"There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church, which is, of course, quite a different thing." -Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
Placating terrorists, meeting with dictators, compassion for murderers... but no humanity for the unborn... incredible.
OOT
From the diary of a young Polish nun, a special devotion
began spreading throughout the world in the 1930s. The
message is nothing new, but is a reminder of what the
Church has always taught through scripture and tradition:
that God is merciful and forgiving and that we, too, must
show mercy and forgiveness. But in the Divine Mercy
devotion, the message takes on a powerful new focus,
calling people to a deeper understanding that God’s love is
unlimited and available to everyone — especially the
greatest sinners.
The message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy
is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an
uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual
director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the
revelations she received about God’s mercy. Even before
her death in 1938, the devotion to The Divine Mercy had
begun to spread.
The message of mercy is that God loves us — all of us —
no matter how great our sins. He wants us to recognize that
His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon
Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to
others. Thus, all will come to share His joy. It is a message
we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC.
A — Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach
Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and
asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon
the whole world.
B — Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy
and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to
extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does
to us.
C — Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know
that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our
trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will
receive.
The Divine Mercy Devotion
Devotion to The Divine Mercy involves a total commitment to
God as Mercy. It is a decision to trust completely in Him, to
accept His mercy with thanksgiving, and to be merciful as
He is merciful.
The devotional practices proposed in the diary of Saint
Faustina and set forth in this website are completely in
accordance with the teachings of the Church and are firmly
rooted in the Gospel message of our Merciful Savior.
Properly understood and implemented, they will help us
grow as genuine followers of Christ.
Merciful Heart
There are two scriptural verses that we should keep in mind
as we involve ourselves in these devotional practices:
1. "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are
far from me" (Is 29:13);
2. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt
5:7).
It's an ironic and somewhat frightening fact that many of the
most religious people of Christ's time (people who were
actively practicing their religion and eagerly awaiting the
promised Messiah) were not able to recognize Him when
He came.
The Pharisees, to whom Christ was speaking in the first
quotation above, were very devoted to the prayers, rules,
and rituals of their religion; but over the years, these outer
observances had become so important in themselves that
their real meaning had been lost. The Pharisees performed
all the prescribed sacrifices, said all the right prayers, fasted
regularly, and talked a lot of about God, but none of it had
touched their hearts. As a result, they had no relationship
with God, they were not living the way He wanted them to
live, and they were not prepared for the coming of Jesus.
When we look at the image of the Merciful Savior, or pause
for prayer at three o'clock, or pray the Chaplet — are these
things drawing us closer to the real sacramental life of the
Church and allowing Jesus to transform our hearts? Or have
they just become religious habits? In our daily lives are we
growing more and more as people of mercy? Or are we just
giving "lip service" to God's mercy?
Living the Message of Mercy
The devotional practices revealed through Saint Faustina
were given to us as "vessels of mercy" through which God's
love can be poured out upon the world, but they are not
sufficient unto themselves. It's not enough for us to hang The
Divine Mercy image in our homes, pray the Chaplet every
day at three o'clock, and receive Holy Communion on the
first Sunday after Easter. We also have to show mercy to our
neighbors. Putting mercy into action is not an option of the
Divine Mercy Devotion; it's a requirement!
Our Lord strongly speaks about this to Saint
Faustina:
I demand from you deeds of mercy which are to arise out of
love for me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always
and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to
excuse yourself from it (Diary, 742).
Like the gospel command, "Be merciful, just as your Father
is merciful," this demand that we show mercy to our
neighbors "always and everywhere" seems impossible to
fulfill. But the Lord assures us that it is possible. "When a
soul approaches Me with trust," He explains, "I fill it with such
an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within
itself, but radiates them to other souls" (Diary, 1074).
How do we "radiate" God's mercy to others? By our actions,
our words, and our prayers. "In these three degrees," he tells
Sister Faustina, "is contained the fullness of mercy" (Diary
742). We have all been called to this threefold practice of
mercy, but we are not all called in the same way. We need to
ask the Lord, who understands our individual personalities
and situation, to help us recognize the various ways we can
each show His mercy in our daily lives.
By asking for the Lord's mercy, trusting in His mercy, and
sincerely trying to live His mercy in our lives, we can assure
that we will never hear Him say of us, "Their hearts are far
from Me," but rather that wonderful promise, "Blessed are
the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
It is our hope that you will continue to read and reread the
information on this website and make the prayers, attitudes,
and practices presented a real part of your life, so that you
may come to trust completely in God and live each day
immersed in His merciful love — thus fulfilling the Lord's
command to let your life "shine before people, so that they
will see the good things you do and praise your Father in
Heaven" (Mt 5:16).
--- "My Sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Guys,
This is it. This is the tool God has given us for the time in which we live. He is offering his mercy to us in a way that is more generous than ever before. This devotion is the key to bringing his mercy to a disbelieving world. I would ask everyone here, whether Catholic or not, to pray this devotion with us.
