As Archbishop, Pope Francis washing & kissing the feet of twelve AIDS patients. Divine Mercy Image, St. Faustina Habemus Papam, Franciscum
Pope Francis, the "Church" and the Divine Mercy Message!
For forty years the scourge of abortion in this country alone has taken more lives, "innocent children", than all wars put together! Now the darkness that is a pressing threat not only to our country, but to our Church, and the family at large, is the redefinition of traditional marriage between one man and one woman! Can we really redefine something that God created? God created male and female and he also has created Holy Matrimony between one man and one woman as we see in Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
In the past two weeks we have had two tragic and senseless deaths of two young people in the surrounding parishes who were in the prime of their lives. They were in their early twenties and their whole life was ahead of them. We have to ask ourselves as we are reminded of these tragedies, especially in our youth, what is the heart made for and what is it yearning and searching? As Catholics perhaps we are to look to the three theological virtues, FAITH, HOPE and LOVE, as a way to live out our lives which seems to be the Easter Message and ultimately God's Divine Mercy Message!
I am filled with much hope even in this dark world as it seems to surround us at every level because not only are we celebrating our victory in our Risen Lord but we now have a new Holy Father, Pope Francis who is filled with the message of Hope and God's Divine Mercy! Hope is the Easter message of the Risen Lord because we too will be raised with him! During this Holy Season let us turn to our new Holy Father, Pope Francis to see what he has said about Hope just recently in his Inaugural Homily. "In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, "hoping against hope, believed" (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope!"
We can only have Hope if we have Faith and in this Year of Faith we should cherish and cling to our Faith because as the catechism states Faith is a gift! (cc1815)
So what is the message of Love! Love is in the heart of every human being because God created our hearts and God is love and God can only create a heart of love. If our hearts ache it is because it is aching for the Love of God because he made it that way. As we prepare for Easter in 2013, we should also prepare for another great feast and that is the Feast of Divine Mercy, the first Sunday after Easter, or the second Sunday of Easter! Jesus gave us this great and loving feast day and message of Divine Mercy because he is the Bridegroom coming for the Bride, his Church, the people! Our new Holy Father seems to truly recognize the Divine Mercy message and who so faithfully lives the message of Divine Mercy as he states so beautifully in a talk he gave in 2001.
"When Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?”, “his ‘Yes’ was not the result of an effort of will, it was not the fruit of a ‘decision’ made by the young man Simon: it was the emergence, the coming to the surface of an entire vein of tenderness and adherence that made sense because of the esteem he had for Him–therefore an act of reason;” it was a reasonable act, “which is why he couldn’t not say ‘Yes.’ ”We cannot understand this dynamic of encounter which brings forth wonder and adherence if it has not been triggered–forgive me the use of this word–by mercy.Only someone who has encountered mercy, who has been caressed by the tenderness of mercy, is happy and comfortable with the Lord. I beg the theologians who are present not to turn me in to the Sant’Uffizio or to the Inquisition; however, forcing things a bit, I dare to say that the privileged locus of the encounter is the caress of the mercy of Jesus Christ on my sin. …"
Our Holy Father is a living example of Divine Mercy also because he is not only the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, 1.1 billion strong worldwide but he is a suffering servant, like our Lord, as he stated in his homily on Palm Sunday. "And this brings us to the second word: Cross. Jesus enters Jerusalem in order to die on the Cross. And it is precisely here that his kingship shines forth in godly fashion: his royal throne is the wood of the Cross! It reminds me of what Benedict XVI said to the Cardinals: you are princes, but of a king crucified. That is the throne of Jesus. Jesus takes it upon himself… Why the Cross? Because Jesus takes upon himself the evil, the filth, the sin of the world, including the sin of all of us, and he cleanses it, he cleanses it with his blood, with the mercy and the love of God."
In spite of all the darkness there is a light and it is coming from Rome, the seat of Peter because God has promised his bride the church, his people, that he will protect and guard the church from it's conception in Matthew 16:18, "Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church and the Gates of Hell will not prevail! God can not lie, nor break his promise to stop loving us! This is the message of his Divine Love and Mercy. The Diary of St. Faustina I have always said, is like a Love story because Jesus is telling us and showing us that he is Love and Mercy itself! The bridegroom coming for his bride and we just have to run to him like the prodigal child, asking for his forgiveness! He will not turn us away because he wants to give us an opportunity like no other! He has given us not only the his body and blood for our entrance into our Heavenly Jerusalem by partaking of his Body and Blood at every Sunday Mass (mini Easter) but because Divine Mercy is also a Eucharistic Message. We can see in his own words in John 6:48-68. and in particular when Jesus says, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day."
