Have Mercy on Us
Have Mercy on Us
Divine Mercy Sunday offers us an opportunity to come in close contact with a couple of concepts, that as human beings, may seem quite distant, and even challenging: Mercy and Compassion.
Mercy and compassion, are two graces that at one point or another of our journey we need to give or we need to receive. Whether we find ourselves at one of these two ends, giving it or receiving it, it not easy to discern, either because we are partially blind by prejudice, pride, envy, etc., or because we feel that we don’t deserve it, or are not humble enough to ask for it.
St. Faustina Kowalska, a humble Polish nun, who in her diaries captures the message of Our Merciful and Compassionate Lord, becomes for us a messenger of Our Lord’s deep desire to preserve those who have been entrusted to Him, so that no one may be lost (ref. Jn 17:12).
As a messenger of mercy, her mission was to:
1) remind the world of the great mercy of God as revealed in Sacred Scripture,
2) teach us new prayers of devotion to The Divine Mercy, and
3) initiate a movement of apostles of The Divine Mercy who would lead others toward Him in the spirit of a childlike trust and confidence in God, and love of neighbor as expressed in spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
It is important to remember that to take full advantage of Divine Mercy we are to do the following:
1. Celebrate the Feast on the Sunday after Easter;
2. Sincerely repent of all our sins;
3. Place our complete trust in Jesus;
4. Go to Confession, preferably before that Sunday;
5. Receive Holy Communion on the day of the Feast;
6. Venerate the Image of The Divine Mercy (make an act of deep religious respect to the image of the Divine Mercy, that represents our Merciful Lord);
7. Participate of the Divine Mercy devotion (3 p.m., on Sunday)
7. Be merciful to others, through our actions, words, and prayers on their behalf.