The Divine Mercy of GOD

BY: NINO A. CALAMBA, RN


“My mission will not come to an end upon my death. I will draw aside for you the veils of heaven to convince you of God’s goodness.” – from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Most Blessed Sacrament. These words started the strong devotion to the Divine Mercy of God. From the diary of Sister Maria Faustina, a young nun then from Poland, the devotion to the Divine Mercy of God began spreading throughout the world in the 1930s.

The messages from the diary of Saint Maria Faustina is a reminder of what the Church has always taught her faithful people through the Scripture and traditions. People are reminded that God is merciful and forgiving and that as children of God, we too must show mercy and forgiveness. However, in the devotion to the Divine Mercy, a powerful new focus has been brought about by the messages of the Divine Mercy.

The devotion to the Divine Mercy provides us the message of mercy that God loves all of us despite of how great our sins are. The message tells us that God wants us to recognize that His loving mercy is greater than all our sins, in order that we will call upon God full of trust and be able to receive His mercy wholeheartedly, which we are encouraged to let it flow through us towards others. So that, everyone will come to share in God’s joy. As EWTN Devotionals puts it, “(the message of the Divine Mercy devotion) is a message we can call to mind simply by remembering the ABC: (A) Ask for His Mercy; (B) Be merciful; and, (C) Completely trust in God.”

EWTN Global Catholic Network explains that because God wants us to approach Him through our prayers every minute of our lives, we are then asking fervently for His Mercy as we repent for all our sins and as well by begging Him to shower His Mercy down upon us and of the whole world. Secondly, we would be merciful to others because God wants that upon we receive His Mercy, we would let it flow freely towards others. God wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He has unconditionally done to all of us. Lastly, when we completely put our trust in God, it is a way of God wanting us to know that the graces of His Mercy are dependent upon our trust in Him. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive His loving mercy.

The prayer to the Divine Mercy is being said every three o’clock in the afternoon, and it goes: “You died Jesus, but the source of life flowed out for souls and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fountain of Life, immeasurable Divine Mercy, cover the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water which flowed out from the heart of Jesus as a Fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You! Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and the whole world. Amen. Jesus, King of Mercy, we trust in You!”

For prayer leaflets, devotionals, and prayer schedules to the Divine Mercy, the Divine Mercy prayer group of the Archdiocese of Davao can be reached through phone numbers 298-0488. Ms. Emilia Sitjar is the Divine Mercy Lay Coordinator in the Archdiocese of Davao.

P.S. I would like to give thanks to my Aunt, Dr. Casilda “Sising” Aparis, for encouraging me to grab this blessed opportunity of writing a story about the Divine Mercy of God, especially on its feast day every first of May!