DIVINE MERCY
O Clarim News Bureau (English)
Dear Father L,
We have just celebrated the Divine Mercy Sunday. The Divine Mercy devotion is a profound spiritual practice within the Catholic Church that has garnered widespread attention. As I am a devotee of this great devotion, I often promote it to other Catholics. What is really the essence of the Divine Mercy message? Is it only to recognize that His mercy surpasses our sins, encouraging us to call upon Him with trust, contemplate in his mercy and allow it to flow through us? What did Jesus mean when he said that our eternity will be spent contemplating his mercy? Do we have to wait until we die to enjoy his mercy?
Joy
Dear Joy
Easter is the culmination of the perfect plan of redemption. And Divine Mercy Sunday is the culmination of that perfect plan. Therefore, nothing is more important than trying to understand the message that this Feast presents us.
By analogy, if you were given a new car but never drove it, the car would be of no use. Or if you won the lottery and the money simply sat in your account unused, what’s the benefit? Or if you were gravely ill and were given a medicine that would cure that illness but you never took it, then you would remain ill. So also, if we believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, but never allow the Mercy that is given by that act to transform us, then we have missed the point.
When Jesus says that our eternity will be spent contemplating His Mercy, He doesn’t only mean that this is something we will do after we die. True, the fullness of the revelation of His Mercy will be set before us when we enter into the Beatific Vision and contemplate God forever. But “eternity” includes today. It includes the here and now. Therefore, our contemplation of the Divine Mercy must be the single most important goal in our life today. When it is, everything else in life will fall into place in support of this goal.
In order to make the contemplation of the Divine Mercy the most important goal of your life, you must begin to understand it. That’s why we were given this special day, this most solemn Feast of Mercy. Therefore, use this day as an opportunity to deepen your contemplation of this Gift. Begin by reading about God’s Mercy as it was revealed to us through Saint Faustina. Try to spend time reading Jesus’ words, His explanations, descriptions and revelations about His Mercy. As you do, if you find that it remains incomprehensible, don’t worry. It is incomprehensible! However, since Jesus promised us that our eternity would be spent in contemplation of His Mercy, then we must believe that the more deeply we enter into that contemplation now, the more glorious our lives will become. If we can truly taste of this Mercy, gain a small glimpse of its grandeur, and comprehend even a small aspect of its meaning, then we will truly find much satisfaction in this endeavor.
As you do, humble yourself through prayer by admitting to God and to yourself that His Mercy is beyond what you will ever comprehend. Do this in prayer. Reading about God’s Mercy is important, but it will only be through prayer that we begin our contemplation. And it will only be through this contemplation that we will begin to live the central purpose of our lives.
Sincerely,
Father L.
Source of content: mycatholic.life
Letters are welcome at: OClarimEnglish2022@gmail.com
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