Jesus, Mercy Incarnate

before the Blessed Sacrament exposed at three o’clock every day, and during that Holy Hour to recite the Chaplet, and carry on a per- petual Novena to The Divine Mercy. It is a beautiful and natural synthesis of the Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy traditions. Our Lord also asked St. Margaret Mary to communicate on the First Friday of everymonth, andHe promised extraordinary graces to those who would do so with the proper dispositions. As we know from her own writings, and the writings of one of her spiri- tual directors, Fr. Jean Croiset, S.J., these dispositions were to be fostered on the day by prayerful acts of reparation and consecration to the loving Heart of Jesus. 50 Again, the Chaplet is entirely appro- priate in this context.After all, on the First Fridays devout souls are not supposed to be making reparation just for their own sins, but also for the sins of the whole world, and that is precisely what the Chaplet was intended for as well: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins, and those of the whole world. 51 (d) Daily Devotions Once again, it is not difficult to keep up the daily practice of both the Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy devotions at once. In fact, they easily blend together, and they fit quite easily with the basic daily Marian devotions as well. For example, the traditional “Morning Offering” to the Sacred Heart is an excellent way to start each day, offering up all our prayers, works, joys and sufferings, in union with the Heart of Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of theMass.At noon, we can follow the counsel of Pope Paul VI and recite the “Angelus,” asking for Mary’s intercession and example 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 of us are already growing weary from carrying our daily crosses. The three o’clock “Hour of Mercy” prayers are well suit- 123 The Sacred Heart and The Divine Mercy