Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

Do you tire of speaking of the Mercy of God? Do you find that it becomes repetitive and unimpressive? If so, speak of Mercy all the more and ponder it with new zeal. You must never tire of the Mercy of God. The Mercy of God is so great and abundant that, in Heaven, you will see clearly how vast and wide it is. You will comprehend that it is incomprehensible and will never tire of contemplating its...

When an army is under siege, it seeks a place in which it can defend itself. Seeking higher ground or a place that gives it shelter and protection is immediately sought out. So it must be in your spiritual life. When you experience the darts of the evil one, or when life becomes burdensome to you, especially on account of your sin, seek the higher ground and the greatest place of refuge. This plac...

There are some who easily fall asleep each night and remain asleep until morning. There are others who struggle greatly with sleep and this becomes a great burden and a source of discouragement. If you are one who struggles with sleep on a regular basis, or even on rare occasions, see this cross as an opportunity rather than as a burden. A sleepless night offers one particular opportunity to you....

It is difficult to stay friends with one who is suffering, especially when that suffering endures. Often, at first, when a soul is suffering from some illness or other difficulty, many friends come to help. But as time goes on, fewer friends maintain their love and support. This offers a test of their love and mercy. But there is one Friend who will be there through it all. This is our Divine Lord...

The glorious virtue of humility must be understood, continually pondered and continually embraced. What is humility? It is nothing other than knowing the truth about yourself, believing that truth and living in accord with that truth. Only you and God know the depths of your conscience. Human opinion matters little. Some may offer false judgments of you presuming your pride or another sin. And at...

The devil is real and his temptations are real. He hates you with a pure hate and desires your destruction. This is good to know. But the evil one is also quite shrewd and manipulative and will rarely speak blatant lies to you since he knows this temptation will most likely not convince you. Instead, he seeks to speak confusion to you, identifying things that are partly true and mixing them with s...

When we engage in a conversation with another, it is always an opportunity to share the love of God. Even casual conversation has such potential. For example, listening intently to the details of another’s life expresses care and concern for them and reveals the fact that you see their dignity and are acknowledging it by listening. Sometimes conversations can go astray and become dominated by thin...

It’s true that no earthly image can fully reveal the perfect love of God. God is transcendent and His love is beyond what this world can contain. But nonetheless, there are many things in this world that do reveal aspects of the love of God. One such image is that of a mother’s love. Though God has been revealed to us as the Father in Heaven and the Son of God came as a man, we can discover much a...

How do you pray? There are many good ways to pray. Here are some common ways: attending the Holy Mass or another Liturgy, praying the rosary or other chaplets, reading the Scripture meditatively, reciting beautifully written prayers, sitting in silence before our Lord, falling prostrate before Him especially in the Holy Eucharist, etc. One additional way to pray is to have a conversation with our...

Do you doubt the Love of God? The truth is that God is relentless in His pursuit of you. Though much of our holiness depends upon us, most of it depends upon God. While here on Earth, God never ceases to pursue you and to seek your conversion. He sends His Mercy to you constantly in every way imaginable. The problem is that if your heart is “deaf and blind” it will not perceive the tireless ways t...

Imagine if someone gave their life for you because they loved you. They were put into a situation where they knew you would lose your life if they did not freely give theirs. As a result, they chose to step forward in confidence, giving their life in exchange for yours. In order for someone to do this they would have to have an incredible depth of love for you, so much so that they valued your lif...

Should we fear the truth? On one hand the truth can get us in trouble. Look, for example, at the Martyrs. They are witnesses to the truth with the shedding of their blood. They “got in trouble” only in the sense that their testimony to the truth brought forth their persecution. But in the eyes of God this is no trouble at all. It is an act of great love and honesty, courage and resolve. They chose...

One of the dangers many encounter in our modern technological world is that of constant noise. We are easily bombarded with chatter all day long. It could be through the radio, TV, Internet, or the ceaseless conversation of another. Rarely do we find times of great silence. As a result, when silence is offered us, we often look to fill that silence immediately. But is this wise? Is it good to occu...

