Diary of St. Faustina on the Day of Justice...

St. Faustina writes: 

Today I heard the words: In the Old Covenant 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)

Reflection:  Lord Jesus, help us to remember that life is short and that we as individuals will answer to You alone for our own sins when we die.  Help us to continue on the road of interior conversion each day and trust in Your Love and Mercy. 

Dives in Misericordia - Rich in Mercy Part 1 (2:14-18) - Pope John Paul II

The present-day mentality, more perhaps than that of people in the past, seems opposed to a God of mercy, and in fact tends to exclude from life and to remove from the human heart the very idea of mercy. The word and the concept of "mercy" seem to cause uneasiness in man, who, thanks to the enormous development of science and technology, never before known in history, has become the master of the earth and has subdued and dominated it.14 This dominion over the earth, sometimes understood in a one - sided and superficial way, seems to have no room for mercy. However, in this regard we can profitably refer to the picture of "man's situation in the world today" as described at the beginning of the Constitution Gaudium et spes. Here we read the following sentences: "In the light of the foregoing factors there appears the dichotomy of a world that is at once powerful and weak, capable of doing what is noble and what is base, disposed to freedom and slavery, progress and decline, brotherhood and hatred. Man is growing conscious that the forces he has unleashed are in his own hands and that it is up to him to control them or be enslaved by them."15

The situation of the world today not only displays transformations that give grounds for hope in a better future for man on earth, but also reveals a multitude of threats, far surpassing those known up till now. Without ceasing to point out these threats on various occasions (as in addresses at UNO, to UNESCO, to FAO and elsewhere), the Church must at the same time examine them in the light of the truth received from God.

The truth, revealed in Christ, about God the "Father of mercies,"16 enables us to "see" Him as particularly close to man especially when man is suffering, when he is under threat at the very heart of his existence and dignity. And this is why, in the situation of the Church and the world today, many individuals and groups guided by a lively sense of faith are turning, I would say almost spontaneously, to the mercy of God. They are certainly being moved to do this by Christ Himself, who through His Spirit works within human hearts. For the mystery of God the "Father of mercies" revealed by Christ becomes, in the context of today's threats to man, as it were a unique appeal addressed to the Church.


In the present encyclical wish to accept this appeal; I wish to draw from the eternal and at the same time-for its simplicity and depth- incomparable language of revelation and faith, in order through this same language to express once more before God and before humanity the major anxieties of our time.

In fact, revelation and faith teach us not only to meditate in the abstract upon the mystery of God as "Father of mercies," but also to have recourse to that mercy in the name of Christ and in union with Him. Did not Christ say that our Father, who "sees in secret,"17 is always waiting for us to have recourse to Him in every need and always waiting for us to study His mystery: the mystery of the Father and His love?18

I therefore wish these considerations to bring this mystery closer to everyone. At the same time I wish them to be a heartfelt appeal by the Church to mercy, which humanity and the modern world need so much. And they need mercy even though they often do not realize it.

Divine Mercy Diary on the Little Child Jesus

St. Faustina writes:  

I suddenly saw the Infant Jesus standing by my kneeler and holding on to it with His two little hands. Although He was but a little Child, my soul was filled with awe and fear, for I see in Him my Judge, my Lord, and my Creator, before whose holiness the Angels tremble. At the same time, my soul was flooded with such unspeakable love that I thought I would die under its influence (Diary, 566).

 
Reflection:  Lord Jesus You came among us, You who are Mercy itself.  You shared in our humanity, You know our hearts and You understand us more than we understand ourselves.  Help us Lord to come closer to You and not to doubt Your Love and Mercy for us.  Little Chlld Jesus help us to be meek and humble and work out our own salvation with You and help You in Your work to save souls. 

Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy) Part 1 (2: 8-13) - Pope John Paul II

2. The Incarnation of Mercy

Although God "dwells in unapproachable light,"8 He speaks to man he means of the whole of the universe: "ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made."9 This indirect and imperfect knowledge, achieved by the intellect seeking God by means of creatures through the visible world, falls short of "vision of the Father." "No one has ever seen God," writes St. John, in order to stress the truth that "the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known."10 This "making known" reveals God in the most profound mystery of His being, one and three, surrounded by "unapproachable light."11 Nevertheless, through this "making known" by Christ we know God above all in His relationship of love for man: in His "philanthropy."12 It is precisely here that "His invisible nature" becomes in a special way "visible," incomparably more visible than through all the other "things that have been made": it becomes visible in Christ and through Christ, through His actions and His words, and finally through His death on the cross and His resurrection.

In this way, in Christ and through Christ, God also becomes especially visible in His mercy; that is to say, there is emphasized that attribute of the divinity which the Old Testament, using various concepts and terms, already defined as "mercy." Christ confers on the whole of the Old Testament tradition about God's mercy a definitive meaning. Not only does He speak of it and explain it by the use of comparisons and parables, but above all He Himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He Himself, in a certain sense, is mercy. To the person who sees it in Him - and finds it in Him - God becomes "visible" in a particular way as the Father who is rich in mercy."13

Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy) Part 1 (1:1-7) - Pope John Paul II

1.  HE WHO SEES ME SEES THE FATHER (cf. John 14:9)

1. The Revelation of Mercy

It is "God, who is rich in mercy" 1 whom Jesus Christ has revealed to us as Father: it is His very Son who, in Himself, has manifested Him and made Him known to us.2 Memorable in this regard is the moment when Philip, one of the twelve Apostles, turned to Christ and said: "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied"; and Jesus replied: "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me...? He who has seen me has seen the Father."3 These words were spoken during the farewell discourse at the end of the paschal supper, which was followed by the events of those holy days during which confirmation was to be given once and for all of the fact that "God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ."4

Following the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and paying close attention to the special needs of our times, I devoted the encyclical Redemptor hominis to the truth about man, a truth that is revealed to us in its fullness and depth in Christ. A no less important need in these critical and difficult times impels me to draw attention once again in Christ to the countenance of the "Father of mercies and God of all comfort."5 We read in the Constitution Gaudium et spes: "Christ the new Adam...fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his lofty calling," and does it "in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love."6 The words that I have quoted are clear testimony to the fact that man cannot be manifested in the full dignity of his nature without reference - not only on the level of concepts but also in an integrally existential way - to God. Man and man's lofty calling are revealed in Christ through the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love.

For this reason it is now fitting to reflect on this mystery. It is called for by the varied experiences of the Church and of contemporary man. It is also demanded by the pleas of many human hearts, their sufferings and hopes, their anxieties and expectations. While it is true that every individual human being is, as I said in my encyclical Redemptor hominis, the way for the Church, at the same time the Gospel and the whole of Tradition constantly show us that we must travel this day with every individual just as Christ traced it out by revealing in Himself the Father and His love.7 In Jesus Christ, every path to man, as it has been assigned once and for all to the Church in the changing context of the times, is simultaneously an approach to the Father and His love. The Second Vatican Council has confirmed this truth for our time.

The more the Church's mission is centered upon man-the more it is, so to speak, anthropocentric-the more it must be confirmed and actualized theocentrically, that is to say, be directed in Jesus Christ to the Father. While the various currents of human thought both in the past and at the present have tended and still tend to separate theocentrism and anthropocentrism, and even to set them in opposition to each other, the Church, following Christ, seeks to link them up in human history, in a deep and organic way. And this is also one of the basic principles, perhaps the most important one, of the teaching of the last Council. Since, therefore, in the present phase of the Church's history we put before ourselves as our primary task the implementation of the doctrine of the great Council, we must act upon this principle with faith, with an open mind and with all our heart. In the encyclical already referred to, I have tried to show that the deepening and the many-faceted enrichment of the Church's consciousness resulting from the Council must open our minds and our hearts more widely to Christ. Today I wish to say that openness to Christ, who as the Redeemer of the world fully reveals man himself," can only be achieved through an ever more mature reference to the Father and His love.

Lord Have Mercy on me, a Sinner

The Amazing Power of The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

He knocked on my door in the middle of the night. The hospital called to say his mother was dying. She had been battling breast cancer. His mother was the best Madame in town, she ran a house of ill repute for the rich guys from miles around.

