Divine Mercy novena

Prayed from March 26 to April 3 (the 2027 dates: they move with Easter each year).

Day 1

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots.
Luke 23:34 · BSB

The first word Jesus speaks from the cross is a prayer for the people killing him. He does not wait for them to apologise or understand. He asks the Father to forgive them while the nails are still being driven. This is where mercy begins: not with our worthiness, but with his love reaching towards people who do not yet know what they have done. Today, hold the whole world in that prayer, including the people you find hardest to forgive.

Merciful Father, your Son prayed for those who crucified him. Look with that same mercy on the whole world: on nations at war, on the forgotten, on every heart that has turned from you. Let your forgiveness reach where we cannot. Amen.

Intention: For the whole world, that every person may come to know God's mercy.

Day 2

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
Luke 15:20 · BSB

The younger son rehearsed a speech all the way home. He never got to finish it. While he was still far off, his father saw him, was moved, and ran. In that culture, an older man running was thought undignified; the father did not care. God is not waiting at the door with folded arms. He is watching the road. Think of someone you love who has drifted from faith or from home, and picture the Father already running towards them.

Father, you see the ones we love while they are still far away. Run to meet them. Soften the shame that keeps them from coming home, and make our own arms ready to welcome them without a lecture. Amen.

Intention: For those who have drifted away from God, the Church or their families.

Day 3

Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”
John 20:27–28 · BSB

Thomas was not with the others when Jesus came, and he refused to believe on their word alone. A week later, Jesus came back for him. He did not scold him from a distance; he offered his wounds: put your finger here. Mercy meets doubt with patience, and with the scars of love. If faith feels uncertain for you, or for someone close to you, you are in good company. Thomas's honest doubt ended in the clearest confession in the Gospels: My Lord and my God.

Risen Lord, you came back for Thomas. Come to all who doubt, gently and in your own time. Show them your wounds and your patience. And when my own faith wavers, let me hear your invitation again, and answer: my Lord and my God. Amen.

Intention: For those who doubt, and for all who are searching for God.

Day 4

Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!”
Mark 1:40–41 · BSB

The man with leprosy had not been touched in a long time. The law kept him at a distance, and fear kept everyone else away. He knelt and said, If you are willing, you can make me clean. Mark says Jesus was moved with compassion, reached out his hand and touched him before he said a word of healing. The touch came first. Bring to him today the people you know who are sick, in body or mind, especially those who feel isolated by their illness.

Lord Jesus, you were moved with compassion and reached out to touch the sick. Stretch out your hand over everyone who suffers in body or mind. Give them relief, give their carers strength, and let none of them feel untouched or alone. Amen.

Intention: For the sick, in body or mind, and for those who care for them.

Day 5

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:42–43 · BSB

The man crucified beside Jesus had no time left to make anything right. He could not repay, could not undo, could not even move. All he had was one sentence: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus answered him with a promise for that very day. No one is too late for mercy. Pray today for those who are dying, especially those who will die alone or afraid, and for those keeping watch at their bedside.

Jesus, you promised paradise to a dying man who asked only to be remembered. Remember all who are dying today. Calm their fear, forgive their sins, and welcome them home. Comfort those who sit beside them and must say goodbye. Amen.

Intention: For the dying, especially those who are alone or afraid.

Day 6

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!
Matthew 18:21–22 · BSB

Peter thought seven times was generous, and by most standards it was. Jesus answered with a number meant to stop the counting altogether. Forgiveness is not a single decision but a road we keep walking, sometimes for the same wound, day after day. It does not mean pretending nothing happened or staying in harm's way. It means handing the debt to God so that it no longer owns us. Today, name before him someone who has hurt you.

Lord, you know who has hurt me and how deeply. I cannot always forgive in one step, so I give you today's step. Bless the person who wronged me, heal what they broke in me, and free us both. Amen.

Intention: For those who have hurt us, and for the grace to forgive them.

Day 7

Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.”
John 8:10–11 · BSB

The woman was dragged into the temple court and made a public example, while the men with stones waited for Jesus to condemn her. He bent down and wrote on the ground, and one by one they left. Then he spoke to her, not about her: Then neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more. Mercy does not excuse sin, but it refuses to let shame have the last word. Pray today for those crushed by guilt.

Lord Jesus, you sent the accusers away and spoke to the woman with kindness. Speak that way to everyone weighed down by guilt or shame. Lead them to confession and to peace, and help me never to pick up a stone. Amen.

Intention: For those weighed down by guilt or shame, that they may find peace.

Day 8

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:36 · BSB

Jesus does not ask us to be merciful so that God will love us. He asks us to be merciful as our Father is merciful, as if mercy were a family resemblance. Children pick up their parents' ways without trying. Spend enough time receiving God's mercy and it begins to show: in how you speak of a difficult relative, how you treat someone serving you on a bad day, how quickly you assume the worst. Ask today to look a little more like your Father.

Father of mercies, I have received far more mercy than I have given. Make me resemble you. Slow my judgements, soften my words, and open my hands to those in need, so that others may recognise your kindness in me. Amen.

Intention: For ourselves, that we may become merciful as our Father is merciful.

Day 9

His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.
Luke 1:50 · BSB

Mary sang these words while carrying a child almost no one yet knew about. She looked back over Israel's long history and saw one thread running through it: mercy, from generation to generation. Your own story has that thread too. Over nine days you have prayed for the world, the lost and the doubting, the sick and the dying, those who hurt us, those weighed down by shame, and your own heart. Close the novena as Mary did, with gratitude.

Merciful God, thank you for walking with me through these nine days. Your mercy has carried every generation, and it carries me. Keep the people I have prayed for in your heart, and make my life a song of thanks for your faithful love. Amen.

Intention: In thanksgiving for God's mercy, from generation to generation.

Novenas

The reflections, prayers and intentions are our own, written for Verso and reviewed. Bible quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), in the public domain. How we write.