Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

When you pray, how do you go to our Lord?  It’s certainly good to offer Him your entire day in loving devotion and to speak to Him throughout the day as to your closest friend.  But there are other times when our prayer must be intense and should be expressed with intensity.  One way to do this is to literally fall down prostrate before our Lord.  In the silence of your room or in an empty church,...

Only after someone has suffered greatly do they begin to understand the good fruits that can come forth from such suffering.  In and of itself, suffering is the result of our fallen human condition.  But because Jesus entered our human condition, embracing all suffering and redeeming it, suffering now has great power when freely embraced by us and united to the sufferings of Christ.  One good frui...

Imagine if you found a source of unlimited natural resources by creating a machine that transforms only a small amount of oxygen into an unlimited amount of energy.  All you had to do is turn on the machine you created and the energy is generated endlessly.  That would be quite an invention.  But something like this does exist on a spiritual level.  The “oxygen” it runs on is our misery and sin. ...

If someone in your family were seriously ill, or in prison, or in some form of grave need, would that be a burden to you or a blessing?  Think about it.  Do those with special needs make your life more difficult?  If this question were answered on a purely practical level the answer may be, “Yes.”  But if it is answered on a more spiritual level, the answer is that those who “burden” us with their...

What do you do after receiving Holy Communion?  Do you go back to your pew in a distracted way, with your mind wandering, paying attention to others around you, and failing to encounter our Lord on an authentic spiritual level?  Or do you allow that moment to be a moment of true prayer and communion with God?  If the truth is the former, just be honest with yourself and with God and use this reali...

It’s important to know that Jesus has every right to bring forth His justice here and now.  He has every right to be severe with us on account of our sins and to bring eternal judgment upon us.  This truth is often forgotten on account of His Mercy.  But we should never forget this fact.  It’s important to remember this because unless we understand the absolute right that God has to execute swift...

If you labor, day and night, spreading the works of God, this is good.  Good fruit will come from your commitment to serve the Will of God and to spread His Divine Mercy.  But we should also realize that God is able to use us to spread His Mercy until the end of the world.  How?  Only God knows.  But He does desire to use you for this purpose.  Some, like Saint Faustina, were used to set in motion...

How would you treat someone you love?  Typically, with family or very close friends we desire that which is best for them and that which makes them happy.  God desires the same for each one of us, but we may be surprised at what God sees as the source of our happiness and what He deems to be best for us.  Furthermore, though God’s love is perfect for every soul, it’s also accurate to say that God’...

It’s been said that “beauty” is in the eye of the beholder.  In other words, some say that the definition of beauty depends upon the subjective preference of one person or another.  Though there may be some truth to this on a more superficial level, on a deeper level true beauty comes from God and is objective in every way.  It’s not dependent upon our personal preference; rather, it depends upon...

How do you overcome your sins?  Every sin is different and requires specific prayer and sacrifice so as to detach from them.  Three common sins are: those of the flesh, those of anger and those of pride.  Each one of these sins can be overcome but may require special attention.  If you struggle with sins of the flesh, try to fast.  Give up that which is delightful to you on a physical level by fas...

Which do you prefer for your life?  Daily sensory experiences of sweetness or bitterness?  In other words, do you desire to take delight in the many aspects of your daily life or do you desire that the daily duty you fulfill leaves you with a certain bitterness within your senses?  For most people the answer is simple.  “Sweetness” is much better.  But is it?  Interestingly, the experience of swee...

Every great saint exemplifies some aspect of the goodness of God.  Some live lives of exceptional detachment from worldly riches, some serve the poor with unwavering commitment, some live lives of deep prayer, some have mystical revelations, some write volumes of books revealing the depths of faith, but all are called to bring forth the Mercy of God in one way or another.  The Mercy of God must be...

Though Saint Faustina and many other great saints entered into a unique spiritual darkness, defined by St. John of the Cross as the “Dark Night of the Soul” and the “Dark Night of the Spirit,” we all will experience a certain “darkness” of one form or another in our walk of faith.  Our darkness may not be the result of the extraordinary purification of the soul that takes place on the journey towa...

Many of the great saints, including Saint Faustina, experienced an interior darkness in their relationship with God.  This is quite a mysterious experience.  As a soul grows intimately close to God there are numerous consolations and feelings of love along the way.  However, there comes a point on the spiritual journey when God hides Himself.  This is not on account of any sin on the part of the p...

Every person is unique and God wishes to lavish His Mercy upon each and every one of us according to our particular needs.  When we pray for people, it’s good to offer them individually as well as by groupings.  Here are some groupings of people we ought to pray for: all sinners, priests, religious, the faithful, pagans, atheists, heretics, schismatics, children, those devoted to Mercy, those in P...

As we grow deeper in our faith, it’s easy to presume that life will become more complex.  For example, when one begins to study mathematics, each course that is taken builds upon the previous, and the lessons become more challenging and difficult as time goes on.  But in a certain sense the opposite is true with our life of faith.  The deeper we plunge into the Ocean of Mercy, the more we realize...

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 th...

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...

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...

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 a...

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....

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 spi...

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,...

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 H...

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 p...