The Best Insurance Policy Imaginable!

By Jay Hastings

In the course of everyday events, we must open our hearts to our Lord's desire to save souls. It must become our desire. For you never know when you will be inspired to help prepare a soul for its last moments.

I am reminded of a business appointment I had one time with a man named David. He had called me to inquire whether he could get an insurance policy through me. David was bedridden. I sensed he had been rejected by others, so I told him that he and I could still do business together. I met him at his bedside. He had recently been diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was told that he might not have long to live.

It turns out, our meeting had little to do with the insurance business and more to do with the business of mercy and love. He was clearly still in shock by his situation. He told me about the enormous, overwhelming pain he endured - pain that left him self-absorbed and drawn inward.

Because I am devoted to Divine Mercy, I gave him the best medicine I know of for all of his problems.

I told him about the Divine Mercy prayer group I'm involved with - how we have close to 500 people praying the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy for people in need every hour of the day. I told him we would be praying for him, too, and that he was not alone. This seemed to give him some sense of comfort. I then left him an image of The Divine Mercy and explained what our Lord said to St. Faustina about this image: "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).

I told David that when he was in pain, he could look at the image and say "Jesus, I Trust in You!"

I did write some insurance for him, but most importantly I left Him with the vessel of grace, a fountain of mercy. We started praying the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy for him that day and continue to pray for his soul.

David passed away about four weeks later. I later learned that he had passed away peacefully in his sleep. I believe this was a sign of God's Divine Mercy.

Jesus told St. Faustina: "My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying this chaplet. When hardened sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one" (Diary, 1541).

In contemplating that first day when I met David, what seemed like a regular work day became a day of love. It offered me the opportunity to put Divine Mercy into practice - to be an instrument and dispenser of God's mercy. For how does our Lord prepare each of us for our final passing? Who teaches us how to die with dignity in the mercy of God if not God Himself through His people? Whose prayers and sufferings help to provide the graces to bend our hearts toward God in those final moments?

The answer is in the Diary: "When I entered the chapel for a moment, the Lord said to me, 'My daughter, help Me to save a certain dying sinner. Say the chaplet that I have taught you for him.' When I began to say the chaplet, I saw the man dying in the midst of terrible torment and struggle. His Guardian Angel was defending him, but he was, as it were, powerless against the enormity of the soul's misery. A multitude of devils was waiting for the soul. But while I was saying the chaplet, I saw Jesus just as He is depicted in the image. The rays which issued from Jesus' Heart enveloped the sick man, and the powers of darkness fled in panic. The sick man peacefully breathed his last. When I came to myself, I understood how very important the chaplet was for the dying. It appeases the anger of God (1565).

Jay Hastings, of Bartlett, Tenn., is the founder of a growing group of Divine Mercy devotees who ensure that the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy is being prayed every hour of the day. The 24-hour Chaplet members now consist of nearly 500 people from across the United States, as well as from Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Belize, India, and Iraq, who are assigned an hour each day in which to pray. They pray for three things: the promotion of the Divine Mercy devotion; the sick and dying in the hour that you pray; and people about to commit mortal sin. To join the 24-Hour Chaplet, contact Jay via e-mail, pj7772@msn.com or via phone, 901-438-7772.

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