Jesus appeared to a Polish Nun, and a Polish Pope established the devotion. God's divine mercy will come out of Poland and sweep the world if we only cooperate. Let's all pray.
Re: Divine Mercy Experiencing His Divine Mercy in Prayer
Monday, September 25, 2006
By: Br. Leonard Konopka, MIC
Photo: Felix Carroll
[+] Enlarge Image
Saint Faustina clearly demonstrates in her Diary that one of the greatest privileges we have in life is prayer. God calls each of us into a relationship that only He can satisfy. Our Lord knows that when we invite Him in, only then will the deep longing within our hearts be assuaged. Fortunate are those who have an awareness of the void in their hearts — a void that is waiting to be filled with His love, presence, and grace.
In her Diary, St. Faustina writes how Jesus made known to her how very pleasing to Him were prayers of atonement. She quotes Him: "The prayer of a humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My Father and draws down an ocean of blessings" (320).
Jesus reveals the secret of what pleases His Father. Through our prayers of atonement, we are given an opportunity to become irresistible to God.
Our prayers of intercession for those in need are also vital in the eyes of our Lord. For instance, Our Lord gives overwhelming encouragement for praying the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy. Saint Faustina writes: "The Lord let me know that everything can be obtained by means of this prayer" (Diary, 1128). Our Lord specifically said that the dying would be assisted by our praying the Chaplet, so that they would have trust in His mercy (see 687, 834, 835, and 1797).
We also have a great opportunity for saving souls by simply praying for the conversion of the world. Our Lord said: "The prayer that pleases me most is for the conversion of sinners. This prayer is always answered" (Diary, 1397).
We see His Mercy reaching out with hope to those who are fearful. He reaches for us in order to bring us through the door to eternal life and to His eternal embrace. We need not fear any longer since He always keeps His promises.
When we want to know whether our prayers are truly benefiting others as well as ourselves, Our Lord again gives us assurance. One of the greatest proofs of His mercy is manifested in the following statement: "There is more merit in one hour of meditation on My sorrowful Passion that there is to a whole year of flagellation that draws blood; the contemplation of My painful wounds is of great profit to you and it brings Me great joy" (Diary, 369).
We can see that through no merits of our own, other than dwelling on His Passion, His mercy is extended to us to depths that are beyond human understanding. We, of course, need penances and self-mortification; yet Our Lord raises the standard of what is pleasing to Him. We are reminded of that passage in Mathew 9:13: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."
Our Lord continues to provide us with directives on our journey to Him. Many of us struggle in bearing our crosses, overwhelmed with responsibilities that seem to have little light at the end of the tunnel. Jesus does not remove these burdens of ours, but He does help us to bear them. "When it seems to you that your suffering exceeds your strength, contemplate My wounds," He says (Diary, 1184).
In a certain way, we can become grateful to God for sending us those specific burdens and setbacks and struggles. They force us to surrender to Him. He knows how we are made and supplies the graces for us to see our utter vulnerability.
Still, how many of us find ourselves questioning why bad things happen to good people? Well, the following passage may answer those questions: "My daughter, consider these words: 'And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.'" Saint Faustina then writes: "When I started to think about them more deeply, much light streamed into my soul. I learned how much we need perseverance in prayer and that our salvation often depends on such difficult prayer" (Diary, 157).
That passage illustrates clearly the need for continued prayer. Now consider the following passages from the Diary:
"Jesus told me that I please Him best by meditating on His Passion and by such prayer much light falls on my soul … I get a clear understanding of many things I could not comprehend before" (267).
"Divine light can do more in one moment than I, fatiguing myself for several days" (1250).
After spending three hours in what St. Faustina considered fruitless prayer and increased discomfort, she persisted, after which Jesus said: "I often wait with great graces until towards the end of prayer" (268, 145).
Note how St. Faustina had to persevere in her prayers, and only then did she receive light.
It may, likewise, take our own perseverance in prayer before Our Lord reveals to us His will. But in the meantime, be assured that He is permitting certain unpleasant events to happen to us in order that they will lead us to Him. Without His light on the subject, we may not be as open to accept all "these things," which come from His merciful heart.
The Diary contains a profound lesson on the need for continuing our effort in prayer until we become so united with Jesus that even questioning Him is no longer deemed necessary.
Let us pray with St. Faustina:
Jesus, friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven, You are my peace.
You are my salvation, You are my serenity in moments of
Struggle, amidst an ocean of doubts.
You are the bright ray that lights up the path of my life.
You are everything to a lonely soul.
You understand the soul even though it remains silent.
You know our weaknesses and, like a good physician,
you comfort and heal, sparing us sufferings - expert that You are (Diary, 247).
Brother Leonard Konopka, MIC, is on the staff of the Marian Seminary in Washington, D.C. He also provides spiritual direction, retreats, and seminars. Brother Leonard has a leaflet available that has a series of meditations on the five wounds of our Lord. The meditations are intended for use while praying the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy. Click here to order Contemplate My Wounds. He also has a CD available with the meditations on the five wounds, interspered with the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy. Click here to order A Musical Interlude.
