Neither snow, nor sleet, nor rain, nor driving wind could keep God from his appointed rounds at Eden Hill on Divine Mercy Sunday. The predicted Nor'easter didn't materialize, though it sent its younger brother to do a spot-on imitation. The skies opened over the Hill — snow resembling manna, rain like baptismal water, wind recalling the entrance of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost — saturating the diverse multitude in a special delivery of mercy.

If this wicked brew couldn't cancel Divine Mercy Sunday in Stockbridge, it's safe to think nothing ever will. The weather was, in a word, nasty — the day of days for a test of one's convictions. Do you really trust? This was the day to find out.

And they still came — an estimated 10,000 pilgrims, under deplorable conditions that kept worsening throughout the day. Ironically, it turned out to be the perfect day for the best in people to rise to the top.

"This is amazing," said Fr. Kazimiercz Chwalek, MIC, the Marians' Director of Evangelization and Development, his face beaming. "The weather is more than challenging, but it has not discouraged pilgrims from being here. To see this taking place under the most difficult circumstances is just amazing!"

Years hence, when they tell the tale of this day, they will recall the "Miracle in the Snow."

'Consolation and Hope'
That was the feel of an unforgettable day, both wintry and joyous, as the Marians of the Immaculate Conception celebrated the feast day at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass., April 15, a day that looked more like Dec. 15. In addition, countless millions around the world watched EWTN's live broadcast of Holy Mass in both English and Spanish.

In his homily, held outside at the main field altar, chief celebrant Cardinal Adam Maida, Archbishop of Detroit, urged pilgrims to open their hearts and souls to the mercy of God as the only remedy for our troubled time.

"In our world today," the Cardinal said, "as we are overshadowed by much violence and suffering, including the persecution of Christians, the tragedy of abortion, and the breakdown of the family, more than ever the healing rays of Divine Mercy offer us consolation and hope."

He said, "The image of The Divine Mercy reminds us that God always takes the initiative to reach out to us in our times of doubt and anxiety. Just as Christ hastened to offer peace and consolation to all of His disciples, and especially 'doubting Thomas' in today's Gospel, He continues to reach out to us in our times of stress, loss, and fear."

Cardinal Maida concluded by calling to mind the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy as revealed to St. Faustina Kowalska by Jesus. He noted that the Chaplet is an ongoing extension of both the Holy Eucharist and the forgiveness of sins.

After Mass at the field altar, about two-thirds of the pilgrims stayed to recite the Chaplet, some kneeling in the deep, muddy slush. Benediction followed.

Cardinal Maida, president of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., said in a one-on-one sit-down interview before Mass that his father grew up in a Polish town only eight miles from Glogowiec, St. Faustina's birthplace.

"Divine Mercy and me, we go back a long way," the Cardinal said. "Today we have the most urgent need for it. We are pressured by an awful lot of secular culture that leads people to sin. Sin divides. Divine Mercy unites. No question, it is the message for our time."

Cardinal Maida also called it "a singular honor" to be chosen as main celebrant on Eden Hill for Divine Mercy Sunday. "This place is special. You can feel the presence of God. I made my first visit to Stockbridge [on Divine Mercy Sunday] 20 years ago. There were about 200 pilgrims, as I recall. My, how it has grown."

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