Oh, how I wish I could express just how grateful I am that Jesus appeared to St. Faustina and asked her share the message of His infinite mercy with the world--and with me in particular! It would be a very lengthy and heavy blog post if I tried to explain to you why I am so indebted to the Divine Mercy devotion, but I will briefly share that I believe the Divine Mercy Chaplet rescued my marriage and saved my soul from complete despair almost 3 years ago to the day. That is why I am so passionate about spreading this devotion every chance I get!
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is so powerful--just trust me, it is! Actually, don't trust me, trust Jesus, because He Himself gave us this powerful prayer in 1931! And did you know that Jesus promised very special graces to those who even look upon the image of His Divine Mercy with devotion!? Here are some of those promises straight from Our Savior's mouth that he spoke to St. Faustina:
Paint
an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus I trust in
You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. (Diary of
St. Faustina #47 and #299)
I
promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also
promise victory over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour
of death. I myself will defend it as My own glory. (Diary of St. Faustina #48)
I
am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to
the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: “Jesus, I trust in You." (Diary of St. Faustina #327)
By
means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls…(Diary of St. Faustina #742)
This painting is the "Original" painting done by the artist Eugene Kazimirowski in 1934.
It is said that when Faustina first saw the painting, she cried because it did not look nearly as beautiful as her beloved Savior looked when He appeared to her.
But who could ever capture the glory of God on canvas?
I wish I was able to tell everyone in the whole world about Jesus' infinite mercy and how He is just longing for souls to come to Him with trust and confidence in His mercy! No sin is greater than His love and mercy! And when we ask Him to wash away our sins in the ocean of His mercy, not only does He completely forgive our sins, but He also gives us the grace to completely forgive others! Yes, even those who have sinned against us and completely broken our hearts...we can forgive them because Jesus has forgiven us when we have sinned and broken His heart. God's mercy on us begets our mercy on others. What a priceless gift. What a saving grace. I am eternally grateful. Please help me to spread Faustina's message of Jesus' infinite love and mercy with our world so desperately in need of that message! Perhaps you would consider buying some Divine Mercy holy cards or pictures and giving them away as gifts... Or buy one for your own home if you don't have one yet...remember the special promises given to those who have a Divine Mercy image in their homes? But above all, pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as often as you can---your soul and the souls of countless others will benefit beyond belief!
One tradition that our family started a couple of years ago is to do a Family Consecration to Merciful Love on Divine Mercy Sunday. Fr. Michael Gaitley wrote a beautiful consecration prayer in his book "Consoling the Heart of Jesus," and it's also in his book "33 Days to Merciful Love." Tonight we will gather all the kids around the Divine Mercy image, light some candles, and pray this prayer. Perhaps your family would want to join us in doing the same.
A Family
Offering to Merciful Love
Jesus,
you 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!(1074). You,
at least, come to Me as often as possible and take these graces they do not
want to accept. In this way you will console My Heart. Oh, how indifferent are
souls to so much goodness, to so many proofs of love! My Heart drinks only of
the ingratitude and forgetfulness of souls living in the world. They have time
for everything, but they have no time to come to Me for graces (367). My
daughter, take the graces that others spurn; take as many as you can carry (454). I
want to give myself to souls and to fill them with My love, but few there are
who want to accept all the graces My love has intended for them. My grace is
not lost; if the soul for whom it was intended does not accept it, another soul
takes it (1017).
Lord Jesus, if you want to pour
your mercy out on souls, how much more must you desire to pour it out on whole families,
especially in our time when so many families reject you. Therefore, we the ______________ Family offer ourselves to your merciful love and ask for the graces
and mercy that other families refuse. We ask this in order to console your
Heart and because we need your mercy. Fill us with your mercy, Lord. Please
forgive us our sins, and give us the grace to be merciful to one another in our
deeds, words, and prayers. May the rays of mercy that go forth from your Heart
reign in our home and in our hearts. Please make our home a place where your
mercy can rest and where we, too, can find rest in your mercy. Bless us with
your mercy when we leave our home and bless us again when we return. Bless
everyone we meet with the mercy you pour into our hearts. Especially bless
those who visit our home — may they experience your mercy here.
Mary, Mother of Mercy, help us
to faithfully live our Offering to God's Merciful Love. We give ourselves to
you and ask you to share with us your Immaculate Heart. Help us to accept your
Son's mercy with your own openness of heart at the Annunciation. Help us to be
grateful for God's mercy with your own joyful heart at the Visitation. Help us
to trust in God's mercy, especially during times of darkness, with your own
steadfast faith at Calvary. Finally, Mary, protect and preserve our family in
love, so that one day we may rejoice together with you and all the saints in
the communion of the eternal Family of Love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Faustina, pray for us.
St. Thérèse, pray for us.
Also, for those who aren't familiar with the Chaplet, here's how you pray it:
Optional Opening Prayer:
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls,
and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You! (x3)
Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostle's Creed
On each “Our Father” bead of the rosary, pray:
Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
On each of the 10 “Hail Mary” beads, pray:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Concluding prayer:
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (x3)
Optional Closing Prayer:
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion--inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.
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