Divine Mercy Two
Jesus taught Faustina that His Mercy was unlimited and available even to the greatest of sinners. This week we are meditating on the seven ways Jesus wants to give His Mercy to aching mankind
1. Through the Image of Divine Mercy
2. Through His Most Holy Will
3. The Feast of Mercy
4. The Sacrament of Reconciliation
5. Eucharist
6. Chaplet of Divine Mercy
7. And by living mercy toward one another
In the 5th decade we will conclude with the specific prayer Jesus taught St. Faustina for the Novena to Divine Mercy.
one
The first way Jesus revealed to Faustina that we may receive His Mercy is through the Image of Divine Mercy. On Feb 22, 1931 Jesus appeared to Faustina. She writes: In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord: my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus said to me, Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: “Jesus I trust in You.” 47
Later Jesus said: “By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so, let every soul have access to it.” 570
I encourage you to place the Image of Divine Mercy in a prominent or central place in your home and speak the words: Jesus I trust in you.
two
In her Diary Faustyna writes: My confessor told me to ask the Lord Jesus the meaning of the two rays in the image, I answered, “Very well, I will ask the Lord.” During prayer I head these words within me: The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous (Baptism and the sacrament of Reconciliation which cleanse the soul). The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls (The Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist). These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy. (299)
Jesus continued stating: “whoever approaches the Fount of Life (the Sacrament of Reconciliation) on the Feast of Mercy will be granted complete remission of sins and punishment. Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy. 300
Actually the Pope extended this time of Mercy so that you have 20 days before and 20 after to go to confession to receive this immense grace.
three
Christianity is profoundly misunderstood. Christianity is not the demand to live a heroically virtuous life based on our limited human strength. That results in throwing in the towel saying, “Forget it, there’s no way – I can’t do it.” And we end up lowering the bar because we know we can’t do it on our own. Christianity is not the call to supreme achievement through heroic effort.
Christianity instead is a work of Mercy. Jesus is the Mercy of God.
Christianity is about letting Jesus live in us that He may do in us what He wants, purifying us over and over that He may live and act through us!
four
The most important way to receive the Mercy of God and let Jesus live in us is by doing the will of God.
In her Diary St Faustyna writes: Before All Souls Day, I went to the cemetery at dusk. Although it was locked, I managed to open the gate a bit and said, “If you need something, my dear little souls, I will be glad to help you to the extent that the rule permits me.” I then heard these words, “Do the will of God; we are happy in the measure that we have fulfilled God’s will.” (518)
If we want the Mercy of God, if we want Jesus to live and act through us then we must desire and try the best we can to do the will of God. Before your day begins, ask God what His will for you is and then think about what God wants you to do today. Then throughout the day, pause, ask him again what his will is for you, be attentive to his promptings in your heart. Finally, at the end of the day, pause, look back and see in what ways you did his will and did not. Too often we rush into our day and our tasks without ever asking God what His will is.
A good resolution today is to slow down, ask God what his will is, pay attention and do our best to respond.
five
This is Day Five of the Novena 1218-1219
Jesus said: Today bring to Me the souls who live apart from the Truth I revealed and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart; that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church, My wounds heal, and in this way they alleviate My Passion.
Faustina replied: Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who knowingly or unknowingly live apart from Your Truth. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to extol the generosity of Your mercy.
Even for those who have torn the garment of Your unity, A fount of mercy flows from Your Heart. The omnipotence of Your mercy, Oh God, Can lead these souls also out of error.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who neither know nor follow the Truth of Jesus, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.