I had a friend who first heard of the Divine Mercy Message just in time to celebrate the Feast in 2011. Within a year she was dead at the age of 55. She was blessed to learn of the Feast of Divine Mercy when she did but how many others will not.
Over and over I hear of families where the children have basically abandoned the faith. They go to church Christmas, Easter and maybe Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday.
We desperately need to do something to reach to reach these souls, bring them back to the Church and the sacraments. These are people that Christ died for. These are the lost sheep of the parable, the reason for the Passion. The Heart of Jesus bleeds for them, yet many people are dying without taking advantages of the graces offered on the Feast of Divine Mercy because they never heard of it. I’ve never heard or saw an explanation of the Feast in an Easter bulletin just announcements that a service will be held at 3PM the next Sunday. This is not what Jesus intended.
This Easter is the time God has given us to reach out to the lost and wayward to them to bring them back to the Church. We can’t wait until next year. We might not be around next Easter or they might not. This Easter may be our last chance to reach some of them with the Divine Mercy Message.
The world is desperate for Jesus’ message of Divine Mercy. Why wait for Divine Mercy Sunday to talk about it or put it in our bulletins? Who will that reach but the already converted? It is the Easter people, the twice a year Catholics we need to reach.
What better message can we give them than that they can start over?
How many of them know the promises Jesus made through St. Faustina. On the Feast of Divine Mercy, the Sunday after Easter the floodgates of Heaven will open. He promised that grace upon grace will be poured upon the earth. On this feast He wants to bless us beyond our imagination. He wants to wipe out all the punishment for our sins. We can be like the newly baptized. All of our sins and their punishments can be wiped out. It doesn’t matter what great sinners we are. Jesus wants to set us free. Think about it! We can start over!! It doesn’t matter if we’ve been away from the church for thirty years. It doesn’t matter if we’ve forgotten how to go to confession. Jesus wants to drown us in His mercy, to pour His grace upon us. What better news can we give to the Christmas and Easter people?
In the 1930’s Jesus appeared to a humble Polish nun, St. Faustina, and practically begged people to come to Him and trust in His mercy. He passionately wants our salvation. He passionately wants us in heaven with Him. It was at His request that the Feast of Divine Mercy was formally established by John Paul II. He tried to make it as simple as possible for us to receive His graces.
How do we do this? What does Jesus ask of us? He calls us to true contrition for our sins? We need to make a good confession as close to the feast as possible and receive the Lord in the Eucharist that Sunday. We are called to pass on God’s Mercy to others through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Jesus desires us to celebrate and accept His Mercy. We are called to trust in Him.
Somehow we need to get this message to the Easter people. We can’t wait. Too many have already died without hearing the Divine Mercy Message. So often we look down on the Christmas/ Easter people thinking, “It is no use. They’ll never come back to the Church.” This attitude denies the power of God’s grace. We should not underestimate the power of God’s grace and mercy. He promised the floodgates of Heaven will be opened. All we have to do is let people know. The rest is up to Him.
