Overview of the Message of Divine Mercy
This is the initial reading for members of the Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy. It will deal with an overview of the message of Divine Mercy, emphasizing that it is much more than a message or devotion, rather, it is a Way of Life.
Saint Faustina was born in 1905 and was the third of ten children. She had only a third grade education, and it was to this uneducated nun that the Lord chose to spread the Divine Mercy message and devotion.
Having advanced and undiagnosed tuberculosis, St. Faustina suffered much throughout her life. She wrote in her Diary on September 24, 1936, "Mother Superior ordered me to say one decade of the rosary in place of all the other exercises, and to go to bed at once. As soon as I lay down I fell asleep, for I was very tired. But a while later, I was awakened by suffering. It was such a great suffering that it prevented me from making even the slightest movement; I could not even swallow my saliva. This lasted for about three hours. I thought of waking up the novice sister who shared my room, but then I thought, 'She cannot give me any help, so let her sleep. It would be a pity to wake her.' I resigned myself completely to the will of God and thought that the day of my death, so much desired, had come. It was an occasion for me to unite myself with Jesus, suffering on the Cross. Beyond that, I was unable to pray. When the suffering ceased, I began to perspire. But I still could not move, as the pain would return at each attempt. In the morning, I felt very tired, though I felt no further physical pain. Still, I could not get up to attend Mass. I thought to myself, if after such suffering death does not come, then how great the sufferings of death must be!" (Diary, 696)
Suffering also took the form of rejection, even by her fellow nuns. She wrote, "When the Lord Himself wants to be close to a soul and to lead it, He will remove everything that is external. When I fell ill and was taken to the infirmary, I suffered much unpleasantness because of this. There were two of us sick in the infirmary. Sisters would come to see Sister N., but no one came to visit me. It is true that there was only one infirmary, but each one had her own cell. The winter nights were long, and Sister N. had the light and the radio headphones, while I could not even prepare my meditation for lack of a light" (Diary, 149).
St. Faustina drew her strength from the Eucharist. She had a great love for the Blessed Sacrament, and even added to her name, Sister Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament.
But Jesus came to her and gave her encouragement. In one entry she wrote, "Jesus came to the main entrance today, under the guise of a poor young man. This young man, emaciated, barefoot and bareheaded, and with his clothes in tatters, was frozen because the day was cold and rainy. He asked for something hot to eat. So I went to the kitchen, but found nothing there for the poor. But, after searching around for some time, I succeeded in finding some soup, which I reheated and into which I crumbled some bread, and I gave it to the poor young man, who ate it. As I was taking the bowl from him, he gave me to know that He was the Lord of heaven and earth. When I saw Him as He was, He vanished from my sight. When I went back in and reflected on what had happened at the gate, I heard these words in my soul: My daughter, the blessings of the poor who bless Me as they leave this gate have reached My ears. And your compassion, within the bounds of obedience, has pleased Me, and this is why I came down from My throne — to taste the fruits of your mercy (Diary, 1312).
What is this message of mercy? It is a message calling us to a conversion of the heart. It is a "heart" message, and not a "head" message. In Ezekial 36:26 it is written, "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." The world is in need of a heart transplant; it needs to taste the sweet nectar of God's mercy.
The ABC's of mercy call us to Ask for God's mercy, Be merciful to others, and Completely trust in His mercy. And as He is merciful to us, we are to be merciful to others. The spiritual works of mercy include: admonish the sinners, instruct the uninformed, comfort the sorrowful, be patient with those in error, forgive offenses, and praying for the living and the dead. The corporal works include: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, comfort the imprisoned, visit the sick, and bury the dead.
Trust is the hallmark of those living the message of Divine Mercy. Trust is faith in action. TRUST- T-Total
R- Reliance U- Upon S- Saving T-TRUTH, which is Jesus Christ.
