Monday Musings-Guest Post-Father Darr Schonebon on Divine Mercy

     This is probably the longest guest post I have ever published. It is, however, not only worthwhile to read, but essential that you do so, if you wish to save your soul and the souls of those you know and love.

      This is a post you will want to copy, keep, ponder, re-read, and share, especially with those you know and love who have separated themselves from our merciful God or profess not to believe in Him or eternal punishment.

  

Divine Mercy Sunday

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER 

April 19, 2020

The Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday.  God through Jesus his Son calls all weak, wounded, sinful human beings — and thus that means everyone — to surrender themselves to his Divine Mercy and thereby receive the unmerited gift of his Divine Life.  His merciful heart goes out in particular to souls who dwell in the darkness of grave sin, souls who live without hope, wandering aimlessly through life. 

Yes, the infinite mercy of the heart of the Father pours forth upon the earth through the pierced, lanced heart of his crucified and risen Son (cf. Jn 19:34-37).  Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska — the seer who, at the insistence of Jesus, first promoted the celebration of the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday — had a vision of Jesus on February 22, 1931.  In her spiritual diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul (DM), she describes that vision as follows: 

In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment.  One hand [was] raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast.  From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale.  In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy.  After a while, Jesus said to me, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You.  I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world. (DM, 47) 

Eventually the (now famous) image was painted, sometime after which, at the bidding of her confessor-spiritual director, she asked Jesus the meaning of the two rays in the image.  During prayer she heard these words within her: 

The two rays denote Blood and Water.  The pale ray stands for the Water which makes righteous souls.  The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls . . . 

These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when my agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. 

These rays shield souls from the wrath of my Father.  Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.  I desire that the first Sunday of Easter be the Feast of Mercy. (DM, 299) 

Jesus would later confirm that it was from his wounded, lanced heart, more than from any of the other wounds inflicted upon him during his passion, that his mercy and grace flow.  He told Saint Faustina: 

From all my wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable mercy.  From this fountain spring all graces for souls.  The flames of compassion burn Me.  I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls.  Speak to the whole world about My mercy. (DM, 1190) 

Jesus went on to explain the critical importance of the Feast (Divine Mercy Sunday), in light of the “Fount of Life” imagery of the Divine Mercy painting: 

Ask of my faithful servant [Father Sopocko] that, on this day, he tell the whole world of My great mercy; that whoever approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete remission of sins and punishment. 

Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy. 

Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust!  Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness.  Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness. 

My Heart rejoices in this title of Mercy. 

Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God.  All the works of My hands are crowned with mercy. (DM, 300, 301) 

Jesus also told Saint Faustina that before his second coming at the end of time there would be (what now has come to be called) a “universal illumination of conscience”, a day on which at the same moment the conscience of every living human being would be illuminated by Jesus; at that time each person will see clearly all the sins of his or her life and where those sins, if not already repented, would take him or her.  (For more on the illumination of conscience, see THE WARNING: TESTIMONIES AND PROPHECIES OF THE ILLUMINATION OF CONSCIENCE, by Christine Watkins.)  Saint Faustina experienced an illumination of conscience herself before the universal event of which Jesus spoke to her, which universal event still has yet to come. 

Once I was summoned to the judgment [seat] of God.  I stood alone before the Lord.  Jesus appeared as we know Him during His passion.  After a moment, his wounds disappeared, except for five: those in His hands, His feet, and His side.  Suddenly, I saw the complete condition of my soul as God sees it.  I could see clearly all that is displeasing to God.  I did not know that even the smallest transgressions will have to be accounted for.  What a moment!  Who can describe it?  To stand before the Thrice-Holy God. (DM, 36) 

Jesus later spoke to her more about the universal illumination of conscience: 

Write this: before I come as Just Judge, I come as the King of Mercy.  Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be a great darkness over the whole earth.  Then the sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time.  This will take place shortly before the last day. (DM, 83) 

Since Saint Faustina wrote her spiritual diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, the world has been living in an extraordinary period of mercy granted by heaven, in which souls are being given time to repent of their sins.  Jesus called this period of time a “Day of Mercy” that would be followed by the terrible “Day of Justice”.  It is, so to speak, a “last call” to the world. 

