Divine Mercy: The Heart of the Gospel

John Paul II: The Mercy Pope 47 John Paul II: the Mercy Pope "Where, i f not in the Divine Mercy, can the worldf in d refuge and the light o f hope?” (Beatification of Blessed Faustina, Divine Mercy Sunday, April 18, 1993). Pope John Paul II has placed a strong and significant focus on the Divine Mercy throughout his pontificate. Repeatedly he has written and spoken about the need for us to turn to the Mercy o f God as the answer to the specific problems o f our times. The following exceipts are espe­ cially powerful and show how urgent he feels the message of Divine Mercy is for the world now, in our present human condition. Dives in Misericordia and the Mission of Christ and His Church In his second encyclical Rich in Mercy, November 30, 1980, John Paul II begins with the opening statement that summarizes the message o f mercy: It is “God who is rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4) whom Jesus Christ has revealed to us as Father (no.l). He develops the mission o f Christ as the revelation o f the Father rich in Mercy. Then he concludes his encyclical with this same revelation of the Father rich in Mercy as the mission o f the Church: The reason for her [the Church’s] existence is, in fact, to reveal God, that Father who allows us to “see” him in Christ (Jn. 14:9) (no. 15). The center of this revelation o f Mercy is Christ crucified: Christ’s messianic program, the program o f mercy, becomes the program o f his people, the program o f the Church. At its very center there is always the Cross, for it is in the Cross that the rev­ elation o f merciful love attains its culmination (no.8). And further he points to the Heart o f Jesus as the center: The Church seems in a special way to profess the Mercy of God and to venerate it when she directs herself to the Heart of Christ. In fact, it is precisely this drawing close to Christ in the