Our minds are a gift from God and one of the two primary ways we are made in His image and likeness. The other way is through the gift of our free will. But the intellect is an incredible gift that must be given to the work of God. It is good to pray that our Lord make our minds great, powerful and keen so that we may know Him, understand Him and comprehend all the rich mysteries that He desires t...

One motivation we should have for working diligently at spreading the Mercy of God is the reality of the Communion of Saints. Understanding this eternal communion will enable us to realize that what we do now we will rejoice in forever in Heaven. For example, if you go out of your way to share the Mercy of God with another and this Mercy is received and affects that soul for the good, this fact wi...

It is actually quite consoling to have someone with whom you can reveal the depths of your soul.  This sort of confidant is a great blessing when absolute confidentiality, mercy and understanding are offered.  Speaking even of your sins without hesitation can bring much healing when the person with whom we share these things responds with perfect love and is able to offer you the Mercy of God.  We...

The words of truth, spoken from the Heart of our Lord, bring joy to our lives and rejuvenate our spirits.  When you hear these words of truth, take them in and act on them, you are set free from the burden of error and may experience a certain lightness of spirit and refreshment.  However, the opposite is true also.  When you listen to an error, take it in and believe it, the fruit of this error i...

One unfortunate tendency within our fallen human nature is to “murmur” about another.  It’s like a virus in that once someone starts, it passes to others quickly.  Before you know it, many can be spreading rumors and gossip not based in truth, or truths not spoken in charity.  This can be very painful to the person who the murmuring is about.  We see this commonly among teens, but it is not exclus...

All of creation is capable of reflecting the glory and workings of God.  God is the wisdom behind the Universe, setting all its laws in order and guiding all things perfectly.  We only need to spend time meditating upon the laws of nature to perceive the laws of grace which they reflect.  For example, take the morning dew.  It arrives silently and without notice of its coming.  It sinks in and soa...

Imagine the parent who loves a child with burning love.  They are committed in every way to the care and well-being of their child.  Their love is steady and irrevocable from the time of birth on into adulthood.  Now imagine the pain in this parent’s heart if at some point their child walks out on them and fully rejects their love.  This loving parent will not give up but will think about their ch...

It is most appropriate to prayerfully reflect upon being held in the holy arms of our God.  Understanding the Merciful love of the Father in Heaven through the holy embrace of love reveals to us His fatherly care.  Running to the arms of Jesus opens our hearts to His merciful love.  But one image that will also be helpful and holy to reflect upon is that of the infant Jesus.  Imagine if you were p...

Do you understand what you will be doing for all eternity?  Heaven, if we are blessed to obtain it, will be an existence of eternal contemplation of the Most Holy Trinity.  Though there is no time in Heaven, imagine if there were.  And then imagine contemplating the Trinity for a million years in a row.  Would you eventually become tired of this life and find boredom in it?  Never in a million yea...

Do you see value in being reduced to nothingness in your own eyes?  Perhaps not.  The reason this language is difficult to accept is that humility is only fully understood by a special gift of God’s grace.  Some ancient philosophers even hold up pride as a great virtue, discounting humility as weakness.  Sadly, there are few souls that obtain the actual virtue of humility.  Some may obtain a certa...

Some people are called to a unique life of prayer and solitude within the context of religious life.  In particular, there are those called to the eremitical life or the cloister.  These holy souls are separated from the world and spend their days in quiet prayer and work.  But what value does this life have to the world?  This is an important question to understand.  From a worldly point of view,...

When something burdens us we often seek consolation from others regarding our suffering by speaking about them openly.  Though it may be beneficial to share our burdens with another to an extent, there is also great value in embracing them silently in a hidden way.  It may always be wise to share your burdens with a certain person such as a spouse, confidant, spiritual director or confessor, but b...