Saturday, March 22, 2008

Divine Mercy

Yesterday began the great novena of Divine Mercy, where we pray that all people, according to their specific spiritual need, may be immersed in the merciful heart of Jesus.

Today I learned that a man of once great influence in my life has passed away. That influence was not always toward truth. He was my pastor before I became a Catholic. When we parted ways there were hard feelings on his part. I claimed I was following Jesus to become Catholic; he believed I was being led astray by demons. I remember hearing that he had developed dementia; I felt, with perhaps more than a mere glint of satisfaction, that it was God's mercy to purify him while still in this life. Oh, Jesus, preserve me....

As I prayed the Office of the Dead for him, with trepidation I saw how, even though I prayed for mercy, I desired justice. Oh, I know that we all will be purified before we stand before God, and justice is met in His mercy. But all that is God's business. All I know is, my life has one measure. The measure I want for others is the measure for myself.

For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us, and on the whole world....

2 comments:

Lorna said...

That is such piercing, profound truth, thank you for articulating it.

Ry said...

Your honesty, I believe, it's a great form of 'penance' because reading your entry makes it obvious that it humbles you. That is encouraging.