New words for Divine Mercy Sunday

慈悲主日 Cíbēi zhǔ rì Divine Mercy Sunday
慈悲串经 Cíbēi chuàn jīng Divine Mercy Chaplet

Today, the Second Sunday of Easter, is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. I have had so much more exposure to the Divine Mercy devotions in China than I have ever had in the US, so I wasn't surprised to see St. Faustina's image of Jesus in front of the church this morning.



More after the jump


Following Mass, during our normal chants of Thanksgiving, we also prayed 慈悲串经, the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Many of the people in attendance knew these prayers by heart, but to help those who were a little shaky, the seminarians projected them onto the wall. I have only a passing familiarity with the Divine Mercy Chaplet in English, so I mostly just kept count on my rosary beads. On the "Hail Mary" beads, what is normally prayed in English is

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

In Chinese, we prayed this with our leader reciting the first line, and all of us responding with the second. By the fourth decade, I was able to recite along, mostly.

因祂的至悲惨苦难，求你垂怜我们及普世
Yīn tā de zhì bēicǎn kǔnàn, qiú nǐ chuí lián wǒmen jí pǔ shì

The characters for "mercy" used in this case, 慈悲, are different than the Chinese words for "mercy" that is in the Kyrie, 垂怜 (chuí lián), and are also used in the Agnus Dei and the above prayer. "Divine Mercy" is composed of two characters, 慈悲, with similar construction. On the bottom of both is the word 心 (xīn), meaning heart. On top of the first is the character 玆 (zī) meaning "at present." The upper part of the second character is 罪 (zuì), which means "sin," as well as more secular words like "crime" and "guilt." It's a word I like saying in Chinese, oddly enough. Alone 慈, based on "present" and "heart," means "compassionate" and "merciful." With sin weighing on the heart, 悲 itself means "mournful" or "disconsolate." Together, though, 慈悲 is what Chinese Catholics use to describe "Divine Mercy" instead of our more commonly used "垂怜." Both mean "mercy," but 慈悲 seems to have a special meaning that really touches this sinner's heart.