Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

Reflection 168: Evoking the Mercy of God for Others There is one thing, and one thing only, that has the power to free sinners from the fires of hell.  That one thing is Mercy.  God offers His Mercy freely and in abundance, but He has also chosen to offer His Mercy in response to our prayers when they are prayed with the utmost faith and childlike confidence.  Jesus cannot refuse a heart that is p...

Reflection 167: Desiring the Lord to the Greatest Degree When you pray, and when you pray long and hard, the Lord will enter in.  He will commune with you and unite His Heart to yours.  You will experience these effects in various ways.  One common effect is that the closer you are drawn into union with Christ, the more you will desire this union.  And the more you desire this union, the more you...

Reflection 166: The Power of Your Unity with Christ Imagine being All-Powerful, or being an intimate friend of one who is All-Powerful.  There is a story of Pope St. Leo I, who lived in the fifth century, which reveals the power of God.  It is said that Attila the Hun and his violent army sought to sack Rome.  Pope St. Leo met Attila and “persuaded” him to turn back.  Later, when Attila’s army ask...

Reflection 165: The Perfect Contrition When we become aware of our sins we may have various reactions.  We may remain indifferent, or repent out of fear of God’s justice.  But the ideal response is to turn to God with love and to have true sorrow as a result of that love.  If we have a burning love for God, we will become attentive to even the smallest sin we carry.  And every sin we see, we will...

Reflection 164: Longing for the Souls of Sinners When you see someone with manifest sin, what is your reaction?  Many people react with disdain and harsh judgment.  When someone breaks the law, we harshly condemn them.  When someone lives an immoral lifestyle, we belittle them.  Very often, our attitude toward the sinner is merciless.  This is a problem.  True, we must see sin for what it is and w...

Reflection 163: Glorifying God in Your “Wretchedness” Do you see the wretchedness of your own soul?  Some may be offended by such a question.  But if we understood the Mercy of God, and realized that it is our “wretchedness” that enables Him to be glorified the most, we would not shy away from such a thought.  Many want to be holy and to see themselves as holy.  It’s easy to think, “If I am good,...

Reflection 162: Light Dispels the Darkness Light dispels the darkness.  Scientifically speaking, we know that light and dark are not opposing forces; rather, dark is the absence of light.  And when light enters in, the darkness is no more.  So it is with the Mercy of God.  Without Mercy, our souls are dark.  We fall into doubt, confusion, fear and despair when Mercy is absent.  In this case, we ar...

Reflection 161: The Singular Love Given to You When pondering the love and the Mercy of God, it is tempting to see His love in a more general way, as if it were something evenly distributed to all people in the same way.  But God’s love for you is something so much more than a general gift to all people.  It is deeply personal and singular, being offered specifically for you, out of love for you. ...

Reflection 160: The Mercy of Confession Have you discovered the great joy of going to Confession?  Some do not consider the Sacrament of Confession to be a great joy.  Instead, they see it as a painful and humiliating experience.  But perhaps some need the humiliation of an honest confession to help break them out of their sin.  Others, those who sincerely seek the abundant Mercy of God, will take...

Reflection 159: Mercy at the Hour of Your Death Every time we pray the “Hail Mary” prayer, we pray for the sacred hour of our death.  In so doing, we entrust that hour to our Blessed Mother so that she will intercede for us at the moment we need it the most.  Another holy prayer to pray in preparation for that hour is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  Too often we fear the moment of our death.  And th...

Reflection 158: The Content of Your Speech The content of your daily speech is a clear reflection of the content of your soul.  So what does your speech reflect?  Very often you may find that your conversations throughout the day have been about superficial and worldly matters.  Though some casual conversations of this sort are normal and healthy, you should also be able to point to regular conver...

Reflection 157: Moral Decision Making Do you ever struggle with making the right moral decision?  This happens as a result of our fallen human nature.  We are easily confused in life and can easily fail to grasp the Mind and Will of God.  So what should you do?  Know that your conscience is a sanctuary to which the Lord must be invited.  When invited, He will come and dwell there to teach you all...