And everyone knew how she earned her wealth.

He was broken - mom was on her way to Hell for sure he thought. I told him we would see about that. I went in the ICU to see his mom. She was in a deep coma, so I took the precious time to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at her bedside. Then I went back to pray with her son. We prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy together. I was compelled to go see his mom again. When I entered the room she woke up and was singing a camp meeting hymn "Love Lifted Me." She told me she had asked the Lord Jesus to forgive every one of her sins and she knew that the Lord loved her. I ran to go get her son to come right away. He heard his mother sing: "When nothing else could help - love lifted me." He realized the Lord had given a great mercy to his mother and he was there to see it. His mother died a few hours later. And I did her funeral service.

+
Fr. Joseph
Hospital Chaplain

Above article From:  http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/PRAYERdivinemercywitness.html

Divine Mercy Diary on the Reality of Hell

St. Faustina writes....Today I was led by an Angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of real torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of conscience; the third is that one's condition will never change; the fourth is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it - a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, ....the fifth torture is continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and, despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own; the sixth torture is the constant company of Satan; the seventh torture is horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies.


These are the tortures suffered by all the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture where one form of agony differs from another. I would have died at the very sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of God had not supported me. Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin. I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like.

I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. I cannot speak about it now; but I have received a command from God to leave it in writing. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell. When I came to, I could hardly recover from the fright. How terribly souls suffer there! Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the covnersion of sinners. I incessantly plead God's mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, than offend You by the least sin. (741)

Jesus to St. Faustina - [Urge] all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all. On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls - no one have I excluded! (1182)

Reflection:  Hell is a reality, but many now deny its existence including some Priests and even Bishops.  We must pray continually for souls and never give up on the work to spread Gods Mercy no matter what obstacles people may throw at us or whatever comes our way. 

Lord Jesus help us to persevere in helping souls come to know Your great Mercy and Love, no matter how small our efforts may be or what obstacles are placed before us.   Help us to pray continually for souls especially those caught up in darkness and sin.

Divine Mercy Parish in Kazakhstan

Divine Mercy reaching the oilfields in Kazakhstan

Kulsary is situated around 100 km from Tengiz – the biggest in Kazakhstan and one of the biggest oilfields in the world. There was a need to reach out there with a pastoral ministry to the local Catholics. It was not easy even though many catholics work there: Americans, Filipinos, the Irish, Poles, catholics from Kazakhstan. A Church was needed here to serve the local Catholic Community and hence in 2007 the Divine Mercy Parish was born.

The chapel that came into being after demolishing division walls in the former shop and liquidating the second floor is 56 sq. m. Together with a gallery about 70 sq. m. and it can house 70 - 80 people. They managed to bring a marble altar, a pulpit and a baptismal font (baptistery) made in Poland in Mr. Krzysztof Czarnota’s mason workshop. Divine Mercy Image painted by Dorota Piwowarczyk was endowed by Fr. Jerzy Karpiński SJ, the former provincial of the Jesuits Russian province, who is at present a confessor in the Divine Mercy sanctuary in Lagiewniki in Cracow.

Information above taken from this article http://www.catholic-kazakhstan.org/kulsary/en/kulsaryEN.htm

Divine Mercy Diary on Being Merciful to those who are Difficult....

The Lord said to me, "It should be of no concern to you how anyone else acts; you are to be My living reflection, through love and mercy. I answered, "Lord, but they often take advantage of my goodness." "That makes no difference, My daughter. That is no concern of yours. As for you, be always merciful toward other people, and especially toward sinners." (1446)

 

Reflection:  As Christians we are called to love one another.  This is difficult especially when we are hurt by others.  It is only through prayer and willingness to forgive that we can work through these hurts and again learn to love others as Jesus loves.  I know myself how difficult it is especially when one feels let down by others.  But this is where virtue is tested and how it grows.  How difficult it must have been for those who suffered through war, persecutions or abuse of all kinds who still can manage to forgive.  But we can only do this uniting ourselves to Jesus and bringing these hurts to the Lord daily if we must.  If we continue in bitterness or harden our hearts we block the grace Jesus wants to give us, so let us begin by opening our wounded hearts to Christ and asking Him to help us.  One of the ways to help us in this is to thank God for His Goodness and Mercy and also to remember that we too have sinned. 

