“From all My wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls. The flames of compassion burn Me. I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls. Speak to the whole world about my mercy.” – Jesus to St. Faustina in Diary entry 1190
The Heart of Christ is burning with mercy that He longs to give but which souls often reject. When we receive His mercy, we provide His burning heart with the consolation He longs for. We know this unfathomable and consoling truth through Christ’s revelation to St. Faustina in which the devotion to Divine Mercy takes its origin.
At the beginning of the 20th century Jesus appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish Nun. In these apparitions, He tasked her with the mission to spread the message of His Mercy to our world who had clearly forgotten His tender compassion and desire for hearts. It was not until the beginning of the 21st Century that this message of Christ’s Mercy would take hold with St. Faustina’s canonization and the official declaration of Divine Mercy Sunday as the Second Sunday after Easter.
Since this declaration, the message of Divine Mercy has continued to spread. However, we all have a role in this mission.
Here are some things we as a Church, can do to respond to Christ’s pleas for relief from the flames of compassion in which human vessels are made to receive:
- Educate Yourself about Divine Mercy: Still not sure why the message of Divine Mercy is so important or what your role in its spread is? You are not alone! Consider diving into resources such as the video series Divine Mercy with Fr. Michael Gaitley, available to all CURO members via FORMED.org, or purchase a copy of the Diary of St. Faustina.
- Talk about it: How is the world to know of the incredible gift of Divine Mercy if we keep it to ourselves? As Christ said to St. Faustina, “The flames of mercy are burning me. I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them! My daughter, do whatever is within your power to spread devotion to My mercy. I will make up for what you lack. Tell aching mankind to snuggle close to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it with peace (Diary, 1074).”
- Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet as Requested by Our Lord through St. Faustina: As a part of her mission of Mercy, St. Faustina was instructed to share the prayer that would become known as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy that is now prayed throughout the Church daily. Jesus says, “My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When hardened sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one.” (Diary, 1541) It is often prayed in the hour of Our Lord’s Passion (3 in the afternoon) and for sinners at the hour of death.
Above all, in order to spread the message of Divine Mercy we must embrace it in our hearts. We must be not afraid to turn to Jesus in the depths of our greatest weaknesses and shortcomings. We must remember the words that apply to each of us when Jesus spoke to St. Faustina and said, “What joy fills My Heart when you return to Me.” (Diary, 1486)
May we respond to this Mercy in our hearts with St. Faustina in her insatiable thirst for the conversion of souls for love of Jesus, “O Jesus, I long for the salvation of immortal souls. It is in sacrifice that my heart will find free expression, in sacrifice which no one will suspect. I will burn and be consumed unseen in the holy flames of the love of God. The presence of God will help my sacrifice to be perfect and pure.”- St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary entry 235.