In the Diary of St. Faustina, Jesus asks us each and everyday to remember his passion even for a brief moment but especially say the Divine Mercy Chaplet because he has promised that it is the Greatest Hour of His Mercy because this it is the hour he died for our sins!! At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion (Diary, 1320). Then we move to the great promise of the feast of Divine Mercy Sunday!! "Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life (Holy Communion)on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)
So as we reflect on his Passion and Death let us also reflect on his message of Love and Hope not only in the Easter Message but in the Divine Mercy Message which is the Easter Message fulfilled. We also see it in His Divine Mercy image. He is the Risen Lord with his pierced hands and feet coming towards us with his blessing by his raised hand as if in absolution and his wounded side pouring out his graces of the blood and water! As we can see here in the Diary. The two rays denote Blood and Water. the pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. (Diary 299)
Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush, lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace. (Diary 313) By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works. (Diary 742) I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory (Diary, 47, 48). I am offering people 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 (327). I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world (47).
Tell aching mankind to snuggle close to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it -with peace.
Tell [all people], My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls." (Diary, 1074)
The greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy towards tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: 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 remember when you see all the darkness in the world, in others and in yourself run to the Heavenly Father because he is waiting with a Hope and Love as our Holy Father is so beautifully showing us with his words and his actions! Also, in the Joy of Easter look to the Hope of His Divine Mercy and Love! By Tricia Parsons, editor
For more info on Divine Mercy go to these websites:
Press Release on Monday, May 20th was a huge success with several hundred people in attendance! Several hundred supporters of NOLA NEEDS PEACE and approximately 100 protesters! Guest speakers, Pro-life Activist, Abby Johnson, Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, Dorinda Bordalee with Bioethics Defense Fund and Ben Clapper with La Right to Life Federation.
Abby Johnson (middle) New Orleans, Archbishop Gregory Aymond speaking!
At Bowties for Babies by LA Right to Life for Advertising for Life at the Old State Capitol with Abby Johnson (middle) on May 21, 2013
NEW ORLEANS NEEDS PEACE, NOT MORE ABORTION. After purchasing three parcels of land at 4636 S. Claiborne Ave in New Orleans near Napoleon Ave., Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, plans to open a $4.2 million dollar 7,000 Sq. Ft. abortion facility on Claiborne Ave in 2014. This facility will be the largest of its kind in Louisiana.
BATON ROUGE, La. — As the trial of Kermit Gosnell drew to an end, someone who had received little attention was Gosnell’s former boss, Leroy Brinkley. Brinkley is the owner of the Atlantic Women’s Medical Services abortion facility in Wilmington, Del., where Gosnell worked. Brinkley also is the owner of the Delta Clinic in Baton Rouge, La., an abortion business with a deeply troubled past, as well as facilities in New Orleans. Now, there is substantial evidence that a situation resembling elements of the Gosnell case existed for years at the Delta Clinic in Baton Rouge, although the state Department of Health and Hospitals said the facility has improved its operational standards following a 2009 inspection.
Despite a documented history of injured and dead women — as well as allegations of illegal distribution of narcotics, hiring unqualified personnel, failing to report minors, failing to document patients’ procedures and complications, failing to sterilize medical equipment, using rusted equipment on women and multiple failures to maintain basic sanitation — the Delta Clinic remains open and operational. The Delta Clinic refused to comment on this story for the Register, which was compiled from the grand jury report in the Gosnell case, phone and email interviews, affidavits by former workers and patients, multiple lawsuits filed on behalf of women who have had abortions at the facility, news reports and various other documents reviewed by the Register. Get Entire Article at ncregister.com
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary "Given for These Times" is being prayed by over 4 million members in the Mission. It prays for the intentions of our world leaders, families and against divorce and abortion! (Please join us in praying this powerful rosary by clicking on the link below!)
