Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

Overcoming sin requires the Mercy of God. Too often we attempt to overcome sin through our own effort. This is a futile exercise in that you will never overcome your own sin through your own effort. There is one way and one way only to rid yourself of the sin you struggle with, and that is done by turning to the transforming power of God poured out through the Mercy of the Cross of Christ. It’s en...

Normally, an arrow wounds and kills. Arrows have been used throughout history for war and for hunting. But a spiritual arrow of Mercy is much different. Recall the words of Simeon the Prophet spoken to our Blessed Mother, “And you yourself a sword will pierce” (Luke 2:35). And at the Crucifixion, recall that, “One soldier thrust his lance into [Jesus’] side, and immediately blood and water flowed...

Children often find great comfort in snuggling close to a loving and tender parent. There is great satisfaction in being held tight in these arms of love. Fear and worry are dispelled in these moments and peace and solace are restored when distress has been present. So it must be with our Lord. We must seek the spiritual comfort that comes from bringing our weary selves to the source of all comfor...

A real danger to the spiritual life could be termed “spiritual hoarding.” This would be the person who attempts to make themselves the end of God’s Mercy rather than become an instrument of God’s Mercy. By attempting to be an end of God’s Mercy, a person becomes spiritually greedy, seeking spiritual things for their own purpose. This is a form of pride. Praying becomes an act by which one seeks to...

The peace of the Lord is like a fortress in which we must take refuge from all the outer attacks from the evil one. Outside of this fortress we are exposed to all of these malicious attacks. The darts of anger, oppression, deceit and envy can do us great damage without the sacred protection of the Peace of God. But within the walls of this fortress, the Lord protects us from all that seeks to do u...

The calyx of a flower is the outer leaf surrounding the forming petals, keeping them safe as they develop. It forms a sort of “nursery” for the tender petals to grow. As they grow within this hidden place, the calyx keeps them safe. And once they become developed, the calyx opens and reveals the beauty within. So it is with your soul. The “calyx of your soul” is a gift from God protecting your inn...

Imagine being given the task of counting every grain of sand in the world. It would obviously be an impossible task. In fact, all the people in the world could not accomplish such a task together. Some things are simply beyond us. Another task that would even be more difficult to accomplish is to fully fathom the Mercy of God. This is impossible. The Mercy of God is completely beyond us. Its depth...

Anniversaries are blessed opportunities for reflection and gratitude. Some anniversaries are joyous, such as the anniversary of spouses celebrating a long and holy marriage. Other anniversaries are difficult, such as the anniversary of the death of a loved one. Yet even in the difficulty of reliving the loss, it is a yearly reminder of your love for that person. There are many annual celebrations...

Imagine what it would be like if you could somehow be mystically transported to the night of Holy Thursday. And imagine if you could somehow see and experience everything that Jesus went through. Imagine the Agony in the Garden, the ridicule and harsh treatment, the mockery, the night alone in prison, the trial, the scourging, the carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion. This would be too much t...

Are love and suffering opposed? In other words, if you feel much suffering can you also have great love? One question to consider is this: What is the source of your suffering? Is it your sin? Is it compassion for another? Is it a physical or psychological wound? The truth is that every suffering is able to be united with love in your heart. This is true even of the suffering you endure as a resul...

The Church is glorious for many reasons. One glorious aspect of the Church is the unity found within it. It’s true that there is, at times, much internal disunity, hurt and disorder of every kind. But these are not qualities of the Church. These are the effects of the sins of Her members. The Church Herself is the Spotless Bride of Christ. And the more we enter into union with Christ Jesus, the mo...

The lack of true heartfelt empathy is a clear sign of a certain psychological, emotional and even spiritual disorder. This is mentioned because the opposite is true also. The presence of true heartfelt empathy is a sign that one is psychologically, emotionally and spiritually healthy. Empathy means that you are aware of the other. You sense when someone is hurting or when they are joyful. Furtherm...

