Randi Pickett
Quotes from Saints and Theologians about Divine Mercy
Our Father is the greatest teacher because He reveals Himself progressively throughout history, attending to our limited understanding and calling us to trust in Him. Looking at Scripture, He first revealed Himself as Father to the Israelites, then the Son to the Jews, and finally the Holy Spirit to the disciples, who then baptized others in the name of the Trinity. Likewise, God revealed His character not all at once but slowly so that His creatures might be able to grasp what was necessary to know and love Him.
The message of Divine Mercy is not a new message but it was a reminder of God’s mercy in a time when it was desperately needed, right inbetween the two World Wars. And it is still a message that resonates today in the midst of abuse scandals, terrorism, natural disasters, and broken families.
What is Divine Mercy?
It is the message of God’s infinite, unconditional love. God’s love is more powerful than the deepest sin. He calls each and every one of us to return to Him because it is only in Him that we can full life and be unconditionally loved.
This message is portrayed throughout Scripture and was also revealed to Sr. Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who wrote in a diary all that God revealed to her about His mercy.
The message of Divine Mercy can be remembered using the ABC’s
A - Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.
B - Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.
C - Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.
Below are quotes about Divine Mercy from Sr. Faustina herself along with others who have a special devotion to this message.
Sr. Faustina Kowalska
"This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of My tender mercies. Every soul believing and trusting in My mercy will obtain it." (Diary of St. Faustina, 420)
These words from our Savior to Sr. Faustina depict the Lord’s great desire for all of His children to obtain His mercy. It is open and available to all who are willing to open their hearts. The Father does not hold back; rather, like the father in the story of the prodigal son, He continually runs with open arms to His children, offering unlimited mercy and love.
"Humanity will never find peace until it turns with trust to Divine Mercy" (Diary, p. 132).
Every generation seeks peace, in its families, countries, governments, and cultures. There are many temporary fixes found in good Presidents, civil rights movements, organic food, and enlightening findings in psychology, but none of these provide the eternal peace that comes from God’s Mercy.
Pope John Paul II
John Paul II called Faustina the “great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time” and made it his goal to live and teach the message of Divine Mercy as long as he lived. He initiated the canonization process for Sr. Faustina and made the Sunday after Easter “Divine Mercy Sunday”.
"The appropriate and incisive answer that God wanted to offer to the questions and expectations of human beings in our time, marked by terrible tragedies.... Divine Mercy! This is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity at the dawn of the third millennium."
John Paul II spoke this about Divine Mercy in his homily on Mercy Sunday in 2001. He had a gift for awareness of the current issues in the world and its needs. He recognized the need for the message of Divine Mercy in a world filled with confusion, doubt, skepticism, and trouble.
“Jesus entrusted to them the gift of "forgiving sins", a gift that flows from the wounds in his hands, his feet, and especially from his pierced side. From there a wave of mercy is poured out over all humanity.”
Here, John Paul II highlights the important role of the apostles and their successors in being the means of mercy between Christ and His people through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. God’s mercy pours out on His people through His servants, prayer, physical healing, but especially through Confession.
Pope Francis
“It is not easy to entrust oneself to God's mercy, because it is an abyss beyond our comprehension. But we must! ... "Oh, I am a great sinner!" "All the better! Go to Jesus: He likes you to tell him these things!" He forgets, He has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets, He kisses you, He embraces you and He simply says to you: "Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more" (Jn 8:11)”
— Homily on March 17, 2013
Pope Francis references the story in the Gospels where Jesus encounters the woman caught in adultery. He forgives her and loves her, but He doesn’t leave her where He found her. His mercy includes the command to “go and sin no more”. Mercy is a double-folded gift that encompasses forgiveness and change.
“God's mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ez 37:1-14). ... Let us be renewed by God's mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.”
— Easter Urbi et Orbi message on March 31, 2013
When God’s mercy transforms our own hearts, we become givers of life to the world around us.
Fr. Michael Gaitley
“My main argument in the book is that God is giving the second greatest story in the history of the world — the first greatest story after the Bible, which is to say, the story of Jesus Christ — because we need it.”
Fr. Michael Gaitley, in his book and talk “The Second Greatest Story Ever Told”, explains how the message of Divine Mercy is monumental in history. The story of Christ is complete and sufficient for knowing and loving Him, and the message of Divine Mercy emphasizes His mercy in a time when we most need it. Find out more here: https://www.augustineinstitute.org/divinemercy/
“At one point Jesus revealed to her, "I bear a special love for Poland, and if she will be obedient to My will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming" (Diary of St. Faustina, 1732).
This spark is the Divine Mercy message and devotion, said Fr. Michael. In order to more fully enter into the message, Fr. Michael encourages devotion to these five things: celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy, praying with the Image of Divine Mercy, praying a novena leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday, praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and praying during the Hour of Mercy.
Fr. Don Calloway
Fr. Don loves the message of Divine Mercy and created a website for it to spread the message of God’s love. He connects the mercy of God with the Immaculate Conception.
“The Divine Mercy and Mary Immaculate go hand in hand. The Immaculate Conception is really the masterpiece of Divine Mercy. Mary is the perfect fruit of Christ's redemption and love. So when you bring Mary and Divine Mercy together, they really compliment each other and they point to each other. It's kind of like the sun and the moon. Jesus is the sun; Mary's the moon. She reflects the sun”
Dr. Scott Hahn
"My conviction that Divine Mercy is the single most important truth that every Catholic needs to rediscover, and not just once or twice, but continuously. I think it is also the foundation on which we'll be building the new evangelization for many years — in fact, for decades to come."
Dr. Hahn connects the message of Divine Mercy and the new evangelization. If we are to effectively bring others to Christ, we need to encounter people with the tender love and mercy of God. This comes first before call to repentance and catechesis.
The message of Divine Mercy is one that is still being unpacked for its significance in our world. Through Christ’s sacrifice and redemption, He offers unconditional love and mercy to His children who come to Him with open hearts and hands. May we embrace His mercy and share it with others today.
Sources
https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/
https://www.thedivinemercy.org/news/Top-10-Mercy-Quotes-of-Pope-Francis-5380
https://www.thedivinemercy.org/news/An-Interview-with-Fr-Michael-Gaitley-MIC-6182
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