 

Lord Jesus, help us in our weakness and let us look towards You for healing and forgiveness.  Forgive me Lord for my own transgressions and help me to forgive those who hurt me.  Lord I am a sinner, help me not to be too concerned about the sins of others but help me to overlook them and see the good in others.  Help me to open my heart to Your Merciful Heart and so be a witness of Your great Mercy to others. 

Show me Your Divine Mercy O Lord

Reflections from the Diary of St. Faustina on Obstacles to Holiness

My child, know that the greatest obstacles to holiness are discouragement and an exaggerated anxiety. These will deprive you of the ability to practice virtue. All temptations united together ought not disturb your interior peace, not even momentarily. Sensitiveness and discouragement are the fruits of self-love. Have confidence, My child. Do not lose heart in coming for pardon, for I am always ready to forgive you. As often as you beg for it, you glorify My mercy. (Jesus to souls striving for perfection and holiness - 1488)

Reflection:  Lord Jesus in these difficult and dark days, help us not to be overcome by the problems in our world  or in our lives, but to share our difficulties with You.  Help us Lord to speak to You who are always there in the Tabernacle, as to a great Friend who listens to our deepest heartfelt thoughts and fears.  Help us Lord not to abandon hope but to Trust in Your Mercy always.  Give us peace and strength and the courage to persevere on the road to holiness. 

Divine Mercy Mission in Cameroon

The Marians established the first mission in Africa in 1984. first in Rwanda, and then in Cameroon. Presently there are 10 missionaries serving in both countries. They provide pastoral and social ministry in their parish and also educational service to the youth and children. They serve also spiritual and charismatic ministry.

Character of the Marian Mission

The Marian mission in Rwanda has been placed within a specific social, cultural, and political environment.

Before the war they were creating the Church trough organizing chapels and schools.  During the war they assisted the refugees through their ministry in the refuge’s camps and after the war they undertook the ministry of reconciliation for traumatized ands wounded people helping them to find peace, forgiveness, and sense of life.

Their mission in Cameroon can be described as assistance in restoring back to life both the people and structures. Through repairing old ruined buildings and making new constructions, they have restored to the mission its old splendor and functionality. They proclaim hope to fallen people, educate them, set free from fear and poverty, and lead them to a dignified way of life.

Calling for Mercy
This is how they could name their African Missions since the theological basis of their mission is proclaiming and practicing mercy. They undertook this challenge in Cameroon starting with creating communities of Divine Mercy. They now have 25 communities, which recite the Divine Mercy Chaplet and get involved in helping the poor. In Aril 2004 the Bishop established the Shrine of the Divine Mercy, the only such shrine in Cameroon, and entrusted it to the Marians.

Shrine’s and Apostolate’s activities
They organized a large pilgrimage for the Feast of the Divine Mercy. In 2004, one thousand people participated in a walking pilgrimage to the Shrine. In 2005, the number was greater.

In the Shrine they hold retreats, days of retreats, and sessions for all groups and movements.  They assist the poor, the sick (especially people with AIDS).  They create for the young people the “foyer” – a formation center where they can learn and trade and receive a basic formation necessary for independent life.  They have also organized a group of animators or leaders with whom they spread the Divine Mercy message and spirituality through the entire diocese.

Following St. Faustina’s example to be an “Apostle of the Divine Mercy”, and in the spirit of the Lord’s commandment given to Faustina (Diary, 1588): “ In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to my people. Today I am sending you with my Mercy to the people of the whole world”, they visited 20 parish in their diocese with Divine Mercy Animation – conferences, singing, celebration, as well as a theatrical performance.

They also try to root the Divine Mercy message into the hearts and minds of the Africans through using their culture and customs; and they try to improve their custom by offering them the victory of love and mercy over vengeance and hatred. 

They translate prayers and songs into local dialects. Also, they use the African art to bring closer to people the Merciful Christ and The Divine Mercy.  In particular, they also help families. African family is in great need of The Divine Mercy. The majority of families live outside any kind of wedding bonds: neither traditional, nor legal, nor religious; they often maintain polygamy. Such bad heathen habits deprive (divest) women of all dignity and condemn children to poverty.

