'A Divine Mercy Encounter'

DIVINE MERCY  Derek Nelson has written songs for “A Divine Mercy Encounter,” an evening of adoration, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction and Confession in the form of a holy hour in St. Cecilia Church, also in Rockaway, on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m.

Music director at Rockaway parish pens meditative songs for holy hour on June 26

ROCKAWAY  The delicate notes played on a piano sprinkle like a gentle summer rain, as the lyrics of a soft, spiritual song, “Suffering for Souls,” issues a challenge by Jesus as told to St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish religious sister and mystic, renowned for promoting devotion to Divine Mercy.

“So pray and pray to take on suffering for souls, ‘cause the fate of poor sinner depends on these prayers of yours,” sings Derek Nelson, music director at Sacred Heart Parish here and co-composer of the song. He can be seen playing piano and singing with Angela Mintel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Boonton, co-writer the song, on the video-sharing website YouTube. “O child, beloved, child, intercede for dying. O child, beloved child, take on suffering for souls,” they sing.

The song, “Suffering for Souls” appears in the first half “A Divine Mercy Encounter” — an evening of adoration, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Confession in the form of a holy hour in St. Cecilia Church here at 7 p.m., Friday, June 26. Nelson wrote or co-wrote eight meditative songs for the service, based on the writings of notable Catholics, including saints, and St. Faustina’s diary. For the holy hour, he has woven together a seamless tapestry of prayers, Scripture readings and reflections, including from St. John Paul II, who personally promoted St. Faustina’s devotion to Divine Mercy.

“This adoration event is dedicated entirely to the Sacred Heart of Jesus dwelling inside the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The goal of this event is to guide our hearts to hear Jesus speak to us directly. We are not here together by accident. Jesus has been waiting for us and is very pleased that we desire an intimate encounter with him,” said Nelson, who will sing and play piano and organ, along with special guest singer Mintel.

The 90-minute service promotes devotion to Divine Mercy — perfect for the current Jubilee Year of Mercy, as declared by Pope Francis — with songs that form a dramatic arc — from introducing the devotion and practicing praying for souls, praying the rosary and serving others to promoting the Culture of Life. Nelson considers his song, “We Pray the Rosary,” the centerpiece of the holy hour. A period of silence follows each of the songs — which also include material written by other composers — to give congregants time for meditation and reflection, Nelson said.

“I want to reach people, who have never experienced the faith before, and help people, who already have faith, grow in their faith. Anyone can benefit,” said Nelson, who noted that he based many of his original songs on the passages from St. Faustina’s diary, which record her mystical encounters with Jesus. “The songs — which are meant to encourage guided meditation — can help spread the Divine Mercy message in a different way.”

Father Sigmund Peplowski, pastor of both St. Cecilia’s and Sacred Heart, and Father Marcin Michalowski, a parochial vicar, will be among the priests to participate in the holy hour.

Emphasizing the solemnity of the occasion, Nelson quotes Blessed Mother Teresa: “The fruit of silence…is joy.” The service also intersperses also reflections from St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Louis Marie de Montfort and St. Gianna Beretta Molla and others.

“Tell sinners that no one shall escape my hand; if they run away from my merciful heart, the will fall into my just hands. Tell sinners that I am always waiting for them, that I listen intently to the beating of their heart…When will it beat for me?” the program quotes St. Faustina, who quotes Jesus (diary No. 1728). “Write that I am speaking to them through their remorse of conscience, through their failures and sufferings, through thunderstorms, through the voice of the Church,” Jesus tells her.

“A Divine Mercy Encounter” grew from a series of songs that Nelson — also a public high-school music teacher — had been writing for the services at the N.J. Divine Mercy Center, Newark, where he has been playing and singing as part of its music ministry. He was inspired to assemble the songs into the form of a holy hour, after attending adoration at Catholic Underground, a ministry of the Franciscans of the Renewal in New York City, and also a retreat at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

The holy hour ends with Nelson’s song, “The Culture of Life,” based on the theology of St. John Paul II.

“There’s a Culture of Life to live! There’s a purer love to give! There’s a true belief that a life is a life,” Nelson sings. “There is no truth without Jesus Christ. There is no love without sacrifice. And that’s the way of the Culture of Life.”

[Some of the songs featured in “A Divine Mercy Encounter” can be viewed on the YouTube channel here.]