Not too long ago, I felt as though the Catholic Church taught a lot of doom ‘n gloom… you were going to hell if you didn’t [insert x, y, z action].
As I returned to the Church, filled with dread that I would, for all eternity, be separated from my son in the event of untimely deaths, I began to truly study Church teachings. During that period of studying and learning about the Catholic Faith and her teachings, I learned how faulty my perception was of the Church, and found a devotion celebrated the first Sunday after Easter – every first Sunday after Easter.
The first Sunday after Easter is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. This devotion has quickly become one of my absolute favorites – not simply because of the way in which the message was delivered (through apparitions of Christ to a nun in Poland), but honestly, because the message of Divine Mercy and the following prayer at the bottom of the Divine Mercy image.
What is Divine Mercy? According to the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Divine Mercy is,
God’s love for those who suffer, a love that reaches all the way back to the creation of the universe… All that Jesus does for us and our salvation is mercy. His sacrifice on the Cross, made present in an unbloody way at every Mass, has the power not only to cleanse us of sin but to raise us up to share in God’s own divine life… To receive this wondrous mercy, we simply need to repent of our sins and believe in Jesus. This truly is the Gospel, the “good news.”
The message and devotion of Divine Mercy is simple. Based on the free Divine Mercy app by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, the message of Divine Mercy asks us to,
A = Ask for God’s Mercy
B = Be merciful in our own deeds, words, and prayer
C = Completely trust in Jesus
As Jesus is reported to having said in His apparition to St. Faustina, “I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.“
As I began to learn more about this message of hope and mercy, my previous struggles with a message of doom ‘n gloom began to subside. I began to recognize there is hope – through suffering, through tragedy, through difficulties, through being a sinner…
There is hope for everyone!
At the bottom of the Divine Mercy image, painted upon the instruction of Jesus, and overseen by the direction of St. Faustina, there is a short prayer. When the topic for this month’s CWBN Blog Hop came out as “How My Faith Helps Me Worry Less,” I immediately thought of this prayer – one which has brought me calmness in the midst of doubts, storms, and adversity.
I acknowledge I don’t have to have all the answers – I just have to have faith. This five word prayer packs a punch, and immediately helps me worry less – even if I don’t fully understand, I keep the faith with these few words.
Jesus, I trust in You.
Don’t miss the other CWBN bloggers as they address how their faith helps them worry less! For more on Divine Mercy for Moms, be sure to click here; for more on the Divine Mercy message, you can also click here.
What was your original perception? Inquiring minds need to know!
That everyone was going to hell! No matter what we did, my perception was we were going to hell (I referenced it in my opening paragraph)!
I thought there was more….where in the world did you get that?
I don’t know… I just did…
Have you read Divine Mercy for Moms? I’d love to hear your take on it. I’m looking for something to do with a small group at our parish. We’d need something really easy to digest. Still good– just easy to digest. Like no-sugar added applesauce. 🙂
Yum! Applesauce…
I found Divine Mercy for Moms super easy to digest and to work through! It was thought-provoking, and a gentle read, while still pointing out ways to incorporate Acts of Mercy into your daily routine. I highly recommend it!
Thank you! I’ll keep it on my shortlist. 🙂
I also have a couple other ideas – when I head to my book shelf in the morning… of easy to read and digest books I have studied through various faith studies now… (I’ve been the faith study coordinator for a couple groups now, and we are always looking for ones that can be easily digested, but still provide discussion points)!
Beautiful. I’ve never seen those ABCs – so helpful! And you’re right – sometimes there are no words, and just praying “Jesus I trust in you” helps to put our spirit right. Thanks for the reminder.
I’ll be honest, I never paid much attention to the ABC’s since getting the app over a year ago… until this post! Glad you could stop by and could understand how “Jesus I trust in You” is sometimes just the way our soul settles! Thanks for commenting!
“Jesus, I trust in you” really is the perfect prayer!
I agree!! Especially if you need a mantra – super easy to remember, and I’ve felt my blood pressure lower while reciting it over and over…
This is so beautiful. That, “Jesus I trust in You,” has gotten me through some tough times. Thank you for the reminder!
I laughed about the ABC thing. I think I have the same app and keep saying I have to pay more attention to those ABC’s!
This may have been the first time I have noticed those ABC’s – as I typed them out, I was scratching my head, trying to figure out if I had just skipped that part of the app (that I thought I had scoured once upon a time)!
Thank you – I’m glad to hear that 5 word prayer has helped someone else out through some tough times! It’s definitely great!
I love hearing how this image and prayer helped others! When I met my husband, this was one of the few things he had hanging on the wall of his apartment. When I first saw it, I wasn´t even sure I should have been IN his apartment, but I saw what was written at the bottom and reflected, “Jesus–I trust in you, too”. (And it was so comforting to know that Mario did, too!) Despite my initial doubts, Mario turned out to be a keeper, and we´ve still got that hanging prominently in our house!
So nice to hear your take on it. That simple prayer really is like a breath of fresh air.
That is absolutely awe-some!! So inspiring! Have you done the Consecration of the Family to the Divine Mercy? Part of it, if I remember correctly, is to have the image prominently displayed…
And, when there is such a special devotion like that for both the husband and wife, it’s always fun to get the rest of the family in on the devotions!
A good look at the Divine Mercy devotion. It’s also good to see someone writing about it.
About perceptions and the Catholic Church, I see a serious disconnect between what (some) Catholics say and what the Church has been saying for the last two millennia. Coming from the outside, that wasn’t surprising. I’d been exposed to quite a few more-or-less-strange versions of Christianity over the decades.
What profoundly impressed me about the Church, apart from it’s very-improbable survival and the authority it claims, is the difference between my culture’s perceptions and the reality.
For one thing, I found that there are very few hard-and-fast rules, and they all boil down to ‘love God, love your neighbor, everyone’s your neighbor, act like this matters.’ Also, that it all makes *sense:* what I’ve researched so far, anyway. I’m pretty sure that I won’t find any logic breakdowns, though.
Good post, good thoughts, thanks for sharing!
I think Archbishop Fulton Sheen said something the effect of you won’t find 100 people in the U.S, who hate the Catholic Church, but you’ll find millions of people who hate what they wrongly perceive about the Catholic Church… I agree that there is a serious disconnect between what some Catholics say, and what the Church teaches! And, the more I have studied the Church’s teachings, the more I fall in love with what she teaches – agreeing with the boiled down points!
And in the end, Divine Mercy says it all – turn to Him, trust in Him, and He will guide us Home!
Thank you for your thoughts!