“I thirst.” These two simple words have so much meaning. They were spoken by our Lord from the Cross. A soldier tried to offer some comfort by offering Him a sponge soaked in wine-vinegar to satiate Him. The wine turned to vinegar is a symbol of the soul turned sour from sin. After taking this sour wine Jesus cried, “It is finished!” And then He died. What does Jesus thirst for? He thirsts for you...

We are quite familiar with the Gospel passage, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me” (Matthew 25:40). But do you believe this? If you do, then you will discover that loving Jesus is easy and that you have an opportunity to do so all day long, every time you encounter another. It may be through a kind smile or word. It may be through an act of generosity, forgiveness or serv...

If you were an expert in the area of wine tasting, and you had a choice between an excellent bottle of wine and a cheap one, obviously you would choose the excellent one. You would know the difference and you would not find much delight in the cheap wine knowing that the good wine was available. So it is with our souls. When we’ve tasted of the Mercy of God, and taken a sweet delight in His presen...

What is it that satisfies you in life? The answers to this question could be quite varied from person to person. One may find satisfaction in work, another in family activities, another in community service, another in wealth and worldly rewards. There are many and varied responses people will give. But the answer shouldn’t be varied. There should be one answer for us all. And that answer is that...

If you won a million dollars you probably wouldn’t say, “No, just give me $100, that’s all I want.” And yet that is what we often do with the Mercy of God. God offers an abundance of wealth and we choose to take only a small portion. Why is that? His Mercy is limitless. It is infinite. If we understood all that God wants to do in our souls, and then cooperated with Him and allowed Him to do it, we...

It’s easy to “love” God when all is well. But when all is well, our love is not tested. The testing that comes from human suffering clarifies our love of God. This can be very fruitful for our spiritual lives. It’s easy to believe that difficulties in life are nothing other than sad and unfortunate burdens and should be avoided at all costs. Though we would be foolish to create difficulties intent...

A true danger to the interior life of communion with God is an excessive need to talk. No, talking is not a sin and many times is an act of Mercy toward another. But there are times when being too talkative is a hindrance to the Mercy of God. Talking, in and of itself, is neither good nor evil. The goal is to form our words in accord with the Mind and Will of God. That’s it. We must see the words...

All things are made for one ultimate purpose: to give praise and glory to the Most Holy Trinity. We are made for nothing more, nothing less and nothing other than this purpose. As people, we are called to give the unique praise and glory of our adoration to God through lives fully committed and surrendered to Him. This surrender and total submission of our mind and will to Him offers God the prais...

Fear results from various causes. The perception of some immediate threat causes sudden fear as a sort of defense mechanism. In fact, this could save your life if, for example, the immediate threat is a car swerving into your lane. Sudden fear compels you to take action and avoid a collision. However, fear can also result from other more remote factors that we experience as threats to our well-bei...

If the Lord asks you to do something, do you have an option? You do insofar as you can say “No.” And this is a sin. But if you have chosen to follow Christ and your goal is Heaven, then it’s proper to say that we are obliged to do whatever the Lord asks of us. His requests are certain and immovable commands of Love. He will not budge. He will not change. This is only hard to accept if we are stubb...

It’s fascinating how Creation itself proclaims the glory of God and teaches us about matters of faith. Take a rainbow. It is bright and beautiful, colorful and awe-inspiring. Everyone rejoices on seeing a rainbow. But there would be no such thing as a rainbow without rain, or storms. Such is life. We will have good days followed by bad and bad days followed by good. We should not be surprised by o...

Has your soul been “transpierced” by God? Does He “pervade” you? Do you allow yourself to “dissolve” into His divinity and become “enveloped” by His Mercy? There are so many words we can use to describe our relationship with God. Though they all add to an articulation of who God is and what sort of relationship we should have with Him, none of them will ever fully be able to present the mystery of...

If you were aware of great famine in a far away land, and were also blessed with unlimited resources to address that famine, why would you withhold this gift from those in need? Hopefully you wouldn’t. Hopefully you would see your responsibility and do what was necessary to satiate the thirst and satisfy the hunger of those in dire need. But there is a great famine, and you are blessed with an unl...