Trust calls us to the realization that God is in charge, and every¬thing we do is done out of love of. God. Trust is the virtue that is the essence and foundation of those desiring to live the message of Divine Mercy. We are to be vessels of mercy, and how much the vessel can hold and radiate out to others depends on trust. There is much more to trust than believing that God is trustworthy; we must act on that belief and turn control of our lives over to him. Trust requires a conversion of the heart and gives us the wisdom to understand the need to ask for His mercy, be merciful to others, and let God be in charge.
Trust in God is easy when things are going well. However, in times of trial and suffering, doubt appears and we wonder, "Where is God?" or "Does He really exist?" If we pray, discern, and believe that we are doing His will, then we must ask for fortitude, strength, and a deeper Faith. Many of us are so used to being in control, only to realize later that it was God who opened the doors. In times of struggle and frustration, we should have the attitude of Peter, who said, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boats to come and help them" (Lk 5:5-7). This attitude requires great faith! However, it is in these times of trial that our Faith is tested. As spiritual warriors, we must "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7).
An important devotional aspect is the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The prayer originated from a vision St. Faustina had of the Angel of divine wrath. The angel was ready to strike the earth, and yet her prayers and pleadings were a mere nothing in the face of divine anger. She began pleading with God with words heard interiorly: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins, and those of the whole world.; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
She wrote in Diary entry, 476:
The next morning, when I entered the chapel, I heard these words interiorly: Every time you enter the chapel, immediately recite the prayer which I taught you yesterday. When I had said the prayer, in my soul I heard these words: This prayer will serve to appease My wrath. You will recite it for nine days, on the beads of the rosary, in the following manner: First of all, you will say one OUR FATHER and HAIL MARY and the I BELIEVE IN GOD. Then on the OUR FATHER beads you will say the following words: 'Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.' On the HAIL MARY beads you will say the following words: 'For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.' In conclusion, three times you will recite these words: 'Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.'
There are many promises associated with recitation of the Chaplet which you will learn in later cenacle gatherings. In Diary entry, 687 she wrote, "Once, as I was going down the hall to the kitchen, I heard these words in my soul: Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. We are. to have the Faith of a child, as in Mt 18:3 "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Our mission, as was St. Faustina's, is in saving souls. Many of us fall into serious sin and wonder if God could ever forgive us. Yet we read in Exodus, as God reveals Himself to Moses, "...The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..." (Ex 34:5-7).
Another important aspect of the Divine Mercy message is the Image of Jesus, The Divine Mercy. The image originated from a vision that St. Faustina had on February 22, 1931. In that vision, Our Lord was clothed in a white garment with His right hand raised in blessing. His left hand was touching his garment in the area of the heart. From the heart came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. He expressed a desire to have an image painted according to the pattern St. Faustina was looking at, and that it should be signed: "Jesus I Trust in You." The Image represents the risen Christ whose hands and feet bear the marks of the crucifixion. Jesus attached many promises to those who venerate the Image. He told her, I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coining for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this Image with the signature: "Jesus, I Trust in You" (Diary, 327).
On numerous occasions the Lord requested that a Feast of Mercy be officially established in the Church, and Jesus asked that this feast be established on the first Sunday after Easter. There are many graces received on that day, and the Lord told St. Faustina, Whoever approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (Diary, 300).
To fittingly observe the Feast, we should: 1) celebrate on the Feast Day 2) sincerely repent of our sins 3) try harder to trust in the Lord 4) go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation- preferably before the Feast Day 5) receive Holy Communion on the Feast Day 6) venerate the image of Divine Mercy and, 7) be merciful to others in action, words, or prayer. Even hardened sinners converted on that day will receive great graces.
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.... Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet (Diary, 699).
As Eucharistic Apostles, we want others to come to a deeper love of the Eucharist, and also be aware of the promises associated with recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, especially for the dying. Our mission, as was St. Faustina's, is in saving souls.
The Divine Mercy message is a Way of Life. It calls us to a deeper trust in God. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and build up the local Church through our corporal and spiritual works of mercy. In spite of our brokenness, we are to be icons of mercy. We are to receive the Eucharist, and then live the Eucharistic way of life. The Divine Mercy message is one of hope and joy! Let us then, as Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy, be vessels of mercy to a hurting world.