Lest You Remain

for all people: “Let us notice that Christ the Lord kindly forgiving the offender guaranteed safety to all mankind; so that the absolution granted to one despondent person may become the consolation and hope for all people and, finally, so that a gift given to one person may benefit the common good.” 6 Summing up, the Servant of God affirms that Divine Mercy is indeed unfath- omable and embraces all of humanity. The Redeemer of the world is concerned with the salvation of all people and cares not only about the happiness of the right- eous, but also about sinners. He brings them closer to Himself through various inspirations and innumerable graces that He showers on them. He calls to Himself people who were wounded by serious sins; He seeks them out like a shepherd searches for a lost sheep; and He nourishes and protects those whom He recovers. 7 This is the future of sinful humanity: to stop at the edge of the precipice of evil and to jump into the unfathomable Divine Mercy. Hope for sinners People who have committed a grave evil often fall into despondency because they don’t believe in the possibility of forgiveness. They think that their sins are too great to be forgiven. These are precisely the people whom Fr. Papczy < ski desires to convince that the unfathomable Divine Mercy is rightly available to all, especially to sinners. According to him, sinners are most privileged in this regard. The Lord Jesus said: “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mt 9:13). He is most sad, when He sees those, for whose salvation He gave His life, perish by their own volition. Many among them may lose hope of redemption, but Christ Himself assures them that He did not come to call the righteous but sinners. While the right- eous are sure of future happiness, the sinners know that they deserve punishment. Because of this Christ tells them about the chance of obtaining redemption. The road to heaven is closed to no one. It is enough that a person wishes to enter this road and to abandon evil. Sinners can rejoice because the Son of God left the throne of glory and came to earth for their sake. 8 Not only does Christ declare His will to save the sinners, but He also seeks them out and calls them to Himself. He was even criticized for it once: “This man welcomes sinners” (Lk 15:2). But it is impossible to put limits on God’s goodness and mercy. He invites and embraces everyone: “Come to me, all you…” (Mt 11:28). 9 Thus, many have come. Father Papczy < ski exemplifies this idea by one of L EST Y OU R EMAIN W ITHOUT W ORK IN THE V INEYARD OF THE L ORD 198 6 Ibid., 29. 7 Inspectio cordis , f. 111. 8 Ibid., f. 136r. 9 Ibid., f. 65r.