Since the Second Vatican Council and the Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year, the Church has been emphasizing the importance of celebrating the entire 8 days of Easter as solemnities, the highest form of celebration possible. Still, some persist in their ignorance.

There seems to be a reluctance on the part of many to emphasize that the celebration of Easter spans a full eight days; from Easter Sunday to the following Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday. These eight days are called the Octave of Easter and the final day is called the Octave Day.

For many years, prior to the Second Vatican Council, there had been an incorrect movement to suppress the importance of the First Sunday after Easter. Slowly but surely, the light is beginning to shine. Several factors are helping to shine this light. They come from different Church documents, Church traditions, and some from the revelations that Our Lord has given to the Church from His prophet St. Faustina.

 From the Old Testament, we learn first about the importance of extended celebrations. Many of the most important feasts that our ancestors celebrated, spanned anywhere from seven to ten days. The feast that most resembles the 8-day celebration of Easter is the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Gospel accounts that are read on Easter Sunday (John 20:1-9), and the following Sunday (John 20:19-31), span a one-day and an eight-day period. The Gospel that is read on Easter Sunday recalls the Resurrection that occurred in the morning and the first part of the Gospel for the following Sunday, the Octave Day of Easter, recalls what happened on the evening of that day. The last part of that second Sunday’s Gospel recalls what happened on the next Sunday.

After years of study about the feast that Jesus requested to be established on the Sunday after Easter as the “Feast of Mercy”, we can easily see His reasoning. After years of study, it is quite evident that Jesus was “right on target”. Hence Aren’t the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist, the Sacraments of Divine Mercy?

To understand look at the Divine Mercy image that Jesus wants to be venerated on the Feast of Mercy. It is the image of Jesus walking into the Upper Room on the day of the Resurrection and also walking in again on the following Sunday which happened to be the eighth after His resurrection when He showed His wounds to Thomas emphasizing His Divine Mercy.