rosary is a devotion in honor of the Virgin Mary.
  
  It is the meditation on the mysteries that gives the rosary its staying power. The Joyful Mysteries are these: the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), the Visitation (Luke 1:40-56), the Nativity (Luke 2:6-20), the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:21-39), and the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-51).
  
  Then come the Sorrowful Mysteries: the Agony in the Garden (Matt. 26:36-46), the Scourging (Matt. 27:26), the Crowning with Thorns (Matt. 27:29), the Carrying of the Cross (John 19:17), and the Crucifixion (Luke 23:33-46).
  
  The final Mysteries are the Glorious: the Resurrection (Luke 24:1-12), the Ascension (Luke 24:50-51), the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), the Assumption of Mary into Heaven (Rev. 12), and her Coronation (cf. Rev. 12:1).
  For instructions on how to pray the rosary click here.
  
  The rosary is usually prayed publicly at St. Faustina Parish about half an hour before regular mass. We also have a Living Rosary Society, click here for more information. Private prayer of the rosary is also highly encouraged.
- First Friday and First Saturday
  
  On the first Friday of each month, we observe devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Devotion to the Sacred Heart focuses on God’s self-sacrificial love for humankind. God the Son so loved the world that he allowed a spear to pierce his human heart, from which flowed blood and water for the salvation of the world (John 3:16, 19:34). The popular devotions to the Sacred Heart that are commonly practiced today were inspired by the visions of Christ reported by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a seventeenth-century nun. Sister Margaret Mary received visions of Jesus in which he directed her to foster devotion to His Sacred Heart, and revealed several promises for those who lovingly practice it.
  St. Faustina Parish observes First Friday
  at the 9 a.m. Mass.
  
  On the first Saturday of each month, we observe devotions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This devotion, while dating from the thirteenth century, was incresed after the appearances of the Blessed Mother to three children of Fatima, Portugal, early in the twentieth century. The Blessed Mother promised to assist those who practice devotion on five consecutive first Saturdays.
  St. Faustina Parish observes First Saturday devotions
  as follows:
  Sacrament of Reconciliation: 10:45 a.m.
  Group Rosary prayers: 11:00 a.m.
  Holy Mass: 11:30 a.m.
- The Stations of the Cross
  
  The Stations of the Cross are a way to pray and meditate on Christ's sacrifice for us. The traditional form is listed below. It is divided into fourteen stations or images which trace Jesus' journey from the trial before Pilate to His crucifixion and death on Calvary.
  
              First Station - Jesus is condemned to Death
              Second Station - Jesus is made to bear His Cross
              Third Station - Jesus falls the first time under His Cross
              Fourth Station - Jesus meets His Mother
              Fifth Station - Simon the Cyrene helps Jesus carry His Cross
              Sixth Station - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
              Seventh Station - Jesus falls the second time
              Eighth Station - Jesus speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem
              Ninth Station - Jesus falls the third time
              Tenth Station - Jesus is stripped of His garments
              Eleventh Station - Jesus is nailed to the Cross
              Twelfth Station - Jesus dies on the Cross
              Thirteenth Station - Jesus is taken down from the Cross
              Fourteenth Station - Jesus is buried in the tomb
  
  After each station is announced, genuflect (kneel on your right knee) and say:
  
  Guide: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
  All: Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
  
  Then say the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory be to the Father. The traditional hymn, "Sorrowful Mother", may be sung between each station.
  
  St. Faustina Parish prays the Stations together on Fridays at 6pm during Lent.