This is an excellent volume, And watching the videos through Lent in 2025 waqs an amazing experience. This is a book all Catholics today need to read! I have read many volumes by Mathew Kelly over 37 times. I have also listened to a number of audio talks and attended 2 virtual conferences. I can state this is a wonderful volume, one the church greatly needs. The description of this volume states:
“Do you need a fresh start?
Are you ready for a new beginning?
Our God is a God of second chances and fresh starts.
33 Days to Divine Mercy is a spiritual pilgrimage, an inspiring journey, a new beginning. It begins by exploring the significance of mercy, both culturally and personally, to discover the transformative power it holds to heal our brokenness.
Jesus is the ultimate new beginning. Divine Mercy is the ultimate second chance. Jesus invites us to leave behind the old and step into the new. This is not merely a call to change our circumstances but to transform our hearts, our minds, and our souls.
What is Jesus inviting you to leave behind? Too often, we allow the weight of our past mistakes to prevent us from living the life God is calling us to live today. It's easy to get stuck in repetitive thought cycles that focus on our past mistakes and the guilt, shame, and regret they gave birth to. Divine Mercy wants to liberate you from these obsessive thoughts about your past. You are not the worst thing you have done, and Divine Mercy is greater than every poor choice you have ever made.
New beginnings are full of hope and possibilities.
Life is a pilgrimage. It is a sacred journey toward our eternal home with God. Learn what it means to be a Pilgrim of Mercy in a world that is constantly trying to reduce you to a tourist and consumer. Journey to the heart of Divine Mercy with Mother Teresa, John Paul II, Augustine, Monica, John Vianney, Sister Faustina, Katharine Drexel, Damien of Molokai, and Vincent de Paul.
Without mercy there can be no forgiveness, without forgiveness there can be no healing, and without healing there can be no lasting peace. Divine Mercy is the spiritual air we breathe. It is the bridge between this world and the next.
33 Days to Divine Mercy will take you on an adventure of life-changing proportions. Embrace this experience and it will forever change the way you think about your past, your present, and your future.”
The chapters Sections in this volume are:
Introduction
One Man’s Journey
Our Culture’s Need for Mercy
Our Personal Need for Mercy
The Four Movements of Mercy
What is Consecration?
The Incredible Journey Before You
The History of Divine Mercy
How to Use This Book
Let the Pilgrimage Begin
Week One: Divine Mercy and the Pilgrim
Day 1: What is Mercy?
Day 2: Who is Mercy?
Day 3: A New Beginning
Day 4: An Authentic Sense of Self
Day 5: Mercy Isn’t Earned
Day 6: Gentle Kindness
Day 7: Humility, Humility, Humility
Week Two: Divine Mercy and the Saints
Day 8: Faustina: Mercy is Stronger Than Our Misery
Day 9: John Paul II: The Happiest Day of My Life
Day 10: Augustine: More Beautiful Than Ever
Day 11: Monica: Every Family Needs a Prayerful Giant
Day 12: Katharine Drexel: Be Bold. Be Catholic.
Day 13: Damien of Molokai: Radical Compassion
Day 14: Vincent De Paul: Goodness Never Dies
Week Three: The Corporal Works of Mercy
Day 15: Feed the Hungry
Day 16: Give Drink to the Thirsty
Day 17: Clothe the Naked
Day 18: Shelter the Homeless
Day 19: Visit the Sick
Day 20: Visit the Imprisoned
Day 21: Bury the Dead
Week Four: The Spiritual Works of Mercy
Day 22: Instruct the Ignorant
Day 23: Counsel the Doubtful
Day 24: Admonish the Sinner
Day 25: Bear Wrongs Patiently
Day 26: Forgive Offenses Willingly
Day 27: Comfort the Afflicted
Day 28: Pray for the Living and the Dead
The Final Days: Surrender
Day 29: What If?
