Jesus, Mercy Incarnate

I demand from you deeds of mercy which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neigh- bours always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse yourself from it.... Even the strongest faith is of no avail without works.... If a soul does not exer- cize mercy in some way, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgement. 71 From the pen of St. Faustina we also have been given one of the greatest prayers ever written for the grace to exercise this apostolate of Mercy. It usually goes by the name of the prayer “For the Grace to be Merciful to Others” – and we should note that here St. Faustina especially prays to be “transformed” into the Lord’s own Mercy, and to be a “living reflection”of it, so that she might ultimately became a reflec- tion of the compassionate Heart of Jesus, full of Mercy. Jesus had said to her: “My daughter, look into My Merciful Heart and reflect its compassion in your own heart and in your deeds, so that you who proclaim My mercy to the world may yourself be aflame with it” (entry no.1688). St. Faustina’s response to such exhortations from our Lord is summed up in her great prayer, recorded in entry no.163: OMost Holy Trinity!As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glo- rify Your mercy. I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and my soul to my neighbour. Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I maynever suspect or judge fromappearances, but look forwhat is beautiful in my neighbour’s souls and come to their rescue. Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbour’s needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings. 81 Saint Faustina and Devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