By Sr Lini Sheeja MSC –
“I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked” (Gen 3:10), said Adam when the Lord God called out to him and asked “Where are you?” (Gen 3:9). It is at this time, that the mercy of God was revealed to the sinful and broken humanity. God came down in our sinfulness. God came down when we were lost. God came down when we were broken. God came down in our emptiness. God came down when our lives were miserable. God came down and poured His mercy in abundance to the fallen humanity. But man failed to receive it in abundance. Although Adam was hiding, God who went in search of Adam said, I didn’t say that you were naked. To call someone by name is to call them with respect and love. Even after Adam committed sin, God came in search of Adam with love and respect. From then on the history of salvation has set its strength. Every time man rejected, man rebelled God knew, how miserable man would be!
The Mercy of God Continues
The mercy of the living God continued as God called Moses to deliver the Israelites when they cried out to Him. “And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exo 3:9). God cries, God feels and God moves when His people are suffering. The mercy of God continued when He called prophets and kings to lead His people in spite of those rejections and sinful ways of the Israelites.
God’s Mercy in Jesus
God continued His mercy and love and that’s why He didn’t spare His own Son. “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only-begotten Son” (Jn 3:16). The mercy of God was revealed in Jesus in its fullness when He willingly went to the Cross and allowed Himself to be pierced by a lance. And that’s the reason the day Jesus was crucified, the day Jesus died is called Good Friday.
The Mercy of Divinity
Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He obeyed the will of His Heavenly Father and came down to save the fallen humanity. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He was born in a manger and buried in a borrowed tomb. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He allowed the sinful woman to wash His feet with her tears. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He ate with sinners and outcasts. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He touched the lepers and healed them. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He saw the crowd and said, “I feel compassion for them”. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He went in search of the one leaving 99. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He said to the paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven.
Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He said to the woman caught in adultery, neither do I judge you. Go, sin no more. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He healed the man born blind, deaf hear and the lame walk. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He forgave sinners. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He saw the widow who lost her only son and told her “do not weep” (Lk 7:13). Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).
Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He stooped down and washed the feet of the disciples. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He stood silently at the judgemental seat. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He carried the Cross and walked patiently to Calvary. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He broke His own Body and shed His own Blood. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He forgave the thief on the Cross. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He gave up His life on the cross to gather the scattered children of God. Jesus revealed His mercy to us when He breathed His Spirit on the Apostles who were in a locked room with the fear of the Jews. Jesus continues to reveal His mercy to us in our every walk of life even after 2000 years.
The Saga of Divine Mercy
St Faustina (Maria Faustyna Kowalska (born Helena Kowalska; 25 August 1905 – 5 October 1938), was chosen by Jesus to be His missionary of the powerful message of Divine Mercy. She was born to a family of poor peasants in Poland and was the third of ten children. Maria Faustyna Kowalska, also known as Saint Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament and popularly spelled Faustina, was a Polish Roman Catholic nun and mystic. Her apparitions of Jesus Christ inspired the Roman Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy and earned her the title of “Secretary of Divine Mercy”. She was being recruited to proclaim the truth about God’s mercy to the world and to implore God’s mercy for sinners through new forms of devotion.
Divine Mercy Sunday Focuses on
Divine Mercy Sunday focuses on the gift of mercy and love given through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. As Pope John Paul II stated, “Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the heart of Christ crucified.”
Divine Mercy Devotion Began on
The first Mass during which the Divine Mercy image was displayed was on April 28, 1935 (the Feast of Divine Mercy), the second Sunday of Easter, and was attended by Kowalska. (Diary of St Faustina, item 420).
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is
In praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we offer the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, which unites our intentions to the sacrifice of the Mass. In other words, the Divine Mercy Chaplet is like an act of Spiritual Communion. Through this chaplet, we obtain forgiveness and intercede for the salvation of souls.
The Divine Mercy Hour is
The hour of the Lord Jesus’ death, 3 PM, is a privileged time as regards the devotion to the Divine Mercy. At that hour, in spirit, we stand beneath Christ’s cross in order to entreat mercy for us and the whole world for the sake of the merits of His passion.
Divine, Mercy and Favour is
Mercy is that God is not punishing us as our sins deserve. Grace is God blessing us in spite of our unworthiness. Favour is the tangible evidence that a person has the approval of the Lord.
Divine Mercy Image is
St Faustina, in her diary (Notebook 1, items 47 and 48), wrote that Jesus told her: Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: “Jesus, I trust in You”. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world.
The Message of Divine Mercy is
The most powerful message of Divine Mercy is love and mercy. One of the biggest teachings of Saint Faustina and Jesus was the idea of love and mercy. They have the power to alleviate even the most dreadful suffering in life and make the world a better place. Christ as the Divine Mercy instructs us to approach Him in prayer to ask for His mercy, to let His mercy flow from us to others, and above all, to trust completely in Him in order to truly experience the graces of His mercy. The Chaplet only takes a few minutes, and thousands of Catholics around the world pray it every day to ask for God’s mercy.
Festal Blessings of Divine Mercy Sunday
Jesus lived His life to the full in His earthly ministry. The life of Jesus was full of compassion for the outcast, the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the lost, the rejected, the downtrodden, the sick, the lonely, the hungry, the thirsty, the prisoners, and the oppressed. His compassion was unconditional, it was complete and it reflected the very nature of God. Let us give heed to the call of the Divine Mercy Sunday which invites us to live our lives to the full and to gaze at the pierced side of Jesus. St Joseph Spiritual Bank members, a bank which was launched at the time of 2nd wave of COVID 19 Pandemic, pray three times Divine Mercy Chaplet, praying for the conversion and sanctification of the fallen humanity. The world needs our prayers.
On this day, the Lord is asking us to cry out to Him for His mercy and love on our broken world and our broken lives. Let our constant prayer be, “For the sake of Jesus’ sorrowful passion- Abba Father, have mercy on us and on the whole world”. Let our Mantra be “Jesus, I trust in you”. The Centurion who witnessed the passion and death of Jesus had the conversion of heart. God’s mercy embraces us and invites us to pray for the sinners. Through our thoughts, words and deeds let us bring souls closer to God. Jesus came down to save souls. Let our call be as that of Jesus and let us save souls through our prayers and mortifications. Festal Blessings of Divine Mercy!
St Faustina’s Prayer for Sinners
O Jesus, eternal Truth, our Life, I call upon You and I beg Your mercy for poor sinners. O sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of pity and unfathomable mercy, I plead with You for poor sinners. O Most Sacred Heart, Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable graces upon the entire human race, I beg of Your light for poor sinners. O Jesus, be mindful of Your own bitter Passion and do not permit the loss of souls redeemed at so dear a price of Your most precious Blood. O Jesus, when I consider the great price of Your Blood, I rejoice at its immensity, for one drop alone would have been enough for the salvation of all sinners. Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equalled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place its hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven and earth may change, but God’s mercy will never be exhausted. Oh, what immense joy burns in my heart when I contemplate Your incomprehensible goodness, O Jesus! I desire to bring all sinners to Your feet that they may glorify Your mercy throughout endless ages.
Sr Lini Sheeja MSC belongs to the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. She worked as a team member of Child-line, BOSCO Bangalore. She served as the Chief-Editor for Prison Voice, a national monthly magazine and she authored a book named, Prison Ministry: The Dreamers’ Mission in which she invites all dreamers to join hands together to do wonders for broken humanity.