ROCKAWAY Gentle notes of a piano cascade like rain as Derek Nelson, music director of Sacred Heart Parish here, sings, giving voice to a question posed by Jesus, “Will you suffer with me as I suffer for you?”
“Take it up; it will teach you peace. Take it up; it will teach you love. Take it up; it will bring you all my richest blessings when you suffer with me,” Nelson sings on “Will You Suffer with Me,” one of many songs he wrote for “A Divine Mercy Encounter,” a CD that presents reflections, prayers, and music for a Divine Mercy holy hour that he released last year. “I’m giving you a great grace. You’ll make it through … want to set your heart free. Your love will be crystalized — pure as can be,” he sings.
The message of the devotion to Divine Mercy as first promoted by Polish-born St. Maria Faustina Kowalska — to trust in Jesus — remains timeless for the ages but also seems timely in this age of grief, fear and uncertainty in the COVID-19 pandemic. Nelson, along with his wife, Jennifer, who helped develop the CD, are offering the entire “A Divine Mercy Encounter” release for free on the music-sharing website, Bandcamp.com. The collection features songs by Derek Nelson; reflections taken from Scripture, the popes, the saints and St. Faustina’s diary, as recited by Jennifer Nelson; and Chaplet of Divine Mercy set to music. The couple purchased enough for 1,200 downloads, said Nelson, who also sings and plays piano on the release.
“People need to hear the message of Divine Mercy — to trust in Jesus — in these dark times,” said Jennifer Nelson, mother of six children, who recites prayers and passages from St. Faustina’s writings on the CD. “The music talks about using suffering as a loving act when offered as a prayer for other people. It could be a beautiful form of prayer for other people to return to the Church and to the Sacraments,” she said.
Posting “A Divine Mercy Encounter” on Bandcamp.com is a “good way” to distribute the music, prayers and devotions of their Divine Mercy Holy Hour that they have been presenting in various locations for several years. The state-mandated social restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus put a temporary stop to their Divine Mercy Encounter Holy Hour. When they had run out of copies of the CDs, which they started to sell last year, the Nelsons looked for a new way to release the music.
“The goal is to promote the Sacrament of Reconciliation for all Catholics, but especially for those who have been away from the faith,” said Derek Nelson, who wrote the songs of faith and meditation on the CD, which the couple created with friend, Steve Babula of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mountain Lakes. He produced and engineered the project in his home studio in Boonton. “We want people to feel as if Jesus is there beside them, waiting for their confessions. With the Divine Mercy Encounter and the CD, we also want to introduce people to the meaning of suffering and help them get close to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,” Derek Nelson said.
The CD also features vocals by the choir of Sacred Heart Parish in Rockaway; Angela Mintel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Boonton; and three of the Nelsons’ six children: Gianna, 13; Gabriel, 11; and Lucianna, 9.
The program has a more-than 20-minute musical recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy set to the melody of an ancient chant and features a full, dramatic production with choir and additional instruments.
“Divine Mercy shows that God’s mercy has no limits and that our suffering, when united with Christ, has great power,” said Jennifer Nelson. Last year, the Nelsons and Babula spoke to Marian Helper — the magazine of the Marian Missionaries of Divine Mercy in Massachusetts, who promote the devotion — about people’s reactions to the holy hour. “Someone, who lost his job, came up to us afterward to thank us. One woman, who lost a son in a tragic accident, said that this helped to heal her. She told us, ‘I had been so angry at God,’ ” she said.
Two years ago, the Nelsons befriended Father Michael Gaitley, evangelization director of Evangelization for the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception and formation director of the Marian Missionaries, who gave a “Mary and Mercy” retreat at St. Cecilia Church in Rockaway, which Jennifer helped coordinate. Through his assistant, the couple was able to secure permission from the Marian Missionaries, who hold the rights to St. Faustina’s dairy, to use portions of its text on the CD.
To receive your free download of “A Divine Mercy Encounter” go to www.adivinemercyencounter.bandcamp.com. Go to “Buy Album” and put in $0.00 to claim the free download. The Nelsons encourage people to copy the link and share with anyone who needs to be encouraged to trust in Jesus during these trying times.