In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people.  Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world.  I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart.  I use punishment when they themselves force me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice.  Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy.  

I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners.  But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation. 

My daughter: Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy.  It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice.  While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy; let them profit from the Blood and Water which gushed forth for them. 

[Let] the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy.  They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy.  My daughter: write about My mercy toward tormented souls.  Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me.  To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask.  I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy.  Write: Before I come as Just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy.  He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice . . . (DM, 1588, 1160, 848, 1146) 

The New Testament tells us in various places of the time of trial and tribulation that the Church and the world will undergo before the Lord returns (cf. THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, paragraph texts 675-677).  It will be a time of great suffering.  Weak, ignorant human beings that we are, suffering, sad to say, sometimes is the only thing that can move us to recognize our profound need for God’s mercy and then put him in first place in our lives.  Even for those whose faith and discipleship are strong, suffering, united to the Lord’s suffering, that is, to his Cross, is always the principal lens of Christian discipleship through which God’s mercy comes into clear focus.  Saint Peter (1 Pt 4:12—5:6-11) exhorts us to be always prepared for this suffering which is normative for our lives in Christ and has already begun for all disciples, for the “end times” (in which you and I are still living) began with the descent of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church at Pentecost. 

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed . . .  Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you.  Cast all your anxieties upon him, for he cares about you.  Be sober, be watchful.  Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brothers and sisters throughout the world.  And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will establish, and strengthen you.  To him be the dominion forever and ever.  Amen. 

In these days of pandemic people all over the world are suffering, those of faith and those of no faith.  For Christians, suffering, an evil that God only permits and doesn’t will directly, is not meaningless.  Christ, in his passion, in his suffering, has given our suffering meaning, has transformed it into hope; by sharing in his sufferings with the same confidence he had in the Father’s love for him, we become like him in his death and can hope with the certitude of faith to share in his resurrection (cf. Phil 3:7-11).  The meaning of Christ’s suffering and the meaning of our suffering united to his is simply his love for us and his Father’s love for us in him: 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (Jn 3:16-17) 

In short: Christ the Redeemer, by his suffering, has made our suffering redemptive and more: he has made it the graced occasion, when united in faith to his suffering, of delivering us from sin and death, and into his kingdom of eternal life; in his crucified and risen body, by the shedding of his blood in obedience to the Father, we are saved from everlasting death and given the gift of everlasting life.  In his open, lanced heart, from which the Blood and Water of the Divine Mercy pours forth upon us, we are reconciled to the Father and made sons and daughters of the Father in him.  For this reason, Saint Mother Teresa often exhorted her sisters of the Missionaries of Charity: “Don’t waste your suffering!  Offer it up!” 

You and I, dear brothers and sisters, are living in a critical time of God’s mercy.  It’s no accident that it is also a time of great suffering.  Let’s not fail to recognize this time of Christ’s visitation.  It is a time of extraordinary grace!  He and the Blessed Mother are pleading with us to open our hearts to his mercy. 

Pray the Rosary for the salvation of souls, that those most in need of Jesus’ mercy will turn to him and surrender themselves to it and soon!  Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for that same intention!  Above and first of all, however, let’s live the Divine Mercy by showing mercy to others, that is, in deeds of mercy.  Faith and prayer born of faith, yes; but works too (cf. Jm 2:17).  This Jesus insisted upon to Saint Faustina: 

My daughter, if I demand through you that people revere My mercy, you should be the first to distinguish yourself by this confidence in my mercy.  I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me.  You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere.   You must not shrink from this or absolve yourself from it. (DM, 742) 

Such showing of mercy to those around us, such love of neighbor is never easy, especially when we ourselves are suffering, tempted by fear and anxiety. Yet Jesus assured Saint Faustina that he will never fail to give the grace to do what otherwise would seem impossible to those who approach him with trust. 

Tell [all people], My daughter, that I am love and mercy itself.  When a soul approaches me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls. (DM, 1074) 

And finally, these assuring words: 

Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior.  At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy.  Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it. (DM, 1075)

Jesus, I Trust in You!

FATHER DARR