Greg Daly
Divine Mercy Conference organiser Don Devaney tells Greg Daly about bringing God’s mercy into the world
“The reason for this year’s conference is that we’re encouraging people to be apostles of mercy,” says Don Devaney of Ireland’s 26th Divine Mercy Conference, held in Dublin’s RDS this weekend.
“The theme for this year is ‘Have mercy on us and the whole world,” Don continues, explaining that the call to be apostles of mercy “follows on from the Year of Mercy when the Pope was asking us to do this”.
“There are about 1.2 billion Catholics, of whom about 40% are actively participating, out of the seven billion people in the world,” Don says, adding, “Pope Francis is trying to reach out to the 60% who fall away, and to non-Catholics too. God’s mercy is for everybody and everybody needs God’s mercy.”
While opposition to the Pope among small numbers of Catholics has gained media coverage of late, Don is steadfast in his loyalty to the Holy Father. “Personally I like his message,” he says, continuing: “It’s misunderstood by a lot of people, but I like what he’s trying to do.”
Don says of the kind of Christianity to which the Pope is calling us: “In the age we live in, people want to see an authenticity where people believe what they say and do what they say – a practical authenticity.”
Given this, he says: “If our lives are an authentic example of Christianity, this will convert more people than preaching and talking about the Catechism.”
Encouraging
This year’s Divine Mercy Conference then, he says, is a petition to God to have mercy on us and the whole world, and is also about reaching out and encouraging apostles to intercede for the world, for all those who don’t pray, and for people to have the courage to take a wider vision.
Pointing out that we’re called to pray for everyone – even, he notes, terrorists and members of militant cults like Nigeria’s Boko Haram and the so-called Islamic State, he says: “It’s a spiritual war, and the only way that we’ll win it is through prayer.”
This year’s conference has a packed agenda, he says, starting with a free evening session of prayer and Mass from 6.30pm on Friday, focused primarily – though not exclusively – on young people, with the more traditional conference starting at 9.30 the next morning, with morning prayer being followed by a talk by Fr Bernard McGuckian on the connections between the Sacred Heart and the Divine Mercy.
“We’ve a line up of eight speakers, which is a good variety and also gives value for money,” says Don.
After lunch, the weekend’s reconciliation service is, according to Don, “the highlight of the conference”, when thousands of people come to Confession and “the floodgates of God’s mercy will open”. Mass later that afternoon will be celebrated by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, he says, while the evening will be devoted to a healing service.
Sunday, then, is scheduled to start with morning prayer at 10am, followed by three further talks, a Holy Hour, and – after the Divine Mercy chaplet – the conference’s closing Mass.
Record figures
While Don does not expect this year’s conference attendance to match last year’s record figures, when, he says, the Year of Mercy gave the conference “a tremendous boost”, he still hopes to keep momentum going ahead of next year’s World Meeting of Families.
“Mercy, like family, begins at home, with the people closest,” says, observing that “the challenge of that can be the most difficult challenge of all”. Even if this is a challenge, he says, there are always grounds for hope.
“The essence of Divine Mercy is that everybody’s a sinner,” he says, “and that everybody’s welcome.”