A waterfall splashes into a subterranean pool, the only light coming from the hole the waterfall comes through. The walls and ceiling are craggy and rough.

Mercy

By Sister Faustina, O.C.D.

The Church continues to invite us to reflect anew on the beautiful mystery of God’s mercy. We see God’s mercy in all aspects of our life: our birth, our initiation into His Church, the life of grace in our souls, His healing when we fall, His powerful love in the Eucharist, His call to holiness and union with Him, His invitation to express our love for Him through our service of His children, etc. Everything is mercy!

One of the most profound mysteries of God’s mercy, though, is His ability to bring good out of evil and sin. So often we are disheartened by the ways that our brokenness seems to separate us from God. “Where is He?” we ask when we are suffering. Sometimes when we fail, we feel that we have to get things together before we will be able to find God again. In fact, if we are open to it, the very opposite is true. It is our poverty that causes God to draw close to us. Our lowliness actually attracts God’s merciful love. As Jesus told St. Faustina, “The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy” (Diary 723). Just as water always flows to the lowest spot, so mercy delights in rushing to the places of greatest misery. This outpouring of mercy, in turn, results in His greater honor and glory. This is the power of the resurrection! Just as the setting sun burns its glory into even the darkest of storm clouds, mercy always has the last word.

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