Jesus, Mercy Incarnate

and it is summarized in her prayer (entry no.84): O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You. Even with regard to the “Essential Nature” of these two devo- tions, the difference between them should not be overstated. While theMercy devotion calls for a response of “trust” in God above all, the fostering of confidence in God's merciful love is also one of the ends of the Sacred Heart devotion, albeit a secondary end (see Verheylezoon, Devotion to the Sacred Heart , 95-103). Further- more, while “reparation” is more central to the Sacred Heart tradi- tion, it is also present, as a secondary theme, in Bl. Faustina's devo- tion to the Merciful Jesus (e.g., entry nos. 57, 80, 481, 505, 804, 1210-1229, 1385). Indeed, sometimes St. Faustina’s revelations breathe the very spirit of those given to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (entry no. 367): My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for them that the Blood andWater flowed fromMy Heart as from a fount overflowing withmercy. For them I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy. I desire to bestow My graces upon souls, but they do not want to accept them. You at least come to Me as often as possible and take these graces they do not want to accept. In this way you will consoleMy Heart. Oh, how indifferent are souls to so much goodness, to so many proofs of love! My Heart drinks only of the ingratitude and forgetfulness of souls living in the world. They have time for everything, but they have no time to come to Me for graces. In short, the differences between these two devotions are best described as differences of emphasis , for both spring from a com- mon source: devotion to the same Heart of Jesus, overflowing with merciful love for us. 133 Postscript on The Sacred Heart and The Divine Mercy