Scripture for
meditation: Ephesians 2:1-5
You were dead because of your sins and offenses, as you
gave allegiance to the present age and to the prince of the air, that spirit
who is even now at work among the rebellious. All of us were once of their
company; we lived at the level of the flesh, following every whim and fancy,
and so by nature deserved God’s wrath like the rest. But God is rich in mercy;
because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were
dead in sin. By this favor you were saved.
Scripture for
reflection: Isaiah 63: 7-9
I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the
praises of the Lord, according to all that he has granted us, and the great
goodness to the house of Israel which he has granted them according to his
mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, surely
they are my people, sons who will not deal falsely, and he became their savior.
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence save
them; in his love and pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.
Blessed John Paul
II tells us in Dives in Misericordia: At
the root of the many-sided conviction [about Divine Mercy], which is both
communal and personal, and which is demonstrated by the whole of the Old
Testament down the centuries, is the basic experience of the chosen people at
the Exodus: the Lord saw the affliction of His people reduced to slavery, heard
their cry, knew their sufferings and decided to deliver them. In this act of
salvation by the Lord, the prophet [Isaiah] perceived His love and compassion.
This is precisely the ground upon which the people and each of its members
based their certainty of the mercy of God, which can be invoked whenever
tragedy strikes (no.4)(Divine Mercy: a
Guide from Genesis to Benedict XVI, Robert Stackpole, STD, Marian Press, 2010).
To Saint Faustina,
Jesus revealed: I am giving mankind the last hope of salvation; that is,
recourse to My mercy (998). In the Old Testament I sent prophets wielding
thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people
of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to
heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they
themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of
justice. Before the day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy. (1588, Diary
of St. Faustina)
My thoughts: I
just completed a 10 month study of the Bible, and came away awed at how often
God warned His people of the danger they were in by leading lives of sin and
rebellion. When the society of the time turned its back on God, He would send
prophets and holy men and women to beg the people to return to the ways of God.
What love and mercy God has always shown for His beloved people! In our age,
God is still sending us holy men and women to remind us that God has a
two-edged sword; justice and mercy. Through St. Faustina, He is pleading with
us to come back to Him with all our hearts, and to seek His mercy. St. Faustina
lived in the 1930’s, and this message is for us; some believe it is man’s last
chance to turn our societies around and face them once again toward God. As
Blessed John Paul tells us, it is personal as well as communal: we must also
seek God’s mercy for ourselves as well as for our world. Take time this week to
make the Novena to Divine Mercy, say the Chaplet of Mercy every day, and
participate in Divine Mercy Sunday services this Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday.
It is the least we can do for our prideful selves and for a dying world. Remember,
Pope Benedict XVI once stated: “The world as we know it is on the verge of
collapse.”
The Divine Mercy Novena: The Fifth Day:
Today bring to Me the souls of those who have separated themselves from the
Church.
Most merciful
Jesus, goodness itself, you do not refuse light to those who seek it of You.
Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who
have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the
unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most
Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the
generosity of Your mercy.Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from You Son’s Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen. (Marian Press, Stockbridge, MA).Say a Chaplet of Mercy. (All the first four days of the Novena are on the previous blogs
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