Two Sundays ago we celebrated the Feast of Divine Mercy.
On that Feast, we remember that the Mercy of God is offered to us and that it can transform our lives and the world. One look at the world around us today, and there is little doubt that we could use all the mercy that we can receive.
I don’t know about you, but I like things simple. And I’ve found that this devotion breaks down into simple ABC’s. (to be clear, this is not my original idea, but comes from the devotion itself).
A. Ask for Mercy
Our Lord desperately wants to forgive us and bring us home. The only barrier to this is that we have to choose this. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the father waited patiently for his wayward child to come home. But he could not force his son to return. The son had to choose to swallow his pride and return to the father to seek forgiveness. The good news for us is that, just like the father in the parable, God will rush to us if we return to Him. The entire treasury of Divine Mercy is waiting for us if only we ask. It seems unbelieveable that God’s generosity can fall on us like this, but it’s true.
Think of Peter and Judas. Both greatly betrayed the Lord on Holy Thursday. Both ran out into the darkness when they sinned. But Judas gave into despair. Peter went back to the Lord. And at that charcoal fire on the sea shore, Peter told Christ he loved Him for each time that he betrayed Him. Peter was completely forgiven because he sought God’s mercy. Judas did not. But I have no doubt that forgiveness would have been his if he returned like Peter did. As (soon to be Beatified) Fulton Sheen said, the great tragedy of Judas’ life is that he is not St. Judas.
B. Be Merciful
Once we have received mercy, it is our responsibility to be as Christ and give mercy to others. I have found that this is so much easier when we come face-to-face with our own sinfulness and experience the full mercy of God. In that light, how can we not be merciful to others? In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, a master forgives one servants large debt, but that servant does not forgive another servants much smaller debt. If we ask and receive God’s mercy for our sins against Him, then I must forgive others when they sin against me.
This is difficult, to be sure. For this reason, we must pray constantly for the grace to be forgiving. You may be a much better person than I am, but I have to struggle against pettiness and resentment for every hurt and slight, whether real or imagined. I have to constantly ask God to give me a forgiving heart. And when Our Lord reminds me of how much mercy He has given me, it becomes so much easier to be merciful to those who do me wrong.
C. Complete Trust in God’s Mercy
For me, this is the most difficult. I am someone who becomes overwhelmed by the full weight of my sins. But we are called to trust in God’s mercy.
I think it is telling that at the bottom of the famous Divine Mercy portrait of Jesus, the words are “Jesus, I trust in You!”
We have to trust in God’s mercy, otherwise we will let sin hold sway over our lives. This is a common tactic of the evil one. After he tempts us to sin, he hits us with overwhelming guilt. Now there can be a healthy guilt that brings us to repentance. But there is an unhealthy guilt that overburdens us and obscures the light of God in our lives. Remember our Lord said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) CS Lewis said that “I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.” (Letters of CS Lewis) And of course we must remember the words of Pope St. John Paul II who said “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.”
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