Apart from the pastoral and spiritual activity, the calling for the Mercy includes social works: for example development of the formation center where they provide assistance for the poor and the sick.  They assist the handicapped and suffering people by providing them with wheelchairs, tools for trade, and by teaching them to be independent.

From:  http://www.divine-mercy-mission.org/

Mankind will not have Peace until it turns with Trust to My Mercy

God told St. Faustina that
“Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.” (Diary, p.300)

In the Divine Mercy, God receives and quenches human vengeance in Jesus’ own wounded Heart. In this Heart, which is an abyss of love, mercy overcomes hatred. Mercy brings healing that is impossible on a merely human level. Divine Mercy can restore hope, because it flows from the heart of the Risen Christ who, once and for all, has vanquished the finality of death. The deep truth that faith teaches is that only in the context of mercy -- God’s mercy and our own forgiveness and mercy -- can we, as wounded human men and women, find healing and hope. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Mt 5:7).

A prayer of reparation

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which God gave to the world through St. Faustina, is a beautiful prayer that has a powerful efficacy to repair the hurt wrought by sin. As we respond to God’s call to continuing conversion, the invocations of the Chaplet may be offered as a litany of reparation. With our hearts turned to the Father, we use the Chaplet to profess and invoke God’s mercy accomplished in Christ’s sorrowful Passion. We unite ourselves with the sacrifice of His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

When human efforts seem futile and human solutions leave us empty, we pray the Chaplet to beg for a new beginning: the healing of the damage done by our sins and those of others. Our plea for mercy will not fail to reach the Father.

Christ’s execution and the gift of Divine Mercy
The Church’s annual novena to the Divine Mercy begins on Good Friday, the day of the execution of Jesus. The hour of mercy is the hour of His saving sacrifice. This is when blood and water gushed out for our salvation. “On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened by the lance for all souls -- no one have I excluded.” (Diary, p.1182) This is the moment that shook the world and stirred the faith of the pagan centurion to say, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” (Mt 27:54)

As we seek a reason to put aside the practice of the death penalty, perhaps the best motive is our desire to imitate God in His mercy toward those for whom Jesus died. Mary, Mother of mercy, pray for us and teach us to show mercy to others.

Above extracts from an article by Most Rev. Robert W. Finn who has been bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph (Missouri) since 2005. A former chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Task Force on the Life and Dignity of the Human Person, he is currently a consultant to the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities. The accompanying article is a component of the 2010-2011 Respect Life Program of the USCCB’s Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities.

website: http://catholickey.blogspot.com/2010/08/divine-mercy-and-death-penalty.html

Helping Jesus to save Souls, Spread the Divine Mercy...

In this coming year, perhaps we can think of more ways to spread the Divine Mercy devotion and help people come to know the great plenary indulgence given to all of us on the Feast of Divine Mercy which in this coming year will be celebrated in Our Lady's Month on the 1st May. 

*Can we pray the Chaplet of Mercy in our local Church, our home or with a mutual friend for our Parish and our Priests.

*Can we donate a Divine Mercy Image to our Parish Church

*Can we get small Divine Mercy prayer cards and give them to members of our family, our friends or others for the New Year.
*Can we get some Divine Mercy prayer books, leaflets, prayer cards to leave in our Churches with the Parish Priests permission.
*Can we start a Divine Mercy holy hour in our local Church

*Can we do some work for the poor, the homeless, those who are lost, abandoned, depressed, those who are sick and help them come to know the love of Christ and His Mercy.

*Can we pray for the dead, for the dying as Jesus has asked.
*Can we encourage others gently to go to Confession and we ourselves go more regularly.
*Pray the Chaplet of Mercy for our Priests that they may come to know the great Mercy of God in their lives.
*Can we begin to promote the Divine Mercy Feast Day in our Churches and Parishes and make a greater effort in preparations for this wonderful and blessed Day. 
*Can we pray with and for children and young people and help them come to know the great Mercy and kindness of Jesus