May 1st was the second Sunday of Easter as well as Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope John Paul II declared this day to be during the Easter season because Easter is the most perfect time to celebrate God's mercy on us. This particular image was shown to Saint Faustina in the 30's and Jesus directed her to have it painted and distributed as an invitation to us, all sinners, to partake of his infinite mercy.
Obviously this message is nothing new, just a reminder of what the Church has always taught; that God is merciful and forgiving and that we, too, must show mercy and forgiveness (ugh, the hard part). What I like about this devotion is the calling of people to a deeper understanding that God's love is unlimited and available to everyone. In fact, Jesus dictated to Faustina, and she wrote in her diary this message from Christ: The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy (723). I love the use of the word, a right to His mercy.
I had heard one time that before you sin, when you are being tempted, Satan has you believe that God is a loving Father who will forgive you and not a judge out there to condemn you. However, after you have sinned, Satan flips it and has you believe that God is a judge out to condemn you and not a loving Father who wants to forgive you, strengthen you, and love you.
In a practical sense, this is a great reminder for us parents. A girlfriend of mine and I have been encouraging each other in the recent months in a unique way. Each time we talk for advice on a certain child's behavior, or a certain way we've been feeling, we encourage each other to go to confession. I have discovered that when I am most critical of my children and their areas of improvement, I, myself, need to get humble and take a look at where I am lacking in God's eyes. By examining my conscience, I am able to see where I need God's mercy. This in turn has helped me to be merciful to my family members, who are looking to me as an example of unconditional love. It's the whole take the plank out of my eye before I can help to remove the speck out of my brother's eye. (Matthew 7:5) Naturally, we drag our kiddos along with us so that they can take a few moments to reflect on the ways they are upsetting the peace and receive God's mercy as well. Based on the results I've seen in my own family, it really is a healing process. (James 5:16)
Because God would never just love us when we are being good, I certainly don't want my kids to think that I love them any less when they have messed up. Basically, I just want my kiddos to be familiar with the image and of course with such a great message. I figured the fastest way to a kid's brain was sugar----cookies, that is!
The kids and I discovered some cool things about the picture.
1. Jesus' left foot is protruding forward, meaning that he is coming to you.
2. Jesus left hand is opening His heart to you.
3. His right hand is raised in a blessing.
4. The two rays denote blood and water. The pale ray stands for water which makes souls righteous and the red ray stands for blood which is the life of souls.
We decided to make Divine Mercy sugar cookies with the extra Easter cookie dough.
Here are the Divine Mercy hearts that the kiddos decorated. If the kids remember to partake of God's mercy with the same gusto that they partook of these cookies, then I've done my job!
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