DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY 2019
This weekend is Divine Mercy Sunday where we focus on the Mercy of God. St. John Paul II said in Rich in Mercy 14, "The Bible, tradition and the whole faith of the People of God provide unique proof…that mercy is the greatest of the attributes and perfections of God".
Although the mercy of God is infinite, we are reminded by a vision given to St. Faustina Kowalska, that hell exists and some choose that destiny. At the same time we have confidence in the mercy of God even when to our own eyes, all seems lost.
Today, I was led by an Angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great 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 purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger; 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 ae 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 conversion 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.
From St. Faustina's Diary, 741.
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I often attend upon the dying and through entreaties obtain for them trust in God's mercy, and I implore God for an abundance of divine grace, which is always victorious. God's mercy sometimes touches the sinner at the last moment in a wondrous and mysterious way. Outwardly, it seems as if everything were lost, but it is not so. The soul, illumined by a ray of God's powerful final grace, turns to God in the last moment with such a power of love that, in an instant, it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls [at that stage] no longer react to external things. Oh, how beyond comprehension is God's mercy! But - horror! - there are also souls who voluntarily and consciously reject and scorn this grace! Although a person is at the point of death, the merciful God gives the soul that interior vivid moment, so that if the soul is willing, it has the possibility of returning to God. But sometimes, the obduracy in souls is so great that consciously they choose hell; they [thus] make useless all the prayers that other souls offer to God for them and even the efforts of God Himself.
From St. Faustina's Diary, 1698.
Jesus desires that the message of Divine Mercy be spread throughout the world. (Note bolded words are the direct words of Jesus to St. Faustina)
My daughter, if I demand through you that people revere My mercy, you should be the first to distinguish yourself by this confidence in My mercy. I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.
I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first- by deed, the second - by word, the third - by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy. Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of My mercy through the solemn celebration of the Feast and through the veneration of the image which is painted. By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminded of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works. O my Jesus, You Yourself must help me in everything, because You see how very little I am, and so I depend solely on Your goodness, O God.
From St. Faustina's Diary, 742.
Jesus makes some very specific promises to those who honour him and implore his mercy.
+Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.
+Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul's distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness.
My Heart rejoices in this title of Mercy.
From St. Faustina's Diary, 300.
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I remind you, My daughter, that as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world - mercy triumphed over justice.
My daughter, try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that your duties permit it; and if you are not able to make the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore, in the Blessed Sacrament, My Heart, which is full of mercy; and should you be unable to step into the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer there where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant. I claim veneration for My mercy from every creature, but above all from you, since it is to you that I have given the most profound understanding of this mystery.
From St. Faustina's Diary, 1572.
In my homily, I also quoted Jennifer Hubbard as an honest reflection that we all need the mercy of God even when we ourselves are a victim.
Divine Mercy Sunday
Jennifer Hubbard
Whenever another's words and actions crush my tender heart or a long-fought battle ends with no clear victor, I question how I could once again succumb to such turmoil and pain. Hurt and disappointment quickly turn to anger, anger to justification, and justification to self-righteousness. I rally a quorum of those who I am confident will agree with my position, confirm an egregious act has been committed, and deem forgiveness unacceptable. And just like that, before I know what has happened, my tender heart hardens slightly.
When the world gives me permission to shun and deny others, when this behaviour is considered, by earthly standards, as his daughter I am called to gaze on the cross and remember. I am called to contemplate how my Lord, beaten and scourged, bruised and spat upon, gazed into the faces of those who dealt the crushing blows and uttered, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do (Lk 23: 34). In a moment when Jesus could have turned his face and closed his eyes, he overflows with mercy.
I gaze on him and my hardened heart aches with the realization that his words are uttered for me: "Forgive her Father, for she knows not what she does." Before I ever knew what had happened, I had fallen prey to earthly expectations and failed to offer the forgiveness given so freely to me--denied the soothing balm of mercy and compassion that allows a heart to remember tender.
(Jennifer Hubbard resides in Newtown, Conn. The younger of her two children, Catherine Violet, was a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.)
Reflection from Magnificat, April 2019, Vol. 21, No. 2. Published by Magnificat: Yonkers NY, 2019.
