Jesus, I Trust In You–A Time for Divine Mercy

You’ve probably seen the inscription, “Jesus, I trust in You” at the bottom of the Divine Mercy Image. Jesus specifically asked for this to be placed on the image. He told St. Faustina that His image is:

…a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: ‘Jesus, I trust in you.’ (Diary 327)

St. Faustina received the Image of Divine Mercy from Jesus in 1931. Her diaries containing her conversations with Our Lord and Our Lady have been around since then. Yet, many faithful Catholics don’t know much about Divine Mercy, much less the outpouring of graces that come with it. This is important, because, especially in our present time, we desperately need all the graces the Lord deigns to pour out on us.

A Time for Salvation–A Time for Mercy

St. Paul tells us, “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” (2 Cor 6:2). He’s urging us to not neglect the graces God gives us. In a similar fashion, Our Lord told St. Faustina that now is the time of mercy, and when we appeal to Him in our misery, we give Him great delight. He is only too happy to open up the abyss of His mercy for us. Jesus makes it clear that this time of mercy precedes a coming time of justice. It’s up to us to decide which we will receive from Him:

…before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice. (Diary 1146)

So, are we open to His mercy, or not? If so, how do we demonstrate our openness and trust in Him?

Jesus, I Trust In You–Or Do I?

Jesus wants to provide us with a plan for peace. But we have to be open to His mercy for this to happen. We need to come to Him in prayer and supplication, with trust in His mercy. As I write this piece, widespread concern exists over the coronavirus. In the U.S. and in other countries, dioceses have suspended public Mass celebrations. Entire communities, counties or states are under quarantine or “stay at home” orders. Holy Week and Easter liturgies have been celebrated virtually by those with access to the internet.

Articles continue to present dire forecasts of what could happen under various scenarios with this virus. Some predictions include overwhelmed healthcare systems, with utilitarian triaging to determine who gets treated and who doesn’t. On top of this, incredible numbers of people are without work, and many businesses are in danger of extinction due to the forced quarantines. A government program may help put a band-aid on some of these fiscal wounds. Social distancing, discontinuing public Masses, and sheltering in place may help us survive physically. There’s nothing in any of these measures, though, that addresses our spiritual health.

Now is the time to pray communally to God for atonement, for the sick and the dying, and their caregivers. Do our prayers reflect a deeply held commitment to “Jesus, I trust in You?” What can each of us do, in unity with other members of the faithful, to seek God’s merciful love and help in these times?  

Divine Mercy – The Mission of Saint Faustina

The future Saint Faustina felt a calling to the religious life at the tender age of seven. One of ten children in a poor Polish family, some years later, she told her parents about her desire to enter a convent. They did not approve. When she was 19 years of age, though, Jesus appeared to her in a vision. He asked her how much longer she would keep putting Him off. That sealed it. She began a search for an order to join. After being turned down seven times, the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy accepted her. She took the name Sister Maria Faustina and began a life of deep prayer and asceticism.

After only 13 years of contemplative prayer, visions, revelations and hidden stigmata, she succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 33. In that short time, Jesus gave her an important mission–to make known His unfathomable Divine Mercy. This she accomplished through her diary wherein she recorded her conversations with Our Lord and Our Lady. The diary includes Jesus’ explanation of His Divine Mercy, together with instructions for praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Jesus gave the Chaplet of Divine Mercy devotion to St. Faustina as a prayer of atonement (Diary 474-476). This brief devotional only takes about seven to ten minutes to pray it piously.

The Power of the Chaplet

This chaplet will change our lives and the lives of those for whom we pray. In her diary, St. Faustina speaks of the power of the Chaplet,

And the Lord let me know that everything can be obtained by means of this prayer. (Diary 1128) [Emphasis added by me]

That being the case, what do we really mean when we say, “Jesus, I trust in You”? It seems that we have an arsenal of weapons at our disposal right here, right now, for spiritual encouragement and strengthening. Mother Mary has given us the brown scapular, the Rosary and the Five First Saturdays. Jesus has given us this Chaplet. He tells us that “everything” can be obtained by means of the Chaplet. “Everything” would include elimination of diseases and problems they cause. Now the Church, as an institution, initially focused on defensive measures. Now it is time to employ, collectively as the Mystical Body of Christ, offensive tactics as well. More and more of this is being done institutionally, but we, the laity, can do yet more as well.

