The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
God is rich in mercy
Five weeks ago Catholics throughout the world celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday, the second Sunday after Easter. It was designated as such by Pope Saint John Paul II on April 30, 2000, after being influenced by the revelations made to a young Polish nun, now Saint Faustina Kowalska. As an aside, a nun is a religious woman who lives in a convent whereas a religious sister is active in the world.
The apparitions began in February of 1931 and she died six years later. She was simple and sincere, characteristics of those God chooses to make such messages known, such as Saint Margaret Mary, to whom Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart.
Jesus gave a glimpse of his infinite mercy to Saint Faustina when religion had become an intellectual matter rather than including the heart. Also, many tended to imagine God as vengeful, who couldn’t wait to punish the sinner. This negative image of God began to change because of the life and writings of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (died in 1897), who strongly believed that God loved her — and taught through her writings that people should believe that God loves them and wants them to be saved. Actually, the name “Jesus” means “God saves.”
God’s greatest attribute, according to Pope Francis, is mercy. Thus it is not surprising that Luke writes, “Be merciful
as your Heavenly Father is merciful.”
Adam and Eve thought that by eating the forbidden fruit, they would be like God. Jesus, however, tells us how we can be like God, by believing in God’s love and mercy and manifesting that mercy to others.
Here are some thoughts from Saint Faustina herself as she prays to let the mercy of God shine through her own life.
“O Lord, I want to be completely transformed into your mercy and to be your living reflection. May the greatest of all divine attributes, your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.”
“Help me, O Lord, so that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.”
“Help me, Lord, so that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pain.”
“Help me, Lord, that my tongue may be merciful so I will never speak negatively of my neighbors while taking upon myself the most difficult and toilsome tasks.”
“Help me, Lord, that my heart may be merciful, so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbors.”
“God of unfathomable mercy, embrace the whole world and pour yourself out upon us through the merciful Heart of Jesus.”
On reading these words I realized I had to make an examination of my conscience.
In the New Testament, Jesus shows that the Father is rich in mercy through the parables of the Good Shepherd and the Prodigal Son. One of the most remembered texts in the Gospels is Jesus’ forgiveness of the woman caught in the act of adultery who could have been stoned to death. ( John 8) Moreover Jesus forgave the repentant revolutionary or thief and promised to take him to paradise that very day.
As God is merciful to us, so must we be to one another and this includes forgiveness no matter how difficult it is. Let us recall what we pray in the “Our Father”: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”