Divine Mercy retreat at Malvern offers appeal for youth
By NADIA MARIA SMITH
CS&T Staff Writer
With Easter fast approaching, the Malvern Retreat House is gearing up
to celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy.
That feast day is one of the gifts the late Pope John Paul II left to
the Church when, at the canonization of the polish nun Sister Mary Faustina
Kowalska, he announced the Second Sunday of Easter “from now on
throughout the Church will be called ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.”
The graces are plenty for those who seek God’s mercy on that day.
According to the devotion, Jesus has promised complete forgiveness of
sins and punishment for any person who goes to confession and receives
holy Communion worthily, meaning in a state of grace without serious sin,
on that day.
Jesus made the promise through St. Faustina, who He commanded to keep
a diary recording in detail what He wished mankind to know about His mercy
and love.
Even so, although the Church has been celebrating the feast day since
2000, there are still Catholics who don’t know the treasure it holds.
That is why Malvern is hosting its third annual Divine Mercy retreat from
Friday, March 28 to Sunday, March 30.
This year the organizers are also reaching out to young people in a special
way.
“The message of Divine Mercy is not well known among young people
so we’re praying for a younger population to attend, since the message
of mercy pours out a ‘whole ocean of graces,’” said
Anne McGlone, Malvern’s director of marketing and public relations.
“Young people are the ones that will carry on the message,”
she said.
To heighten the appeal, Malvern has secured Redemptorist Father Pablo
Straub, well known for his appearances on EWTN-TV and Mexican television,
as the retreat director for the third year in a row.
Father Straub is a bilingual priest who directs missions, retreats and
Marian conferences around the world. He has spent more than 25 years evangelizing
in Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Peru — on the shores of Lake
Titicaca with indigenous populations and on the streets of Manila. He
is also the founder of two contemplative religious orders in Mexico.
Assisting him will be Father Stephen DeLacy, a priest of the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia, “who is known for his tremendous gift of preaching,
a strong sense of compassion and a gift for working with teens and young
adults,” McGlone said.
Father DeLacy is the chaplain of Archbishop John Carroll High School in
Radnor.
A third guest will be Marty Rotella, a five-time Grammy nominee who has
written and recorded close to 2,000 Catholic songs. He will bring his
music and gift for preaching to the weekend, which will incorporate teaching,
prayer, reconciliation, Eucharistic Adoration and quiet time.
“Retreatants come from all over the U.S. for this weekend, which
ends with a special Divine Mercy closing Mass on Sunday,” said Jim
Fitzsimmons, president of Malvern Retreat House. “Anyone who attends
this retreat will leave with a profound sense of God’s love and
compassion.”
For more information visit www. malvernretreat.com or call 610-644-0400.
CS&T staff writer Nadia Maria Smith may be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.