Divine Mercy: The Heart of the Gospel

FOREWORD The essays that make up this volume come from the first North American scholarly symposium exclusively devoted to the theology of the Divine Mercy, held in Washington, D.C., January 28-31, 1999, and sponsored by the John Paul II Institute o f Divine Mercy. The Institute was created in 1996 with the blessing o f the Holy Father to promote “formation and research in the Divine Mercy Message and Devotion as revealed in Sacred Scripture, the Church’s Tradition, and the writings of Blessed Faustina Kowalska, the Great Apostle of Divine Mercy in our time.” Thus, in one respect this book represents the “first fruits,” o f the work o f the John Paul II Institute o f Divine Mercy. More importantly, however, this collection o f essays exhibits the excellent work presently being done in North America on the theology of the Mercy o f God, and it makes some o f that work available for the first time to the general public. O f course, the study o f the Divine Mercy is as old as the Scriptures themselves, since the Bible tells us that everything God does is an expression o f His merciful love (Ps. 24:10, 144:9). Ever since the extraordinary revelations given in the 1930’s to Blessed Faustina in Poland, there has been a renewed empha­ sis on the Mercy o f God, and upon the special forms for celebrating and encouraging trust in The Divine Mercy. The new devotion encourages everyone to turn to Jesus, The Divine Mercy, and to trust in Him. Gradually, as the popular devotion to The Divine Mercy has spread around the world, there has been a growing desire on the part o f many people for deeper explorations into the theme o f Divine Mercy, its importance in Scripture and Tradition, in the ascetical life, and for the sanctification o f the world. This volume represents an attempt by some of those working in this field to begin to take deeper “soundings” in the hope that others will use what is written here to plunge deeper into these matters in the years to come. In chapter one, Rick Torretto finds the theme o f the Mercy o f God absolutely central to the message of the Gospel according to St. Luke. Rick has been a spokesman for the Divine Mercy at conferences