'One of the Best-Kept Secrets'

For several years now, Divine Mercy devotee Marty Rotella has been evangelizing through music and speaking engagements around the country, including at the Marians' annual Divine Mercy conference in the metropolitan New York City area. We recently asked him to share his witness with the readers of this website.

By Marty Rotella

I was 25 years old when my conversion took place, and it was the Blessed Mother who brought me back. The interesting part is she didn't bring me to her. She brought me to her Son, Jesus.

I immediately became a daily communicant. Shortly after my conversion, I called the Marian Helpers Center in Stockbridge, Mass., home of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. Father Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, answered the phone. He invited me to visit, and upon that visit I fell in love with the Divine Mercy devotion.

After about five hours of teaching from Fr. Seraphim, my brother, Jules, and I wrote 11 songs, which became our first religious album, Rays of Love. Rays of Love is our way of spreading Jesus' and Fr. Seraphim's teaching on Diving Mercy.

The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy also became a daily prayer for me. Ever since, I've been speaking and singing about this great devotion. Sometimes I couple it with Our Lady of Guadalupe and/or The Shroud of Turin. I was at the house in Phoenix, Ariz., on the day when it was discovered that Jesus' face on the Vilnius version of The Divine Mercy image was a perfect match with His face on the famous Shroud of Turin. What a rush!

I learned from Fr. Seraphim, Fr. George Kosicki, and many others, of the great love of God through His Diving Mercy. I can't get enough of these wonderful teachings. I've been involved with presentations of Mother of Mercy Messengers (MOMM). I've also worked with Ed Miller, who brings The Diving Mercy message many times a year to the New York/New Jersey area with conferences, presentations, and novenas.

Divine Mercy is one of the best-kept secrets in the world, right behind the Eucharist and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Once these have found their correct place in society, the world will see peace.

The Divine Mercy Image is the pictorial vision of the Eucharist. What more could you want? Jesus pours His love onto us and we are invited into His Heart. Wow! All I want to do the rest of my life is to bring this message of hope to the world, through my music, my witness and my everyday actions. I love being Catholic. Jesus is the only answer to the true healing of all the world's problems. He is so simple. Jesus, I trust in You.

Marty Rotella lives in Ridgefield Park, N.J. He can be reached through his website www.martyrotella.com.

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