Rays of Merciful Love Summer_2018
R ays of M erciful L ove TheDivineMercy.org/eadm “Mercy is love that seeks to lessen the misery of others” — Bryan Thatcher, MD Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy Newsletter Summer 2018 A n ancient Christian writer wrote that “of all divine things, the most divine is to share with God in the saving of souls.” “God and souls” was the motto of St. Faustina. Our Lord asked her to pray and offer the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for sinners and the dying, saying: Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties [that is, insistent prayers] obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer” ( Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1777). Saint Faustina was often given the grace to know when a certain dying person desired or needed prayer. She would be alerted to the moment by her Guardian Angel or by our Lord Himself. At those times she would pray until she no longer felt the need to pray, or a sense of peace would come upon her, or she learned that the person had died, or heard the soul say, “Thank you!” She wrote: “Oh! Dying souls are in such great need of prayer! O Jesus, inspire souls to pray often for the dying” ( Diary , 1015). One of the best means of assisting the dying was revealed by Jesus to St. Faustina: the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Jesus said: My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. … Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior ( Diary, 1541). Earlier, our Lord said to her, “At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the pardon is the same” ( Diary , 811). What if the person prays from a distance? Saint Faustina prayed for the sick and dying with great fervor and made it clear that one does not have to physically be at the bedside. She wrote: It sometimes happens that the dying person is in the second or third building away, yet for the spirit, space does not exist. It sometimes happens that I know about a death occurring several hundred kilometers away. This has happened several times with regard to my family and rela- tives and also sisters in religion, and even souls whom I have not known during their lifetime ( Diary , 835). In Diary entry 1565, she records the Lord’s words to her: “My daughter, help Me to save a certain dying sinner. Say the chaplet that I have taught you for him.” She writes in that same entry: When I began to say the chaplet, I saw the man dying in the midst of terrible torment and struggle. His Guardian Angel was defend- ing him, but he was, as it were, powerless against the enormity of the soul’s misery. A multitude of devils was waiting for the soul. But while I was saying the chaplet, I saw Jesus just as He is depicted in the image. The rays which issued from Jesus’ Heart envel- oped the sick man, and the powers of darkness fled in panic. The sick man peacefully breathed his last. When I came to myself, I understood how very important the chaplet was for the dying. It appeases the anger of God. These words are particularly relevant for all of us. Throughout the world, people are praying the Chaplet for the sick and dying. There are more than 1,000 chapels around the world where members of Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy are pray- ing for your dying loved ones. Moreover, on the occasion of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, St. Pope John Paul II, by a personally signed parchment, imparted a special Apostolic Blessing, which he addressed “to all the faithful, who during Adoration of Our Most Merciful Savior in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar will be praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the sick and for those throughout the world who will be dying in that hour.” EADM makes copies of the blessing available for chapels whose adorers pray for the sick and dying. If you would like to know more about praying the Chaplet for the sick and dying, visit TheDivineMercy.org/eadm, or call us toll-free, 1-877-380-0727. By Bryan Thatcher, MD Bryan Thatcher’s sister, Kay, with their now-deceased mother, Rita. P raying for the S ick and D ying
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