Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

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 ought not worry about opinions that do not reflect t...

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 matter of looking for these opportunit...

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, eventually.  However, what we may often forg...

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 and committed to seeking these opportunities out and r...

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 Him to reveal to us the great suffering He went thro...

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 admiration of the God whom you love.  No words w...

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 become holy in every way out of love for you, as His pr...

Every reflection of this book ends with a prayer and each prayer ends with the prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You.”  But do you?  Trust is not only a one time act.  It’s not something we do or do not do.  It’s something we must do on a continually deepening level.  There is no limit to the depths of the trust to which we are called.  The deeper your trust, the more the Heart of our Divine Lord will be...

It is important to recognize the existence of the evil one, satan.  And it’s important to realize his anger and hatred.  His hatred is of greater intensity than we may be able to understand.  It is beyond his control to cease hating us and seeking to destroy us with all his powers.  Why is it important to know this?  Because when we receive some attack from the evil one, either directly or through...

Only in Heaven will we understand the gift of the angelic hosts.  These magnificent spiritual beings were created by God out of love.  Some were created for the sole purpose of eternal worship and adoration of the Most Holy Trinity.  They never tire of this calling and worship God with an ever deepening love and communion.  Other angelic beings were created to bring the love and Mercy of God to us...

In your relations with others, do you sometimes feel misunderstood?  It could be by a close family member, a friend, a coworker, etc.  The problem is that the content of your mind, heart, will, intention, and all of your past experiences are what go into directing your actions.  And no one understands all of this except God.  We do not even fully understand what we do and why we do it most of the...

Sometimes we tend to push the Will of God faster than God has chosen to move.  As a result, we end up doing our own will and not that of God’s.  The key is patience.  We must patiently wait upon the Lord for Him to act in us so that He is the one doing all things through us.  In fact, the act of patience is something that God desires greatly in our lives.  Through patience, we are able to let go o...

Perhaps it’s no surprise to hear it said that the Mercy of God is infinite.  But “infinity” is quite a concept to grasp.  In fact, some would argue that it is impossible to grasp.  Delving into something that is infinite and has no bounds is beyond what we could ever fathom.  So it is with the Mercy of God.  Being infinite, we should realize that we will spend eternity, an infinite existence, seek...

When you pray, do you ever sit and gaze upon the crucifix?  From an outside perspective, the crucifix is a puzzling reality.  Why would we lift high and honor such a horrific event?  The brutal murder of the Son of God may not be, at first, something we are attracted to.  Yet, the crucifix has a power and a draw for those who gaze upon it in faith because it is not only a horrific and brutal murde...

If you were to examine the content of your prayer life over the past month, what would you see?  Hopefully there would be many moments of surrender, intercession, praise and adoration.  And hopefully there were also many moments in which your prayer consisted of deep thanksgiving to God.  Being grateful, truly grateful, and expressing that gratitude in prayer is powerful.  We have so much to be gr...

Do you converse with Jesus?  This is a form of prayer that is most fruitful.  “Conversation” with God is not the highest form of prayer, but it is a form of prayer that we often need to begin with.  Conversation with God is especially fruitful when we carry some form of burden or confusion in life.  When this is the case, it can be helpful to speak about this openly and honestly with our Lord.  Sp...

A honey bee works diligently, day after day, and a colony of bees all work toward the same natural end.  They work to produce honey.  This is no small task and requires constant work on the part of thousands of bees to produce a small amount of honey.  But, in the end, their efforts pay off and honey is made and stored in the hive.  So it is with our lives. We are all called to serve the Lord indi...

We cannot do anything good on our own.  This is a fact.  All we can do on our own is sin.  In fact, the only way to please God and to do good things for Him is to rely upon Him for everything.  We must have a relationship of complete dependence upon God in all things.  It’s easy to think that we will please God if we simply try harder with an action we have undertaken on our own and believe is goo...

One common tendency we all have is curiosity.  We easily become curious about almost everything, desiring to know.  Magazines, news articles, shows, daily gossip sessions, etc., all have as their aim the satisfaction of our curiosity.  This curiosity must turn into a desire to know God and all He speaks to us.  But, with that said, we must also know that we cannot know.  The wisdom and Will of God...

Is it better to do great works, or small sacrifices?  It’s easy to conclude that some great work for God is far better than any small sacrifice.  But is it?  That all depends upon the Will of God.  Sometimes we take on some “great work” for God but, in the end, it’s not part of His plan.  A work is great only when it is done because God inspired it and remains the one leading it.  Conversely, if G...

There is little doubt that each one of us will encounter, from time to time, the sin of another.  It could be in their words, actions or the omission of what they ought to do.  Sin hurts and requires correction.  Very often, when we are sinned against, we tend to get angry.  But the anger we have is not always “holy anger” and is not, therefore, always from God.  We can easily allow our wounded pr...

“Do not be afraid; just have faith” (Mark 5:36).  These four words, “Do not be afraid,” are spoken countless times throughout the Scripture.  We should pay attention to them.  Fear can paralyze us and lead us into many forms of foolish thinking and acting.  The person who acts out of fear truly acts like a fool.  That may seem harsh at first, but it’s not if you understand what it means.  It simpl...

Have you encountered the sweetness of Jesus?  He, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, come to you in the secret depths of your soul.  There, in this hidden place, they desire to communicate with you.  Their communication is beyond words and concepts.  It’s a communication of profound love that leaves the soul at peace and with a delight of the greatest sweetness.  Their encounter with you is not...

You are called to love God with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength.  But how do you do this?  What does an active loving of God look like in our lives?  Ultimately, we love God through holy obedience.  We must obey His Divine Will above all else.  Perhaps that seems like a strange concept, that love of God is best expressed in holy obedience.  But it is.  It’s expressed in holy obedience be...

Do you have fear in your life?  It’s important to know that some fear is quite unhealthy, stemming from a form of pride, while another form of fear is quite healthy, resulting from your profound love of God.  The “holy fear” is filial fear, which is the fear of a child of God.  This particular form of fear is present when your love of God is so deep that you fear doing anything that would harm you...