Jesus, Mercy Incarnate

Postscript on The Sacred Heart and The Divine Mercy To avoid any possible misunderstanding, we need to make clear that by arguing that these two devotions are theologically insepa- rable and complementary, and compatible in practice, we are not arguing that they are identical. That these two devotions are not simply identical was ably demonstrated by Fr. Ignacy Rozycki many years ago. Sister Elzbieta Siepak summarized his perspec- tive as follows (see She Made an Ordinary Life Extraordinary. Dublin: Divine Mercy Publications, 1996, p.66-67): (a) Essential (Proper) Subject – in the devotion to The Divine Mercy — the Mercy of God in the Holy Trinity; – in the devotion to the Sacred Heart — the Son of God, Divine Person Incarnate.... (b) Material Subject – in the devotion to The Divine Mercy — the image of the Merciful Jesus corresponding in terms of subject and content to the vision of 22nd February, 1931; – in the devotion to the Sacred Heart — the physical, human heart of Jesus; (c) Essential Nature of the Devotion – in the devotion toTheDivineMercy—a spirit of trust; – in the devotion to the Sacred Heart--reparation; (d) Privileged Time – in the devotion to The Divine Mercy — 3 o'clock in the afternoon every day and the Feast of The Divine Mercy – in the devotion to the Sacred Heart — the first Friday in every month, and the Feast of the Sacred Heart.