Day 30: The Sacrament of Mercy
Day 31: Becoming a Pilgrim of Mercy
Day 32: Gift of Peace
Day 33: Jesus, I Trust in You
Appendix:
The Divine Mercy Chaplet
The Divine Mercy Novena
Divine Mercy and the Sacred Heart Devotion
I highlighted a number of passages while reading this volume. Some of them are:
“You are about to embark on an incredible journey. This isn’t just another book. It is an invitation to participate in a sacred journey—a spiritual pilgrimage. It’s a guide that will lead you to discover God’s vast mercy… and it will change your life in the most marvelous of ways.”
“The Divine Mercy devotion has gained popularity since Saint Faustina was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. But it is important to understand that Divine Mercy is first and foremost a defining characteristic of God that people have been encountering throughout salvation history in a variety of ways.”
“The teachings of the Catholic Church have always emphasized mercy, and the sacraments are offered as a powerful encounter with God’s mercy, particularly the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”
“The Church has also consistently taught that we have a responsibility to share God’s mercy with others. This is uniquely manifested in the seven Corporal Works of Mercy and the seven Spiritual Works of Mercy, which we will explore during our thirty-three-day pilgrimage. These Works of Mercy (both corporal and spiritual) are foundational to Catholic social teaching.”
“The Catholic Church has a rich history of celebrating and sharing God’s mercy with the people of every age. Every day the Catholic Church feeds more people, houses more people, clothes more people, educates more people, and visits more prisoners than any other group of people on planet earth. And we have been doing these things for a long time.”
“Spend one minute meditating on Jesus’ suffering on the Cross and then imagine how vast God’s mercy must be. Imagine yourself immersed in His mercy. Ask Him to bathe you in His mercy.”
“God’s mercy is greater than any mistake you can make. God’s mercy will liberate you from the worst moments in your past, and His mercy is the key to the best moments in your future.”
“Over the next few days, take fifteen minutes, pick up your Bible, find a quiet place, get comfortable, take a deep breath, and start reading the Gospel of Matthew. Every time you read the name of Jesus, replace it with mercy, and listen to what that phrase or passage says to you. I think you will find it to be a profound and powerful experience.”
“The people I encounter each day are all in need of healing. I need healing. The type of healing we need may be different—physical, emotional, intellectual, psychological, relational, spiritual—but there is one source of healing for us all: Jesus Christ, the Divine Mercy.”
“He wants to heal us. He wants to teach us how to love again. He wants to bathe us in His mercy, convince us of His mercy, fill us with His mercy, and send us out into the world as Pilgrims of Mercy.”
“I love Mondays because each Monday is a new beginning—a fresh start! God gives us Mondays, New Year’s Day, birthdays, and every single one represents a new blessing and a new beginning. New beginnings are a beautiful gift.”
“Too often, we allow the weight of our past mistakes to prevent us from living the life God is calling us to live today.”
“Jesus is waiting with open arms, ready to walk with you into a future filled with hope and promise. The question is not whether He can transform your life but whether you will let Him. Say yes to Him today and He will turn the page to a new chapter in your life.”
“The message is clear. Things fall apart when we can’t hear the voice of God in our lives. Separated from God, the center of our lives cannot hold, and chaos and confusion take over.”
“Our identity comes from God. When we turn our backs on God or cast Him aside, our lives become adrift. Our center cannot hold, and we become lost and confused.”
“Too many of us have a very poor sense of self. God wants to repair and restore our sense of self.”
“Mercy isn’t earned. This is the essential dilemma we face as modern Christians when it comes to mercy. It isn’t something you can earn. Not even with virtue. It is given. Freely. Completely.”
“It was by sitting alone in the presence of God in quiet empty churches that the Lord touched my life deeply. Out of the silence came a profound gratitude.”
“One of the great quests of the spiritual life is to align what we want with God’s vision for our life. Discovering what God wants for your life rarely happens all at once. It’s an unfolding process that takes time, ongoing effort, and above all, trust.”
