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Tomorrow's great Feast of Divine Mercy is almost here. We think that it is important to recognize and understand this devotion as a continuation of the essential devotion to the Sacred Heart.
On this day, we encourage all who read this to open their hearts and minds afresh to the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for them. This could be done by a simple act of the will.
Pope Leo XIII proclaimed that we must place all our hopes in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is so, because His love for us precedes us, surrounds us and promises a future which is full of the hope and peace which the world cannot give.
Whoever you are, no matter how bad your sins, or how painful your hurts and sufferings, Jesus Christ loves you and has died and risen again to save you. He has given the Catholic Church and Her Sacraments, which issue from His wounded Heart on the Cross, for your salvation and sanctification.
Whilst He loves all of us, He also has a particular love for each one of us. This is possible because He is fully God and fully man.
In the Sacred Heart devotion, the unfathomable love of Jesus Christ is symbolized by the cross, the burning fire, the crown of thorns and the heart-wound. Â
When Our Blessed Lord revealed His Sacred heart to St. Margaret Mary, beginning in the year 1673, He announced: ''Behold the Heart that has so loved men and yet has received so little love in return.''
There is a very consoling paragraph in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which we reproduce here from time to time. We are convinced that this paragraph will transform the lives of anyone who will contemplate it in silent prayer each day; even if they were to begin doing this for just 5-minutes each day.
In preparation for reading and reflecting on it, it might be helpful to first recall that, prior to our existence or to any sins that we may have committed on earth, and without us having done anything whatsoever to merit such an incredible gift, Our Lord Jesus Christ knew each of us as individuals; and He chose as an act of love to live and die for us, in order to save us from our sins, heal us from our wounds and offer us the chance of a new life in Him.
Being God, He sees us both as we are and as He created us to be. Although He loves us where we are right now, he loves us too much to leave us there. None of this is to belittle the gravity of sin as some are presently attempting. On the contrary, it is to give us fresh heart to turn away from sin, to repent of it and to reject it henceforth. It is to call us to return some love for such unmeasured love.
The paragraph in the Catechism is CCC 478:
The Heart of the Incarnate Word
Jesus knew and loved us each and all during His life, His agony and His Passion, and gave Himself up for each one of us: 'The Son of God... loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).' He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced for our sins and for our salvation (John 19:34), is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that... love with which the Divine Redeemer continually loves the Eternal Father and all human beings without exception.
It would be a profound act of love for Christ, and indeed for ourselves, if we were to begin spending some time in silent prayer each day to open ourselves more and more to this unfathomable love of Jesus Christ for us. It is by first receiving His love for us that we are made able to return His love, to truly love ourselves and to love others for His sake. Â Â
Tomorrow, the Church will celebrate the great Feast of Divine Mercy on the traditional Low Sunday.
Our Lord Jesus Christ told St. Faustina that He wanted this day to be, ''a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.''
The graces of a Plenary Indulgence are available tomorrow. As Jesus promised St. Faustina for this day each year: ''The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.''
Perhaps, having not been to confession or even to church for a long time might make some people feel afraid to return.
For this reason, knowing our weakness, Our Lord reminded St. Faustina: ''When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself and waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of Mercy. Tell souls that, from this fount of Mercy, souls draw graces solely from the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls.''
Our Lord also reminded the world through St. Faustina: ''Therefore, let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.''
We urge all who read this to enter into the graces of the Divine Mercy of Jesus through an integral Confession, worthy Holy Communion, devoted praying of the Divine Mercy Chaplet and to carry out works of mercy for others.
Divine Mercy of Jesus - Have mercy on us!Â
St. Faustina - Pray for us!
