What is Divine Mercy, and why do I need it?

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, a day set apart in the liturgical year to pay special attention to and give special thanks for God's infinite mercy. I have to pause here for a moment. When I first learned of this special feast day (as they are known in the Catholic Church, though there usually is not an actual feast) I was intrigued. My first thought was, of course we followers of Christ know as a main tenet of our faith that God is merciful, becuase we know He gave His only Son over to suffer and die to redeem us from our own sin and rejection of Him. It seems like common knowledge, similar to saying the sky is blue. But then, maybe it is too common- put on the back burner of our spiritual consciousness where we don't actually reach out for it in our day-to-day struggles when we need it the most.

Fact: I sin pretty often. My response upon realizing it is a harsh self-reprimand, a good inner berating, and a general feeling of condemnation. Mentally I know God forgives me, (again with the blue sky) but I just can't seem to convince myself of it, accept the gift of His love, and keep moving forward. Now, we are told that there is no condemnation for believers in Christ (Romans 8:1) so this has to be coming from somewhere else. Do I counter these feelings with an intentional focus God's mercy towards me? No. So I decided the Divine Mercy deserved some looking into.

Divine Mercy Sunday as an official feast day started with an actual mandate Jesus Himself gave to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in one of many apparitions she received, during which He also gave her very specific instructions on a devotional image He wanted painted (see end of post) with the words "Jesus, I Trust in You." Three versions were painted based on her description, the latest of which was presented to Pope John Paul II and I've included below.

In her diary (which was later published) Faustina records Jesus saying to her directly "Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God." When I read this, I immediately stopped to think about what I consider to be His greatest attribute. The first thing that comes to my mind is that God is Love. This is a true statement- in fact, directly out of Scripture (1 John 4:8.) My next thought is, how to pick a single aspect of the One Who is Truth, goodness, beauty and ultimately every other virtue? I guess I just have to seek to understand why God prioritizes His mercy above all other traits.

Another stumbling block is my inability to fathom the infinite. What is literally limitless, unending, unshakable mercy like? I can't even wrap my brain around it. What I can grasp is how desperately I need His mercy, especially in that awful moment when I realize my sin, and how incredible it feels when I hear God whisper to my heart that He still loves me. A LOT. I also know the value of mercy on a much smaller, but still meaningful, level when I wrong or hurt a loved one or friend and instead of treating me justly as my actions deserve, they choose instead to show me love.

So today I'm taking some extra time in my prayers to ask Him for the grace to see the implications of His endless mercy in my own life. It gives me great comfort and hope just to know that no matter how many times I will continue to screw up (and I will,) God will never hold it against me. His patience will never run out. I'll still be His Beloved, sinner though I am, because I can accept Jesus's perfect sacrifice on my behalf. I leave you with a quote from St. Faustina's Diary: Have confidence in God, for He is good and inconceivable. His mercy surpasses our understanding.