Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

Normally, when one begins a journey of faith, there are countless insights and revelations that are enjoyed. Various aspects of the life of faith come alive and understanding of the many mysteries in life is received. This gift of spiritual insight and understanding is a great gift and guide as one begins to walk down the path God has chosen. But as time goes on and a soul enters deeply into the m...

At times it can be helpful to speak openly and thoroughly to God about what we experience in life. You may feel compelled to talk and talk and talk. And God will listen. But there are other times when words seem quite insufficient. In fact, there are times when words appear to be counterproductive. In those moments the greatest blessings come through silence. We must realize that silence is a lang...

Recall the story of Jesus calming the storm (Matthew 8:23-27). This miraculous act was done as a prophetic sign of Him bringing you peace during the particular challenges you face in life. Jesus did this on a practical level for the safety and well-being of His Apostles. However, by showing that He had absolute and immediate authority over the storm at sea, Jesus also made it clear that He has abs...

If you were a criminal, incarcerated for some crime, you would most likely see life from a perspective that is very different from others. You would daily long to have your punishment removed and your status of freedom restored. However, an act of mercy of this sort is rarely offered by secular society. Instead, harshness and judgment is the norm. But God is much different. God is perfectly aware...

We should never tire of pondering the wounds of Christ. Each and every wound He received was unjustified and caused by the sins of others. His perfect hands and feet, His brow and back and His Sacred Heart should have been treated with the utmost respect, adoration and care. But they weren’t. Instead, they were treated with great malice and abuse. From a worldly point of view, this is tragic. But...

One early Church Father (Tertullian) said that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” This means that the shedding of one’s blood for the faith is not ultimately a tragedy; rather, it’s something that is transformed by Christ so as to nourish the faith of others. And although you are most likely not to become a martyr in fact (shedding your blood), you are called to be a martyr in spiri...

Is God alive in your life? Does He live within you? Is He present to you in the inner depths of your heart day and night? There is only one thing that would ever cause God to leave you and that is mortal sin. Mortal sin is deadly sin. It’s a freely chosen act that is in grave violation of the Will of God and a grave violation of your human dignity. When you obstinately persist in such a sin, God c...

It’s easy for us to come up with what we deem to be a great plan for our lives and for the glory of God. We can think, and plan, and develop and organize things in a certain way only to find out that what we have come up with is not what is in the Mind of God. The error some people find themselves in is that they have failed to sincerely listen to God speak and, therefore, have failed to allow Him...

Our Lord had a Heart of perfect Mercy for others. It’s important to note that His Mercy is not only a general concept; rather, it is lived out in concrete action. Specifically, there are many good fruits born of this Mercy such as concrete acts of compassion, kindness, understanding and consolation. This is important to understand. Mercy is not simply some general concept. It’s concrete and practi...

One powerful channel of the Mercy of God is friendship with another. But friendship can be lived on various levels. Sometimes this bond is based on superficial and unimportant things, and at other times it’s deeply grounded in our Lord. A sign of a deep spiritual friendship is mutual prayer. If you have been blessed with a faith-filled friend, seal and deepen that friendship through a commitment t...

One common human tendency is to talk excessively and to explain ourselves to others, especially to justify our actions in their minds. This is especially the case when we sense that others misunderstand us. But Jesus experienced this to the greatest degree as He stood before Herod and Pilate. In these cases, He remained silent. This is a lesson for us in that there are many times when our Lord cal...

Nothing in life has to be dreadful. Even the greatest struggle and suffering we endure can easily be transformed by God to become a source of His Mercy and our sanctification. But there is one thing that would be truly dreadful if it were to come upon us. And that one thing is the Day of Judgment if we were to remain closed to the Mercy of God through our obstinance and refusal to humbly repent an...

There are days when you most likely feel overwhelmed on account of one thing or another. It may be that you find yourself with much responsibility and are anxious about being able to properly fulfill your duties well. Or you may feel overwhelmed for the opposite reason, finding that life seems to be at a standstill and you are not sure what to do next. In these moments, of feeling overwhelmed, we...

