The Message
Lesson Eleven — Divine Mercy as a Way of Life
Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy emphasizes and promotes the concept that The Divine Mercy message is more than a devotion. It is a way of life. While it is important and appropriate to venerate the Image of the Merciful Savior and to pray The Divine Mercy Chaplet daily, if these actions do not lead us to a deeper trust in God, a greater ability to forgive those who have hurt us, and to a stronger desire to be merciful to others, then the devotional aspects have done little, if anything, to bring us closer to Jesus.
We want everyone to realize that this is a message to be lived! And as you likely know, the message of the Lord is all about love. May all come to know and believe in a deeper way what is written: "So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 Jn 4:16).
Just as God forgives our sins, we are to forgive others of their transgressions. "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses" (Mk 11:25). Think also about how many times we pray the Our Father, "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Mt 6:12). We must forgive!
Forgiveness opens the door to receiving God's mercy. We are living in a time of great mercy, and yet the outpouring of God's mercy cannot be received as long as we have not forgiven those who have offended us. How can we love the God we cannot see if we cannot love the brother or sister we can see? In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and the hardness of our hearts makes us impervious to the Father's merciful love, but in confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to His grace (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2840).
Trust is the virtue at the foundation of those desiring to live the message of Divine Mercy. Trust is a confidence, a reliance and dependence on God, a someone, or something. We are to be vessels of mercy, and how much the vessel can hold and radiate out to others depends on trust. God wants to take our hardened hearts and make us vessels of love and mercy: "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek 36:26).
Again, trust in God is easy when things are going well. However, in times of trial and suffering, doubt appears, and we may wonder, "Where is God?" or "Does He really exist?" Financial ruin, the sudden death of a loved one, divorce, and drug-addicted children are just a few of the painful episodes in life that we can use to draw nearer to Him. But trust in God is the key. We must let it be the life vest to hold onto when we feel we are drowning.
That is why Jesus asked that the words "Jesus, I trust in You" be inscribed at the bottom of the Image of The Divine Mercy. We must trust in God and not in material things. Many of us spend so much time and effort and energy worrying about what could, might, and will happen that we lose track of the moment. We must stay in the present and focus on what we are going to do now, and how we stand before the Lord today. We don't need to worry about tomorrow or fret about yesterday. We can learn a lesson from the Israelites, as the manna they ate in the desert was only good for one day (Ex 16). Each day they had to trust that the Lord would provide. If we trust in God, He will similarly provide for us.
One of the most misunderstood topics among Christians is the role of suffering in the spiritual walk. Suffering will be discussed in greater detail in the next lesson, as we discuss St. Faustina and the Way of the Cross.
First, let's turn to the importance of showing mercy to others. In spite of all the suffering experienced by St. Faustina, the Lord told her that she was to be merciful to others. In fact, it was a demand and not a request. He told her, "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. ... It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works" (Diary of St. Faustina, 742). Yet the mercy that flowed from her was not out of obligation. It was an expression of her Christlike love for her fellow man. She understood that "The love of God is the flower — Mercy the fruit" (949).
Like St. Faustina, we are to be vessels of mercy. James writes, "What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (Jas 2:14-17).
Questions for Discussion:
We have the beautiful devotion to The Divine Mercy, and the devotional aspects include the Image of The Divine Mercy, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the novena, and the Feast Day on Divine Mercy Sunday. But we must integrate the devotion into our hearts and become living icons of God's love.
1. What do we mean by Divine Mercy as a "Way of Life?"
2. Why is self-forgiveness so important?
3. What is the hallmark of living the message of Divine Mercy?