An Encounter with Divine Mercy
I had come to the Divine Mercy celebration Mass at St.
Agnes in Green Bay the previous year and had been overwhelmed by the
crowd. This time I had come extra early
– I was one of the first people in one of the many lines for Confession and I
was settled back in my pew by the time that the Church began to fill. Jesus was exposed in the Blessed Sacrament on
the altar and a large picture of the Divine Mercy image was displayed off to
the side.
I believe that the Holy Spirit guided me into a
devotion to Divine Mercy. A number of years
before, my family and I were at our then-parish’s summer picnic. More because I was an avid reader than
serious about my faith life, I checked out the white elephant sale bargain
bookshelf. I was drawn to a copy of The
Diary of Blessed Faustina (now St. Faustina). I had never heard of her. Actually, I think what first caught my eye
was the book was obviously brand new as it was still in its original cellophane
wrapping. It was marked at $1.00. It seemed like a bargain.
I tore the cellophane off that same evening and found
myself pulled into Faustina’s story and experiences and visions. I was deep into the book before I could put
it down and turn in for the night. Here
was a message that was all utterly new and astounding. The diary is much too rich to sum up briefly,
but one thing that Jesus said in a vision to Faustina that is especially
powerful for me, “I perform works of mercy in every soul. The greater the
sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy. My mercy is confirmed in
every work of My hands. He who trusts in My mercy will not perish.” (723).
I found a seat and slid
into the open pew just as they announced that they were going to begin praying
the Chaplet of Divine Mercy so I knelt and took my rosary out of my
pocket. A cantor began to chant the
Chaplet. I don’t recall much of that
prayer because as I gazed at the image in the sanctuary everything just blacked
out. I felt like I was asleep and dreaming. I realized that now I was standing in a huge empty
hall and all I could see was darkness. I
became keenly aware that I was not alone – someone was out there in that
darkness. Someone was looking at me. I felt that whoever it was could see me quite
well even though I still saw no one.
Then I realized that
there was something very heavy in my arms that were outstretched in front of
me. I seemed to be unable to look at
whatever it was. I didn’t want to look
down in any case. My arms trembled some
with the weight but I also knew that I could not put my burden down. I stood there facing whoever was out there in
that blackness.
Suddenly I was deeply
aware of my own sinfulness. It wasn’t
like I recalled specific sins – there was no “movie” playing out the details in
my mind. Nevertheless, I felt a deep
remorse in my heart.
Then it hit me like a
jolt of lightning – I knew who was out there. I still didn’t see anyone but I knew who it
was. It was God the Father. And he saw the sinfulness in my heart. I wanted to run but my feet seemed fixed to
the floor. I wanted to hide but there
wasn’t anything to hide behind. I felt utterly
exposed.
My heart was
pounding. Now it wanted to burst as now
I realized, even without looking, what I was holding. With great effort I forced myself to look
down and my breath froze. It was exactly
what I feared it was – it was the lifeless body of Jesus, just taken down from
the cross.
Tears streamed down my
face. I extended my arms up and out
towards the Father. I could barely choke
out the words, but I looked up and said, “See what I have done.”
A voice answered, “See
how much I love you.”
It wasn’t like waking
from a dream, but it was like opening my eyes as I became aware again of
everyone around me. The rosary beads
must have been slipping through my fingers the whole time because we were
finishing the last decade and I held the correct bead in my fingers.
On April 30, 2000 during
the canonization of Sr. Faustina Pope St. John Paul II declared that the Second
Sunday of Easter should be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. Thanks be to God.
His Peace <><
Deacon Dan
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