Offensive Tactic: Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the Sick and the Dying

Jesus told St. Faustina that, if we pray the Chaplet with trust, humility, perseverance and conformity to God’s will, we can expect the grace of conversion and a peaceful death. Others who are dying and for whom we pray the Chaplet will have their souls enveloped in God’s unfathomable mercy (Diary 811). At a retreat we attended pre-quarantine, we heard testimonies of the peace that dying friends or family members had experienced in such cases. Due to the Chaplet, their fear of dying gave way to a peace and readiness to meet God. Praying the Chaplet for anyone sick, whether from this particular virus or not, will yield spiritual fruits. Recently, Fr. Philip Kemmy of Ireland has suggested that we each spiritually adopt a person dying from the virus and pray the Chaplet for them. Because of quarantine procedures, many are dying alone–they need our spiritual accompaniment and prayers badly.

Furthermore, on March 20, 2020, Pope Francis granted an emergency plenary indulgence for those who pray the chaplet. If you have “the will to fulfill the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the Holy Father’s intentions) as soon as possible,” and pray the Chaplet with the intention “to implore from Almighty God the end of the epidemic, relief for those who are afflicted and eternal salvation for those whom the Lord has called to Himself,” you can receive a plenary indulgence each day. Before all of this, in 2000, Saint Pope John Paul II announced an Apostolic Blessing for anyone praying the Chaplet for the sick and the dying in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Offensive Tactic: Pray During the Hour of Mercy

If we pray to Jesus, appealing to the value and merits of His passion at the “Hour of Mercy” beginning at 3:00 p.m., His mercy will pour out upon us. This is true even if we can only pray to Him for a brief period of time. He promises that we can obtain “...everything for yourself and for others for the asking.” (Diary 1572) Here again, we can obtain “everything,” including the elimination of pestilence such as this virus we face. What other issues might we carry in the depths of our being–concern about friends and family on the front line in the storm of the plague? How about concerns over fallen away family members and friends, conversion of someone we know, reconciliation with someone…? Address Jesus directly, appealing to all that His passion has done; pray to Him fervently and trustingly at 3:00 p.m.

Speaking of Conversion–Yet Another Offensive Tactic

Speaking of conversion, we have another special Divine Mercy gift from Jesus. He told St. Faustina that, “When you say this prayer with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give the grace of conversion. This is the prayer:

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You. (Diary 186-187)

This short prayer is one of the optional opening prayers of the Chaplet. Given Jesus’ promise, why we would ever not want to pray it, with the name or names of those we pray for in mind? In these days, prayers for the conversion of all governmental leaders and members of media would be worthy of consideration, in addition to specific individuals we might have in mind. For that matter, praying this prayer for the conversion–the turning back–of our country seems like a good intention to include as well.

Divine Mercy Will Change Us and the World

There is much more to Divine Mercy than this brief column covers. The Divine Mercy Novena, veneration of the Divine Mercy Image, and participating in Divine Mercy Sunday Mass and services all carry special blessings for those of us who participate in them. Divine Mercy will change us and the world, if we open ourselves up to Christ, who is Love and Mercy, abandoning ourselves to Him, seeking His Greater Glory and our salvation. As He told St. Faustina, regarding the Chaplet, “…by saying the chaplet you are bringing humankind closer to me.” (Diary 929)

The Time for Divine Mercy–The Time for a Strong Offense

In these times of stress affecting much of the population, we each, through prayer and example, can help bring mankind closer to Jesus. Let’s mount a strong offense in this battle we face, using all the spiritual weapons available to us, including:

• The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, begging God for His mercy and an end to the virus and ramifications of it–spiritually adopt a dying soul to pray for.
• Our Lady’s Rosary, asking for the intercession of Mary, Virgin Most Merciful in all of this.
• Special novena prayer to St. Joseph, traditionally believed to have been written about 50 A.D., asking for his intercession and protection.
• The Knights of Columbus special Prayer for Protection in Time of Pandemic–a worthwhile weapon to add to our arsenal.
• Flame of Love – let’s not overlook devotion to the Flame of Love and the Flame of Love Prayers which are intimately tied in with Divine Mercy!

Where two or more are gathered in His name, there is Jesus. (cf. Mt 18:20)  Keep an eye out for more opportunities for prayer with Pope Francis, and join in with him. If your diocese and/or parish are working to bring souls together in prayer, make it a point to join in with others. If not, get a group together telephonically or virtually to pray; create your virtual cenacles of prayer to lift your voices together to God. 

Attend Mass virtually as often as possible, offering up prayers and petitions during those Masses. Take advantage of praying virtually in front of the Holy Eucharist if you can’t in person. When it becomes possible again, attend Mass and receive Communion, and pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament. And as we pray from the heart, let’s really mean it when we say, “Jesus, I trust in You!” 

“Divine Mercy, repose of hearts, peace amidst fear, I trust in You.” (Diary 949)