Divine Mercy Sunday

pic stolen from a Catholic Mom in Hawaii's blog because I like Hawaii

VEE:  This time ten years ago I wasn't going to church and was what can be called a lapsed Catholic.  I didnt know much about the faith (heck I didnt even know what a Carmelite or a Dominican was!!) and what I thought I knew didn't sit well with my selfish wants and ways.  This went on until the summer of 2007 when I learned that the Hound of Heaven, the living flame of love, the good shepherd really does flash, shine and break through the darkness, and shout and yell and break through the deafness.  It was His mercy coming to me to show me who He really is.

I still wasn't going to Church, I had come up with every excuse in the book, and contributed in great part to the overall "excuses to not go to Church" book itself.   I would listen to some programs on EWTN, though one of them being the Journey Home.  One day it was a man by the name of Fr Donald Calloway and his story really struck me.  Look him up if you dont know.  Shortly after that was another interview with a man named John Pridmore, a former Londer gangster.  Upon hearing those stories, both touched by Divine Mercy, I thought well if God can help these guys maybe something will happen with me, so I prayed a Divine Mercy Chaplet and things slowly but surely started to change, first in my heart but eventually concretely in my life too. 

I had to change my life and get away from certain places, people, things that were sinful and start doing things that were of God,  like going to Church.  It has been the most wonderful adventure.  As Pope Benedict says " God takes nothing away from us" and He really doesn't.   He might take away crap that He knows won't make us happy but He will give back so much more in return for us giving up that crap!  And you"ll praise His mercy and goodness for having done so!!

DS:  One of the intentions during the Divine Mercy Novena calls for us to offer "lukewarm" souls to Jesus' mercy.  It was the lukewarm souls, Jesus told Faustyna, that drove the Lord nutz...

Pope Benedict has preached that the Church needs to remain strong, especially in this day and age when societies are becoming more and more secularized.  Lukewarm souls within the Church are those who are indifferent to their own faith.  They go along with being members of the Catholic church yet, they also go along with the standards set by the society at large, regardless if the two clash.  

The Chaplet given to us by Jesus to Faustyna is very powerful indeed.  It calls upon the Father to look at His Son's great sacrifice and for His sake, pour upon the whole world the mercy we so desperately need...   

This chaplet is very powerful indeed, and it has been my experience that the Lord answers the petitions tied to it---  yes, even changing the hardest hearts!

St. Faustyna

Divine Mercy Chaplet