Divine Mercy in My Soul
It is the first day of the week, Sunday, the Day of the Resurrection. The Jewish held the Sabbath, the Seventh Day, to be the Holy Day of the week, as they still do to this day. Their Tradition goes back to the beginning of creation, as outlined in the first chapter of Genesis. This account relates that God created the world in 6 days, but on the Seventh Day, He rested. Therefore, the Sabbath, the sign of the Covenant between God and man, is to be kept holy to the Lord. This is enshrined in the third of the Ten Commandments. But now, with the resurrection of Jesus, a new Day is dawned, a new creation begins. Mary Magdalene visits the tomb of Jesus, early on this day, while it is still dark. She finds it empty. The darkness of unbelief still encompasses the disciples. Now begin the signs which lead them from darkness to the Light of Faith. They are not given detailed explanations to help them. They are given signs to enable them to move into the Light where there can be no shadow of doubt.
Now on the evening of that same day, the disciples are gathered together in a room behind closed doors. They fear the Jews, probably suspecting spies. But this does not prevent the Light of the World to enter. Jesus came and stood among them. His first words to them are: “Peace be with you.” Peace is that most favourable disposition to the Divine Action. This is signified not just by the way He enters the locked room, but more especially by showing them His Sacred Wounds. He is truly the Lord, resurrected, and they are glad. Gladness and joy are always with the person who possess Divine Peace in his soul. Jesus repeats the greeting of Peace and breathes on them: “Receive the Holy Spirit”. A new life will enter their souls, calling to mind the text from Ezekiel, who was instructed by the Lord to prophecy over the valley of dry bones: “O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord … I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” This is not the moment of Pentecost, however. For St Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine, this action of Jesus is a sign pointing towards Pentecost when they will receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit after Jesus has ascended to Heaven from their midst. Along with this breath, the Holy Spirit, they will receive the Divine Power to forgive sins. This is a pure Gift to them, merited only by the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Thomas the Apostle is not among them on that day. He will not accept their witness that Jesus has risen. He wants a more definite proof, wants not just to see the Sacred Wounds of Jesus, but he wants to touch them, physically. His wish is granted 8 days later when Jesus appears among them again. But Jesus upbraids him for his unbelief: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Where are we today, in our faith? Do we also wish to see and touch the wounds of Jesus before we can believe? We can indeed touch His Wounds, not physically, but on a much deeper level than that. St Bernard in his commentary on the Song of Songs writes: “The piercing nail has become a key to unlock the door so that I may see the Lord’s Will.” Today we also celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy, asked for in the writings and revelations to St Faustina. We could say that her Diary, ‘Divine Mercy in My Soul’, constitutes a long meditation on this statement from St Bernard. We touch the Sacred Wounds of Jesus when we unlock the doors of our hearts by this key. From the piercing nails and spear flowed the Blood and Water from the Heart of Jesus, depicted on the image of Divine Mercy with the two rays, pale and red. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous – the Sacrament of Baptism. The red ray stands of the Blood which is the life of souls – the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. When we open the locked doors of our hearts and gaze upon this image, we receive the graces of the signs to which these rays point to, the Divine Mercy poured out for us through the Wounds of Jesus. This same Divine Mercy we receive in the Sacraments, for the healing of our souls. Will to believe and know the Divine Will, through meditating on Sacred Wounds of Jesus. There is no room for doubt when we place our trust in Jesus.
The first person to receive Divine Mercy in her soul was Mary. This occurred for her even before she stood beneath the cross and subsequently embracing the wounds as she held the dead Body of Jesus in her arms. It happened at the very instant of her Immaculate Conception. She was conceived without the stain of original sin. Her womb gave birth to Divine Mercy. She is intimately united to her Son in His Passion as no other soul could be. The sword piercing her Immaculate Heart is another key, as prophesied by Simeon in the Temple: “A sword will pierce through your soul, so that the thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” What are these thoughts? In union with the pierced soul of Mary, gaze upon the wounds of Jesus through which Divine Mercy pours forth superabundantly. Our response?
“My Lord and My God.”
“That all may grasp and rightly understand
in what font they have been washed,
by whose Spirit they have been reborn,
by whose blood they have been redeemed.”
“O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus
as a font of Mercy for us,
I trust in Thee.”