“John Paul II had a special devotion to Divine Mercy throughout his life, and a special affection for Sister Faustina, who shared his Polish heritage. All this was born from his innate conviction that “There is nothing that humanity needs more than Divine Mercy.””
“Can something that has been broken be put back together in a way that makes it more beautiful than ever before? Absolutely. But the more beautiful question is this: Can someone who has been broken be healed and become more beautiful and more lovable than ever before?”
“Atop this list in the Canon of Saints is Saint Augustine. He is a staggering example of Divine Mercy at work in the human heart. “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future,” was Oscar Wilde’s observation and Augustine is certainly proof. Wherever you are in your journey, wherever you have been and whatever you have done, the lives of saints such as Augustine remind us that God never gives up on us—even if at times we give up on ourselves or give up on Him.”
“For twenty-five years, as I traveled from one country to the next, from one city to the next, one of the most acute forms of spiritual anguish I witnessed almost every day was that of mothers and fathers whose children have stopped practicing their Catholic faith. I have encountered so many parents and grandparents who are heartbroken because their children or grandchildren have left the Church.”
“Monica prayed like so many parents do, but she also prayed for very specific intentions. She prayed for her son’s conversion to Christianity, for his release from false beliefs and heretical teachings, that his heart would be open to the beauty of the Catholic faith, for his moral transformation, that he would abandon his sinful habits and adopt a life of virtue, that God would send wise and faithful Catholics into Augustine’s life, that God would be merciful to her son, and that God would give her son divine guidance.”
“Your family needs a prayerful giant. A prayerful giant is a person who covers their family with prayer, anchoring the family in God’s grace. Decide right now to accept God’s invitation and challenge to become your family’s prayerful giant.”
“After his death, Talbot became an icon of Ireland’s temperance movement, and his story spread around the world. He is quoted as saying, “Never be too hard on the man who can’t give up drink. It’s as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. But both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. We have only to depend on him.””
“Vincent de Paul, Frédéric Ozanam, Sister Rosalie Rendu, and Matt Talbot all faced tremendous discouragement at times. It would have been so easy to give up, to retreat into a comfortable life. But they didn’t. They pressed on, persevering in humble service, and the good they did lives on today.”
“There are so many types of hunger: physical hunger; emotional hunger; spiritual hunger; hunger for knowledge; hunger for truth; the existential hunger for meaning and purpose; hunger for peace; hunger for justice; and as Mother Teresa points out, we are all hungry for love.”
“Feeding the hungry isn’t just about food—it’s about nourishing hope, restoring dignity, and sharing the love that transforms lives. Mercy is love reaching out to misery. Feeding the hungry is mercy in action.”
“We have a responsibility to attend to our own spiritual thirst, to dig a well by developing a robust prayer life. By developing a daily practice of prayer and reflection. That’s how we dig the well.”
“It is no coincidence that the image of Divine Mercy shows streams of crystal-clear water flowing from the heart of Jesus. Mercy is love reaching out to misery. He wants His living waters to gush forth into the world and hydrate every soul.”
“VIRTUE OF THE DAY Spiritual Awareness: The virtue of spiritual awareness is marked by a sensitivity to the presence of God. It makes us mindful of how different people, things, and experiences unite us with God or draw us away from Him.”
“Rehumanization. Is there any more urgent task before society today? Which of our problems would not be solved by seeing each other as human beings?”
“Jesus didn’t see taking care of the sick as a side hustle, He didn’t see it as an inconvenience, and He didn’t see it as a distraction to His main mission. He exhibited a preference for those who were sick, whether their illness was physical or spiritual. The early Christians carried this on and captured the imagination of the whole world. Now it is your turn.”
“The Holy Spirit will help us find a way once we make the commitment. Love is creative. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us find creative ways to live out the Works of Mercy, just like Saint Vitalis did.”
