It is of no surprise that the devil wants us to see God as an angry and vengeful deity, devoid of compassion. If we believe God is unforgiving, then we will never seek forgiveness. 

 

What is surprising is the number of people, including myself at times, that succumb to this lie. The evidence for God’s mercy is insurmountable. It is evident from our personal encounter with God, Scriptures, the witness of the saints, like St. Faustina, and most of all from Christ’s paschal mystery. 

 

Theologians have postulated that mercy is God’s greatest attribute. It is an expression of the Trinity’s inner life of love, turned toward the world. In other words, mercy is God’s love in action. 

 

Like all grace, it is a free and unmerited gift. At the heart of mercy, the giver gives what is good to another, even though it is not owed to them. Therefore, creation is recognized as the first act of mercy. God had no obligation or duty to create. He gratuitously chose to create and pour out His blessing on us. 

 

Despite God’s blessings, humanity chose sin. For lesser goods, we cast aside our greatest treasure, God Himself. “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Rm 3:23). In justice, each of us deserves hell. 

 

St. Paul affirms this but implores us to trust in God’s mercy when he says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rm 6:23). 

 

Out of His inexhaustible love, a second great mercy flows, re-creation in Jesus (2 Cor 5:17-18). Like the prodigal son, we were broken, lost, and incapable of restoring ourselves. Yet God comes to us, embraces us, and restores His wayward child who was dead. Rather than giving us what we deserve, condemnation, God offers us what we need, salvation. 

 

God so desires to pour out His mercy upon us. In 1931, Jesus appeared to St. Faustina and reaffirmed His great love for all souls, especially “poor sinners.” 

 

Jesus told Faustina, “Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.” 

 

On Easter, Christ conquers sin and opens the gates of heaven to us. It is our most significant feast, and we celebrate God’s mercy for eight days, representing a new creation. The final day of the Easter Octave is Divine Mercy Sunday, a special day to venerate and call upon God’s mercy. 

 

Jesus told St. Faustina, “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.” 

 

He also made the extraordinary promise that “the soul that will go to confession and receive holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” 

 

Many, including my family, prepare for this feast by praying the Divine Mercy Novena. As a novena, the prayers are said for nine days, beginning on Good Friday and concluding the day before Divine Mercy Sunday. 

 

The novena is filled with powerful intentions for all mankind, including sinners, the faithful, the clergy, those without faith, those separated from the Church, children, souls in purgatory and the lukewarm. When my family prays it, I am always struck by how relevant the prayers are to the needs in my family and the world.

 

I encourage you to explore the diary of St. Faustina and the many works contemplating the treasure of Divine Mercy. Most of all, I encourage you to say the Divine Mercy Novena beginning Good Friday. Jesus told St. Faustina that “Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” 

 

The novena can be found online at https://www.thedivinemercy.org/