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.
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).
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