Giving the Gift of Divine Mercy

Details: 09 April 2010

A heartwarming image seen on billboards along many highways is that of Jesus touching His Heart from which two rays of red and white shine forth. Below the image of Jesus is the prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You!”

This is the image of The Divine Mercy. The word mercy means the compassion shown to an offender, or the relief given to one in distress. The word divine is that which is of God. When people sin they offend God, feel a separation from Him, and may even sense that He is unhappy with them. If they go to God for His mercy, He lovingly forgives their offenses, relieves them of their distress and draws them more closely to Himself.

The eighth day of the Easter Octave is Divine Mercy Sunday. On this day more than ever, sinners who trust in God’s mercy are joyful that Jesus would die for them in order to redeem them, save them from hell and place them in the Kingdom of God. Spreading the Divine Mercy devotion and message is an effective means of evangelizing people in our lives who need relief from the distress caused by their sins.

In the 1930s a Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, had visions of Jesus from which came the popular Divine Mercy images we often see. She also received messages from Jesus about spreading devotion to this image to help build up people’s trust in His Mercy. Reflecting on passages from The Diary of St. Faustina can help us to appreciate this rich spiritual treasure.

Looking at the Crucifix, we can see that the blood and water from the pierced heart of the dead Jesus are shown coming from the living heart of the Risen Jesus in the Divine Mercy image. “The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls” (Diary, 299).

St. Faustina reported that Jesus wanted the world to be evangelized with the Good News of His Mercy. “I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy” (301). “Proclaim to the whole world My unfathomable mercy” (1142). “Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire life as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior” (1075).

There is no need for any of us Catholics to fear spreading the message that Jesus will forgive anyone of any sin, if he would only seek His mercy. Jesus assured St. Faustina: “Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me; speak to them of My great mercy (1396). “No soul that has approached Me has ever gone away unconsoled. All misery gets buried in the depths of My mercy” (1777).

The Easter Season is a time ripe for passing on the message of Jesus’ mercy to everyone. Just as we did a Lenten work of penance, so now we can do an Easter work of charity. Be an apostle of mercy! Get some holy cards of the Divine Mercy image, pass them out to people, and invite them to trust in Jesus’ mercy. St. Faustina’s Diary, holy cards, and other resources may be obtained from Catholic bookstores of from the Family Life Office in Lincoln, 402-488-2040.