Episode Transcript  

One

What is Divine Mercy

I was recently in Medjugorje. (The Vatican, through the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave Medjugorje a nihil obstat, the highest positive evaluation possible under the new guidelines.) While I was there, Mirjana, one of the visionaries, related what she experiences when she is given a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary or Heaven. She is so totally captivated by God that every good desire in her being is perfectly satisfied, and she experiences a complete trust that God will take care of her loved ones. 

In the presence of God, she experiences perfect love, joy, and peace. That is what Jesus wants to give to all of us. And he wants it to begin here, and that is the whole point of Divine Mercy. Jesus wants to give you His mercy. He wants to give Himself to you so that you, too, can experience happiness, joy, and peace. 

Two

The Image of Divine Mercy

Jesus gave us many ways to receive His Mercy. Today, we reflect on three: the Image of Divine Mercy, Confession, and Eucharist.  

On Feb 22, 1931, Jesus appeared to Faustyna. 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.

Jesus explained to Faustyna that the white ray stands for the two sacraments that cleanse and give life to the soul, Baptism and Confession. The red ray stands for the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, which is the life of souls. The Image of Divine Mercy is a powerful reminder that if we want the Mercy, healing, and the divine life that flows from the heart of Jesus, all we need to do is come to Him in Reconciliation and the Eucharist. 

Three

Reconciliation 

Jesus wants to pour His Mercy into our souls by means of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

He said to Faustyna, “Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy (the sacrament of Reconciliation.) There the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God’s mercy!” 1448

A Pilgrim with me in Medjugorje was afraid to go to confession. Finally, she went, and when she came out, she had tears of joy and said to me why did I wait so long to be set free from the weight of this guilt?

Even though Faustyna was a great saint, she struggled with telling her sins to a man in confession. But then Jesus reassured her, saying, “Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flow down upon your soul and ennobles it…When you approach the confessional, know this, that I myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul…” 1602

Four

The Eucharist

Jesus desires to pour out an ocean of Mercy into our souls by means of the Eucharist. In the Diary, Jesus said to Faustyna, “My great delight is to unite Myself with souls. Know, My daughter, that when I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul.” 1385

Then Jesus lamented to St. Faustina, “They have time for everything, but they have no time to come to Me for graces” (Diary, §367).

The true remedy for our wounds is Jesus Himself, received frequently in the Eucharist, sought humbly in regular confession (at least once a month), and welcomed daily through meditation that opens our hearts to His life. But we resist. We want a quick fix without the effort. We don’t want to do the work, and we are not patient. So, we avoid the path He gave us and look for healing in all the wrong places, remaining stuck with the very wounds He came to heal.

Five

Day Seven of the Novena to Divine Mercy  

Jesus said, “Today bring to me the souls who especially venerate and glorify My mercy, and immerse them in My mercy.  These souls sorrowed most over My Passion and entered most deeply into My Spirit.  They are living images of My Compassionate heart.  These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life.  Not one of them will go into the fire of hell.  I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.”

Faustyna Prayed, “Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy.  These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself.  In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy. These souls are united to Jesus and carry all mankind on their shoulders.  These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life. A soul who praises the goodness of her Lord is especially loved by Him. She is always close to the living fountain and draws graces from Divine Mercy.”

“Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus.  These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their spirit, overflowing with joy, sings a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High!  I beg You O God:  Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You.  Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them, I Myself will defend as My own glory, during their lifetime, and especially at the hour of their death, those souls who will venerate My fathomless mercy.”

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