Sister Faustina had specified a detailed novena to Divine Mercy. This service would be celebrated starting on Good Friday until the second Sunday after Easter. For each day of the novena, a different group of people would be recommended to Divine Mercy:
- All mankind, especially all sinners;
- The souls of priests and religious;
- All devout and faithful souls;
- Pagans and those who do not yet know Jesus;
- Heretics and schismatics;
- The meek and humble souls and the souls of little children;
- The souls who especially venerate and glorify God's mercy;
- The souls who are in the prison of Purgatory;
- The souls who have become lukewarm; (No. 1209-1229).
One can clearly notice the parallel between these prayers and the common prayers from the liturgy of Good Friday. Father M. Sopocko explained: "On Good Friday, when Divine Mercy descended on mankind, revealed was not only the greatest ingratitude of man but also the brazen arrogance of the hangmen, who mockingly turned the dying Savior's own words against Him. Therefore, it is mandatory to do reparation for this ingratitude and to initiate, at least privately, on this day a novena to beg for God's mercy for the world by taking into consideration the various public prayers from Good Friday. Such a novena harmonizes perfectly with the liturgy of the last two days and the whole Holy Week. It makes it easier for the faithful to actively live through the opulent services of this period and to feel the spirit of the Church liturgy more deeply". (The spirit of the second Sunday after Easter, in "His Mercy lasts forever" (Poznan, 1972, p.391).
Bishop Edward Ozorowski - Dialogues on Divine Mercy