Divine Mercy continues…
By Mary Jeppson
Last Sunday (April 19th) we celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday. In two March editions of our church bulletin Rita Murdock wrote about The Feast of Divine Mercy and its message along with information about the Divine Mercy Novena and how to pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy. If you missed her articles you can find them on our parish website. www.sttheresecatholicchurch.com
Divine Mercy continues beyond the feast day. The message is to remind us of God’s merciful love for every person and His desire that the whole world knows of His infinite mercy. On the Divine Mercy website (www.divinemercy.org) it says “in October 1937 Jesus asked that we acknowledge our redemption by honoring the Hour of His death through prayer remembering His Passion at least for a short time every day.” Therefore, when we hear the clock strike the third hour we should immerse ourselves completely in His mercy, by adoring and glorifying it. It is recommended that we recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3:00 pm each day and if possible to recite the Stations of the Cross at this hour provided your schedule allows it.
God wants us to know of His mercy for us but expects us to show the same mercy to others. In Luke 6:36 Jesus says “Be merciful even as your Father is merciful”. Jesus taught us that we not only receive and experience His mercy but we are called to practice mercy towards others. John Paul II said in his Rich In Mercy ,“ The Church sees in these words a call to action, and tries to practice mercy. Man attains to the merciful love of God His mercy, to the extent that he himself is interiorly transformed in the spirit of that love towards his neighbor.” We as Christians should be compassionate towards other people’s afflictions as if they were our own. The Church teaches us to be merciful through the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. The seven Corporal Works of Mercy are: Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, comfort the imprisoned, visit the sick, bury the dead. The seven Spiritual Works of Mercy are: Admonish sinners, instruct the uninformed, counsel the doubtful, comfort the sorrowful, be patient with those in error, forgive offenses, pray for the living and the dead.
When Jesus requested that St. Faustina have an image of Him painted as Divine Mercy it was to be a reminder of the demands of His Mercy. He also wanted the words “Jesus I Trust In You” inscribed under the image. He desires that this image be venerated throughout the world. The two beams of light shining from His heart are the symbols of blood and water that poured from His side on the day of His sacrifice on Calvary. The pale beam represents the water that cleanses and purifies souls and the red beam represents the blood that gives new life to souls.
Jesus wants us to TRUST Him. When we come to His heart of Mercy we receive every grace possible. Our lack of trust in him hurts Him deeply. He told St. Faustina to “tell ailing mankind to draw close to My Merciful Heart and I will fill them with peace. Mankind will not find solace until it turns with confidence to My Mercy and love.”
The heart and soul of this devotion is TRUST in Jesus and extending MERCY to the people around us especially through our works of mercy. If your time is limited at the three o’clock hour take a few minutes and say “Jesus I Trust In You” and believe it in your heart, mind and soul.
For more information on Divine Mercy I encourage you to go to the Divine Mercy website listed above. There is an abundance of information you can acquire from this site. Also, St. Therese library has books you can check out.