Jesus I Trust in You!

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY – Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday, April 19, 2020.  Gospel - John 20:19-31. Theme: Jesus, I Trust in You!

Today, Catholics throughout the world celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. We have so many special feast days but today’s is most unique because it was asked for by Jesus Himself, in the 1930’s, during a series of visions to a Polish nun whom we now honor as St. Faustina.  Usually, such personal spiritual experiences do not enter into our liturgy but this one was seriously studied and promoted by Pope St. John Paul II himself. He was such a strong believer in this devotion and its message as coming from Jesus that he intentionally made St. Faustina as the very first saint of the21st century. In addition to this, he declared Divine Mercy Sunday to be an official liturgical celebration for the worldwide Catholic Church.

In addition to observing this Sunday as Divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus asked that a special picture be made showing Him as He was when He appeared to St. Faustina. He wanted this image displayed in parish churches as well as in our homes. He called this image a vessel of mercy and promised his protection over those who honor it and live what it represents. This promise of protection has become more well-known in these times of COVID-19 as people place the Divine Mercy image on their front doors or hang it prominently in their homes.

And this is a very good thing! It is much like the way the Old Testament Hebrews in Egypt placed the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts for divine protection.  It was an outward expression of their interior trust in God that he would take care of them ad keep his promises. But if all we do is hang the Divine Mercy picture and then expect that solitary action apart from a trustful relationship with Christ to protect us, then we are not practicing true religion at all, but only idolatrous superstition.

The danger that lies in this kind of misguided devotion is that we can easily slip into a “magic charm” mentality and see such things as scapulars, medals, relics and pictures in the same way that others look at a rabbit’s foot or a new-age crystal. To avoid this type of misguided devotion which is a serious offense to the worship of our God, we need to know why we have a particular sacred object and how it is intended to inspire us on to a deeper relationship with Christ.

So, with this good intention in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Divine Mercy image that Jesus himself gave us and that he asked that be spread and honored.

A very interesting fact about this image is that it is a totally Easter-picture of Jesus.  The posture and body language of Jesus in this image is that of our Risen Savior as He appeared to the apostles on the first Easter night, as we heard in today’s Gospel. Look closely at his face and see that he glances out at us with compassion in his eyes and invites us to believe in Him, just as He asked of Thomas to believe.

Now look at how his right hand is raised in blessing and his left hand is directing us to his heart. This speaks to us of mercy, of heartfelt compassion for us sinners. The gesture of his blessing reminds us of the action of the priest when forgiving us our sins in Confession. And this also ties in the Divine Mercy picture with today’s Gospel where we learned that Jesus gave this forgiving ministry to his apostles on that first Easter night.

Perhaps the most striking artistic feature about this image are the two bright streams or rays bursting forth from the chest of Christ. These are symbols of the blood and water that gushed forth from His pierced Heart on Good Friday. Jesus himself said that the white rays represent the new life of grace which He gives us in Baptism and the red ones are his invitation to grow more deeply in our relationship with Him through Holy Communion. They are both a sign and a reminder of his love for each one of us.

Finally, there are the words, “Jesus, I trust in you” that Our Lord wanted printed on every copy of the Divine Mercy image. Just as an artist signs his painting, so Jesus called these words His signature. This simple little prayer which we all can easily memorize sums up the entire reason and purpose of this devotion, as well as the whole theme of the Gospels: to enter into and live a deeply personal and intimate relationship with Jesus and to never allow our sins and weaknesses to interfere with this relationship. Those are his own words to St. Faustina, not mine.

Over and over again Jesus said that no one ever needs to worry or fear when it comes to their relationship with Him. We are simply to trust in His love and realize that He did everything, even to the opening up of his heart on the Cross, out of love for each one of us personally.

He declared that our sins and our past, no matter what they were, are no obstacle to friendship with Him and that it is especially in the Sacrament of Confession that He pours out His mercy and forgiveness upon us.  He said that as long as we have breath within us, we have a right to claim His mercy and no sin, no matter what it might be, is greater than his forgiving love. He even said that the greater a sinner, the greater right that person has to his mercy. Imagine that! So very different from how so many of us have been taught to think about Jesus.

So, the bottom line of this devotion, if we want it to be an expression of true religion and not superstition, is that it is a sign of and a motivation for our confident relationship with Jesus. The Divine Mercy devotion proclaims that Jesus’ love is unconditional and therefore we would be so very foolish as to have any other attitude towards Jesus than that of trust, of confidence. This is where we will find our peace and protection in these difficult days of COVID-19. So always and everywhere, and especially if we find ourselves teetering on the ledge of fear or panic, let’s think of this image of our Merciful Brother and say from the heart, “Jesus, I trust in you!”