Divine Mercy Four

one

Jesus said to Faustyna:

Before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day (Diary, 83).

I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation. (Diary 1160)

Through St. Faustina, Jesus revealed that He is giving the world a window of Mercy, a time of grace before the Day of Justice to step back and look at the state of our soul, making a searching, fearless and deep inventory of our sins and their consequences, then turn to God with true sorrow and tell Him you love him above all things.

two

The whole point of Divine Mercy Sunday is to give us the grace before the day of Justice:  

Tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow…The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. 699

three

The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. What does Jesus mean by punishment?

The punishment of sin is the consequences that follow from free actions. Good actions bring good consequences, bad actions bring bad consequences. If I repeatedly make acts of pride, envy, anger, greed, lust, etc…then I develop these as bad habits which are called vices and these warp my character so that I’m actively drawn toward evil. These vices separate us from God, from one another and from happiness. They are disordered attachments that must be purified or removed before we can reach perfect union with God which is Heaven. This complete purification is called a Full Indulgence.

To receive a Full Indulgence, that is the complete removal of the consequences of sin, on Divine Mercy Sunday, one must be completely detached from disordered desires for even venial sin and all the damage done must be repaired.

To accomplish this we must do our part, then God and the saints do their part by helping to atone or repair the damage we’ve done.

·       We do our part by prayer, a searching and fearless examination of conscience, turning away from sin and practicing virtue, receiving the sacraments and acceptance of our cross to be purified.

·       God and the saints do their part to help us by their intercession.

four

Not many people get excited about Divine Mercy Sunday because most people think they go straight to heaven after death with no purgatory. For those who think this way let me ask: Will there be pride, envy, wrath, lust, greed, gluttony, gossip, and anxiety in heaven? No. Well then, what are we going to do, because these things are in us and they can’t be in heaven. So we need to be purified of vices and disordered attachments in order to have perfect union with God which is heaven.  

Some say, “I just want to make it to purgatory because then I am assured of heaven.” That is true, after your purification. But why do you want to put off union with God? Do we love God so little that we want the vices and attachments that separate us from God more than we want God? Surely not!  

The only reason we could be content with going to purgatory is that we don’t love God above all. That means we are really choosing to love lesser things over the greatest thing – God. But none of these lesser things can satisfy. We have infinite desire that can only be fulfilled and satisfied by God. Why are you settling with less?

five

The Seventh Day of the Novena to Divine Mercy 

1224 Today bring to me the souls who especially venerate and glorify My mercy, and immerse them in My mercy.  These souls sorrowed most over My Passion and entered most deeply into My Spirit.  They are living images of My Compassionate heart.  These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life.  Not one of them will go into the fire of hell.  I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.  

1225 Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy.  These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself.  In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy. 

These souls are united to Jesus and carry all mankind on their shoulders.  These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life. A soul who praises the goodness of her Lord is especially loved by Him.    She is always close to the living fountain and draws graces from Divine Mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus.  These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their spirit, overflowing with joy, sings a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High!  I beg You O God:  Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You.  Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them, I Myself will defend as My own glory, during their lifetime, and especially at the hour of their death, those souls who will venerate My fathomless mercy.