Sometimes, those who are quite “religious” speak of many “religious” things. They speak pious language and talk about holy things. But in the end, it may be that all they say and do is actually said and done as a way of glorifying themselves in the sight of others. This is the struggle of the Pharisees. Sadly, those who struggle with this, just like the Pharisees, may even be fooling themselves in...

Some people feel deeply tormented in the depths of their souls. Sometimes this is caused by sin, sometimes it is caused by a special Mercy of God which enables the soul to experience the sufferings Jesus went through. Whatever the case may be, if you encounter any torment, whatsoever, in the depths of your soul, know that you have a special right to the Mercy of God. Why do you have this “right” t...

If you commit yourself to a full embrace of the Mercy of God in your life, you will be transformed beyond your wildest dreams. But you will also have another experience. You will encounter great difficulties in your attempts to live and proclaim Mercy to a fallen world. The world does not understand the Mercy of God. The world only knows harshness and judgment. It seeks revenge and honors pride an...

It is important to understand God and His ways, but understanding is not the same as knowing . Knowing God means we encounter a Person. We do not only understand what this person says; rather, we engage, meet, experience and enter into a relationship with this Person. In fact, one of the greatest blessings we can ever receive in this life is to obtain even a single perception of God. Even one sing...

We please the evil one when we allow our souls to become lazy and idle in the things of God. An idle soul is one that does not seek to engage the life of God. An idle soul is one who is passive in spiritual things rather than active . Being “passive,” means that the person is somewhat indifferent to matters of faith and morality. There is little interest in these areas and, as a result, very littl...

Our Church sets before us many teachings that can only be understood by grace. Some teachings are about morality, calling us to a life of great virtue. Some teachings are about God, His very being and essence. Some teachings are about humanity and bring clarity to who we are. What’s important to understand is that nothing that the Church teaches can be fully understood without love. Love is like a...

In one sense we can say that God imposes upon us an obligation to turn to Him with our whole being and receive His Mercy. He also imposes upon us the obligation to spread His Mercy to others. But we must understand that this is no ordinary “obligation.” It’s an obligation of love. This means that the “imposition” of this obligation is no imposition at all. It is something that God gives us complet...

Imagine that you were guilty of a serious crime and faced life in prison. You were sorry for what you had done and fully confessed to it. On the day of your sentencing you came in handcuffed from where you were being held knowing that you would soon return. Instead, the judge ordered that your shackles be removed, that you were to receive a full pardon and that you were being granted a complete re...

Do you understand the mysteries of God? Imagine that you were a theologian who studied the faith of our Church for many years. Would knowledge of all the theological disciplines of our Church necessarily produce in you an authentic understanding of these mysteries that were studied? No, it wouldn’t necessarily produce understanding. In fact, it is entirely possible that while knowing all about God...

A mother’s love could be described as “fierce” in the sense that she would willingly give her life for the protection of her children. A motherly instinct kicks in when her child is in danger, hurting, or in need, and she loses all sense of her own well-being in favor of the protection of her child. So it is with the Mother of God. You are her child by grace and by the Will of Jesus her Son. As a...

What is “doubt?” To doubt is to lack faith, and to lack faith is to lack trust in the perfect revelation and plan of God’s Will. First and foremost, a doubt, resulting from a lack of faith, means you are not listening. When we doubt God, His plan and all that He reveals to us, we are left on our own. But when we listen, hear, understand and believe, we are covered in the protection of His Mercy on...

Do you work hard? Do you strive to be good? Do you want to make a positive difference? It is certainly good to try to be good . But in so doing, we must never think that our “goodness” is truly good in the eyes of God, unless it is Divine Love that has become the source of all activity in our lives. Humility enables us to turn our eyes to the One and Only source of goodness in our lives. And that...