“I am totally convinced that the life Jesus invites us to in the Gospels is the best way to live. In fact, I am so convinced that even if you could prove to me that God does not exist, that eternity does not exist, and that we simply cease to exist after we die, I would still believe that the teachings of Jesus offer the best way to live.”
“The word admonish comes from the Latin word admonere, meaning to remind or advise. Admonishing the sinner isn’t a call to judge, reprimand, or control people. It’s an invitation to remind others that there is a “best way to live.” To admonish the sinner is to say, “You are making yourself miserable by looking for joy in the wrong place.””
“There is a reality that we don’t like to talk about. You can mis-live your life. Most people never consider it as a possibility, but it’s true. You can mis-live your life. We assume that all lives are well-lived. It isn’t true. We deceive ourselves.”
“It is also helpful to examine how we respond to correction, coaching, reminders, and warnings. How coachable are you? Champions love coaching. They are so committed to excellence that they would listen to their worst enemy’s advice if it would help them run half a second faster (or the equivalent in their particular sport or discipline). Their desire for excellence in their sport often dwarfs our desire for spiritual excellence.”
“The word admonish comes from the Latin word admonere, meaning to remind or advise. Admonishing the sinner isn’t a call to judge, reprimand, or control people. It’s an invitation to remind others that there is a “best way to live.” To admonish the sinner is to say, “You are making yourself miserable by looking for joy in the wrong place.” It is always an invitation to a better life.”
“People are going to hurt you. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but a truth, nonetheless. Sometimes people wrong us intentionally. At other times, it’s the result of their brokenness, or a misunderstanding, or carelessness. These offenses can range from cutting you off in traffic and saying something sarcastic to someone lying about you, stealing from you, cheating on you, constantly criticizing you, and worse.”
“When we forgive, we share the love of God with others and rid ourselves of dangerous poisons that can prevent us from growing spiritually. The benefits are clear, but that doesn’t make it easy.”
“I honestly don’t know how people live without prayer. I can tell the difference in myself on days when I don’t pray. I’m less patient and more anxious, I give people the benefit of the doubt less and judge more, I think about myself more and I’m less generous with others, and the list goes on and on. I know for certain that prayer makes me a better friend, husband, father, brother, son, employer, and citizen.”
“I have tried life with and without prayer. With prayer is better. Life without prayer is unbearable. Without prayer, life doesn’t make sense. I don’t know how people live without prayer. I don’t know how someone could remain sane in this crazy, noisy, busy world without a few minutes in the classroom of silence each day.”
“Awe: The virtue of awe is a profound respect and reverence for the source of all life. Contemplation of life, truth, beauty, goodness and the sheer power of God all nurture the virtue of awe.”
A sample day is:
“DAY 13
DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI: RADICAL COMPASSION
“Approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
Imagine for a moment the life of the average twenty-four-year-old.
At the age of twenty-four, Damien of Molokai volunteered to leave his homeland of Belgium to serve as a missionary in the Kingdom of Hawaii where he was ordained a priest. Eleven years later he volunteered to go to the island of Molokai, where those with leprosy were forcibly quarantined. He knew the risks and he went anyway.
Damien worked tirelessly to improve living conditions for the patients. He helped them build homes, schools, a church, and a hospital. He provided medical care, organized the community, and restored dignity to the patients. He ministered to both their physical needs and spiritual well-being, offering the sacraments, and sharing in their suffering.
After serving the rejected and suffering people of Molokai for many years, Damien contracted leprosy himself. The year was 1884 and he was forty-four years old. Despite his declining health, he continued his work until he died five years later.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized Damien on October 11, 2009, recognizing him as a “Martyr of Charity” and a model of self-sacrificial love.
The radical compassion of Saint Damien of Molokai was so Christlike that I have trouble comprehending it. And most of the letters he wrote were burned upon arrival, out of fear that leprosy could be transmitted just by touching them. So, I tried to imagine what he would say to you as you make this consecration journey, and this is what I came up with:
