Divine Mercy captures a man in uniform and then sets him free!
My spiritual journey took a turn for the better in the year 1990. That year as a Philadelphia Police Corporal, I was transferred to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office as a detective. When I commuted, I would arrive in Center City about 40 minutes early, and I would stop at 8:30 a.m. Mass almost every day before work.
If you attend daily Mass, your life will change. I became more aware of some of the grave sins that I had committed during my life. So, I began going to confession frequently because the Franciscans offered confessions several times each week at St. John’s on 13th Street.
Each time I went to confession, seemingly relating the same sins over and over, I became aware of the Lord’s overflowing mercy in my soul.
I was then introduced to the Diary of Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish Mercy nun who was not yet a saint. I knew that Pope John Paul II, who will be canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, was a proponent of Divine Mercy and was working to promote the message of Divine Mercy.
The story of Divine Mercy, which is a relatively new addition to the Roman Catholic Liturgical Calendar, started in 1930 when Jesus appeared to Sister Faustina, an uneducated nun, who was advised by her spiritual director to write down the revelations she was receiving about God’s overflowing and unfathomable mercy for each and every soul. St. Faustina was canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, Divine Mercy Sunday.
Jesus instructed Sister Faustina to have an image painted. The image is of Jesus with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand near his heart pulling back his robe. Flowing from his heart are two rays – one red, representing His Precious Blood poured out in love for souls, and the other is pale, reminding us of the waters of baptism, which make us children of God.
Jesus told Faustina, “I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I Trust In You” (Diary 327).
Jesus called the sacrament of reconciliation the Tribunal of Mercy . . . “Where I myself await you.” Jesus attached great promises to this feast. One is the promise of a plenary indulgence which is a complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.
I entered diaconate formation in 2006 after retiring as a detective. Through the Mercy of God, I was ordained a deacon on May 21, 2011, the month of Mary. On my ordination card, I chose an image of Divine Mercy and on the back, a mandate from Pope Benedict XVI at the First World Congress on Divine Mercy, “Go forth and be witnesses of God’s mercy, a source of hope for every person and for the whole world. May the Risen Lord be with you always!”
All of the information on Divine Mercy can be found on the website of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception at www.marian.org and www.thedivinemercy.org. This is where I began investigating the Message of Divine Mercy more deeply. It is a fascinating story, and I urge everyone to go to these sites and to “come and see.”
“On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy…. Let no soul fear to draw near to me, even though its sins be as scarlet” (Diary, 699).
Deacon Joe Murphy serves at St. Joseph Parish, Sea Isle City.
Divine Mercy Celebration
St. Brendan the Navigator Parish in Avalon announces a Divine Mercy Celebration on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, at Maris Stella Church, 5012 Dune Drive. Confessions in English and Spanish at 1:30 p.m., chaplet and procession of Divine Mercy image at 2:30 p.m., Mass at 3 p.m.
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