Hope for our great needs

Today is the Feast of Divine Mercy – the central feast of the growing and spreading devotion to God’s Divine Mercy.  It is a devotion for our time because our world needs to discover the reality of God’s great gift to us – His merciful love. 

If all of this is new to you, you might want to spend some time with EWTN’s page focusing on this devotion.  Here is the link:  http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/  

While the Devotion to Divine Mercy has been with us for many years, it was St. John Paul II who brought it into sharp focus, introducing the Church to the depth of its meaning.  It was St. John Paul who canonized St. Faustina Kowalska, known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy.  It was to St. Faustina that the Lord appeared and revealed Himself as the God of Mercy.  

At the Easter Vigil that I attended Father told us in his homily that he had prayed for God’s word for the feast.  The only word that kept coming to his mind was “mercy”. So he preached a very powerful homily about God’s merciful love and challenged each one of us to kneel before the Lord and open our hearts to receive that love.

Pope Francis has just declared a Year of Divine Mercy to begin on December 8.  Here is a link to a news item regarding his proclamation:  http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/11/pope_francis_presents_bull_of_indiction_of_jubilee_of_mercy/1136108

And finally, during this week you might want to read and reflect on Pope Francis’ homily at today’s Mass.    http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-divine-mercy-sunday-homily

As Sisters of Jesus Our Hope we believe that “all our hope is in your mercy, O Lord.”  Hope in God’s mercy is at the heart of our life, our charism, our apostolate.