Divine Mercy Sunday

Pic is from photobucket.com

Get ready. I'm going to wax spiritual for a minute here. Today is divine mercy Sunday. This is an important feast day for me. Before I became Catholic I was going through some hard times. Toward the end of it I came to a spiritual understanding that soothed and calmed my soul and continues to do so even now. This was not a revelation or vision. It was just an understanding of the ways of God. I knew that I was loved by God and that I was supposed to trust Jesus. So, when I learned about St Faustina, the divine mercy image and the inscription at the bottom of the image (Jesus, I trust you), it was a confirmation of sorts. Everything I'm quoting here, I know to be true from other sources (pamphlets from church, St Faustina diary, etc). The folks I use for quotes explain more clearly than I ever could, instead of explaining it all myself.

A bit about this celebration from Wikipedia:

According to the notebooks of Saint Faustina, Jesus made the following statements about this day: "On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity." (Diary of Saint Faustina, 699)

Famous quote of Pope John Paul II on first celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, 2001:

The elevation to the honors of the altar of this humble religious, a daughter of my land, is not only a gift for Poland but for all humanity. Indeed the message she brought is the appropriate and incisive answer that God wanted to offer to the questions and expectations of human beings in our time, marked by terrible tragedies. Jesus said to Sr. Faustina one day: "Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy" (Diary, 300). Divine Mercy! This is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity at the dawn of the third millennium.

About the image (see picture above) from Wikipedia:The painting shows Jesus raising his right hand in a gesture of blessing and pointing with his left hand on His chest from which gush forth two rays: one red and one white (translucent). The picture by Adolf Hyla contains the message "Jesus, I trust in You!" (Polish: Jezu ufam Tobie) shown underneath to emphasize the meaning of the figure. The rays streaming out have symbolic meaning: red for the blood of Jesus (which is the life of souls) and pale for the water (which justify souls) (from Diary - 299). The whole image is symbolic of the mercy, forgiveness and love of God.

My comment: When we receive mercy, we are able to be merciful.