Peace and Mercy

I remember first hearing about the Divine Mercy devotion probably in the early 1990's when I was a young teenager. But I never really "got" it. Oh, I'd pray the chaplet and try to remember to start the novena on Good Friday year after year. But in many ways...it was just another novena...a set of prayers said for 9 days to intercede for some special intention. No different than any other set of prayers I had said.

But then last month, I had the opportunity to go on a weekend silent retreat. I happened to pack this book in my bag. The retreat offered ample quiet time for prayer and reflection and I casually cracked the spine that first evening alone in my quiet cell. I was immediately hooked and couldn't put it down until well into the wee hours of the morning.

My heart began to grasp--perhaps just barely began to scratch the surface--what the Divine Mercy devotion is all about.

I wish I could paraphrase the gist of the book here in a few short sentences but it wouldn't do it justice. Suffice it to say that the author opened my eyes to understand a little more clearly how Jesus truly thirsts for souls. Jesus' Divine Heart pulsates with love for each of us and wishes so much to pour out his Love and Mercy on the whole world. Unfortunately, so few souls are truly willing to open their hearts to Him and receive the gifts He has to give. His heart is so often rejected and this causes His Heart to ache...ache simply to love and to be loved back. Devotion to Divine Mercy consoles and relieves His Sacred Heart by humbly offering our hearts, however imperfect and with all it's human frailties and attachments, as a resting place for His...a place to release the pent up Love and Mercy that has been rejected by the rest of the world. It would appear that the weaker one feels s/he is, the more joy and consolation it give the Divine Heart.

Once more, He uses our weakness to make us strong.

(points up at blog header)

(Don'tcha just LOVE when things come 'round full circle?!)

How fitting then that the Gospel for today, Divine Mercy Sunday, relates the story of Thomas who doubted Jesus had truly risen until he had placed his hand in His side. Can you imagine the tension in the room in the moments before Jesus spoke? The majority of the apostles (save John) had been in hiding during the Passion and were likely ashamed and probably feared that Jesus might give them a good tongue-lashing as soon as He saw them again.

Yet His words are simple and certainly must have eased the tension. "Peace be with you" He says.

How utterly simple and yet profound.

Jesus understands our frail human condition perfectly. He wants us for Himself...He wants to love and to be loved in return. He has a tremendous gift to give, but few takers it seems. Yet He knows that in order to receive peace, we need to draw close to Him in order to experience it. This means not being afraid of what it might mean to draw that close.

This means abandoning our fears and simply trusting.

Jesus I trust in You.

He cuts the tension in the room and draws the apostles close to Him. He invites the doubtful to see for himself the wounds in His side. He asks them to trust Him. He shows mercy on the brokenhearted, the crushed, the downtrodden apostles and lifts them up with four simple words.

Peace be with you.

And in return, we give His Heart consolation by five simple words:

Jesus I trust in You.

If Jesus' Peace was enough to rekindle the fire in the hearts of His apostles, I can only imagine what it could do in each of us here today. But it's a two-way street--receiving His Peace means giving up something on our part.

I have oh so many attachments, hopes, dreams, and fears...so many things I carry on my shoulders as if, well...I was truly carrying the burden all on my own. Yet Jesus just wants to draw close enough to 1) give me His Peace and 2) let me let go of my attachments and entrust Him with all my cares and concerns.

I resolve today to not be afraid of allowing Him to draw close. I resolve today to not be afraid of where He might take me. I resolve today to accept His Peace in exchange for my anxieties. I resolve today to let my heart be a resting place for His.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth
from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us,
I trust in You.