Jesus, Mercy Incarnate

Granted the truth of Fr. Rozycki’s perspective, it is also true to say that these two devotions, while certainly not identical, are nev- ertheless closely related. Our argument has been that the Mercy devotion, to a great extent, is a further development, a further unfolding, of that tradition of Heart-Spirituality that comes to us from St. John Eudes and St. Margaret MaryAlacoque. Devotion to the SacredHeart may be defined as the worship and service of the Second Person incarnate of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, because of His love for us, symbolized by His pierced and wounded Heart of flesh. Devotion to The Divine Mercy, on the other hand, may be defined as the worship and service of the Triune God, because of His merciful love for us, poured out through the Merciful Heart of Jesus, and symbolized by the rays that stream from His breast in the Mercy Image. The centrality of the Heart of Jesus in both devotions is clearly evident. Moreover, Fr. Rozycki’s list of differences between the two devotions should not be exaggerated. For example, with regard to the “Essential Subject” of these devotions, while it is accurate to point to the more Trinitarian focus of theMercy devotion, we must also remember that even in the devotion to The Divine Mercy, the emphasis lies heavily on the Second Person of the Trinity, the divine Son incarnate, Jesus Christ, as the fount of Mercy for the world. As Sr. Siepak put it (p.61-62): Although Divine Mercy is the mercy of God One in the Holy Trinity, the Person preferred in this devotion is Jesus Christ, for it is to Him that all the new forms of cult of the Divine Mercy refer.... Hence, the devotion to the Divine Mercy has quite aptly been called the devotion to the Merciful Jesus. Similarly, one should not exaggerate the differences in “Material Subject.” After all, The Image of Mercy itself empha- sizes our Savior’s Heart as the source of the rays and graces of His Mercy. This was also clearly understood by St. Faustina (see Diary , entry nos. 72, 177, 305, 367, 1183, 1485, 1520, and 1553), 132 Jesus, Mercy Incarnate