Divine Mercy: The Heart of the Gospel

The Sacred Heart and The Divine Mercy 77 Sacrifice o f the Mass. At noon, we can follow the counsel o f Pope Paul VI and recite the “Angelus,” asking for Mary’s intercession and exam­ ple of faith to guide us throughout the day.52 By three o ’clock, we are ready to make a prayerful plea for Mercy upon ourselves, and upon the whole world, for by that time most o f us are already growing weary from carrying our daily crosses. The three o ’clock “Hour o f Mercy” prayers are well suited to meet this need, and they also enable us to make a brief remembrance of our Lord’s Passion at that time, as Jesus Himself requested o f Bl. Faustina.53The customary prayers for this time of day in the Divine Mercy tradition were written by Bl. Faustina her­ self, although they were not intended for use exclusively during that hour: You expired Jesus, but the source o f life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fountain o f Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself out upon us.54 O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain o f mercy for us, I trust in You.55 The Morning Offering, the Angelus, and the Hour of Mercy prayers - these are just three ways of keeping ourselves recollected in the pres­ ence o f God and o f His saints throughout the day. In these ways we draw nearer to the Heart o f Jesus each day for spiritual refreshment. None of these prayers takes more than a minute to say. Thus, far from being a “chore,” they actually open us up to receive many spiritual benefits.56 The evening is the traditional (and usually most practical) time for praying the Rosary together as a family. Devotees o f the Divine Mercy need to remember that the Rosary is not in competition with the Chaplet, even though they are recited on the same beads. First o f all, the Rosary is primarily a prayer o f meditation. It calls us to meditate with Mary on all the mysteries o f our redemption, helping us to do what St. Luke tells us the Mother o f God herself did: she “kept all these things, and pon­ dered them in her heart” (2:19, 51). The Chaplet, on the other hand, is primarily a prayer o f intercession: a plea to the Lord for “mercy upon us, and upon the whole world.” Moreover, it is important to note that our Lord never asked fo r the Chaplet to be recited daily. One may recite the Chaplet daily, o f course, and that is certainly a commendable practice, but it is not a pattern that either Jesus or Bl. Faustina specifically