Digital Marian Helper Spring_2018

22 M arian H elper  • S pring 2018   • marian.org I t is no coincidence that both the Divine Mercy devo- tion and St. John Paul II’s theology of the body w ere born in Poland. I would say this is providential, and we can’t understand one without the other. Maybe it’s more obvious that we can’t understand the theology of the body without Divine Mercy because we’re talking about the realm of the body, of human sexuality, of mar- ital love, and we all know that we fall short of the ideal. So obviously we need Divine Mercy to live the truth of the theology of the body. But how is it that we can’t understand Divine Mercy without the theology of the body? Here’s why: the Divine Mercy Image. Mystics throughout Church history have said that the flow of the Blood and Water from the Heart of Christ has a spousal significance. Saint Augustine says that, on the Cross, Christ is consummating the marriage with His Church, with His Bride. The flow of Divine Mercy, the flow of Blood and Water from His open Heart is, as it were, the spiritual seed of the Bridegroom. The gift given by the Bridegroom to the Bride is His Merciful Love. There are two very important words for mercy that help us understand how Divine Mercy only makes sense in light of the spousal symbols of Scripture — misericordia and rachamim . The word misericordia has a more mascu- line meaning, and rachamim has a more feminine, bridal meaning. Misericordia is Latin; it means “a heart that gives itself to those in misery.” As the Bridegroom, Jesus gives His Heart to His Bride, the Church—we who are in our own misery. Rachamim is a Hebrew word for mercy that means By Christopher West MERCY it ’ s written right into our bodies ! Internationally renowned theology of the body speaker Christopher West speaks on the interrelationship of Divine Mercy and theology of the body to an audience in Hungary. C ourtesy of C hristopher W est