Reflection 156: The Lord is Our Refuge There are times in life when fear enters into your life.  You may have some daunting task before you, or may be walking down a path of the unknown.  These, and many other experiences in life, can become a cause for fear and anxiety.  Fear of the unknown can especially become all consuming.  But it need not be if the Lord is with you and is your constant Refug...

Reflection 155: Facing Judgment with Grace One painful experience you may face is that of the rash judgment by another.  At times, others will look at you with judgment and disdain for reasons out of your control.  Perhaps they will identify some small fault and magnify it in such a way that they use it as the lens through which they see your whole life.  This can be quite painful and can evoke mu...

Reflection 154: Silent and Humble Adoration Imagine the scene of our Blessed Mother in the humble state of the Nativity.  She had no home at that moment other than this place where animals gathered.  Yet in the stillness of that holy night, she was at home as she gazed upon her Child with the deepest adoration and love.  She gazed in silence as He lay sleeping on the hay . This must be an image of...

Reflection 153: Seeing our “Littleness” Little children can’t wait to grow up.  When they have a birthday, they are filled with joy that they are one year older.  And yet, as little children, they are still dependent upon their parents in many ways.  The same is true of us in a spiritual sense.  We often want to “grow up” and to become great saints, attaining great things for God.  And yet, we mus...

Reflection 152: The Mystery of the Grace of Suffering Human suffering is one of the greatest mysteries of life.  The Diary of Saint Faustina, as well as the whole spiritual tradition of our faith, reveals much about this profound mystery of suffering.  First, from a purely secular point of view, suffering is far from desirable.  In fact, it is typically avoided at all costs and seen as the greates...

Reflection 151: Spiritual Kinship In order to be truly close to someone else, and to understand them on a deep level, is it necessary to speak continually and to share every detail of your mind and heart?  Not if both souls are intimately united with God.  In that case, very little has to be said in order for each person to recognize a shared unity and to understand the other.  When God is alive i...

Reflection 150: Avoiding the Trap of Human Opinion Does it matter what others think of you?  In other words, should you be concerned about the “opinions” of others?  Yes and no.  No, we should not be concerned in the sense that the only “opinion” that matters is that which is true.  And the Truth is that which is in the Mind of God.  And that Truth is not an opinion, it is the Truth.  So, no, we o...

Reflection 149: Interior Inspirations There are countless opportunities all around us to share the Mercy of God with those in need.  But it is all too easy to miss these opportunities to do so.  One primary way that we allow ourselves to become instruments of Divine Mercy is by seeking to continually be attentive to the many interior inspirations sent to us by the Holy Spirit.  It’s not so much a...

Reflection 148: Mercy for Those in Purgatory When a loved one dies, it is easy to instantly presume they are in Heaven and are no longer in need of our prayers.  But one of the greatest gifts we can offer to those who have gone before us is our prayers.  It’s true that every person who dies in a state of grace (meaning they do not have unrepented mortal sin), will enter into the glories of Heaven,...

Reflection 147: Mercy through Deeds, Words and Prayers Do you want to become an instrument of the unfathomable Mercy of God?  If so, you do this by your deeds, your words and your prayers.  First, you must constantly be on the “lookout” for opportunities to show Mercy by your deeds.  Too often, when given the opportunity (such as to forgive another), we turn the other way.  But we must be vigilant...

Reflection 146: Praying with the Passion of Christ All of us are aware of the sacred Passion of our Lord.  But few are able to gaze upon His Passion with true feeling and love.  In our prayer, we must learn to meditate upon the Passion of our Lord with great devotion.  This is not so much something we do by our own effort; rather, it’s something that we allow our Lord to do in us.  We must allow H...

Reflection 145: Lost in the Admiration of Love Falling in love can leave one “spellbound.”  This form of human love may leave you speechless to a certain extent, not finding it necessary, or even possible, to accurately express what you feel.  But the love of God is beyond any experience of human love and, thus, when experienced on a profound level, you will find yourself sitting back in awe and a...

Reflection 144: Your Holiness is a Gift to Others Jesus deeply desires to pour forth His Divine Mercy into your soul.  He desires to transform your sin and make you His perfect dwelling place.  This is a gift beyond what we can grasp, but one we are invited to accept.  Accepting the countless graces from our Lord is not only for our good, it’s also for the good of others.  Jesus wants you to becom...