Pillars of Fire In My Soul

conflicts with the symbolic interpretation of the rays. The Lord explained to Sister Helen Faustina that the two rays found in this image symbolize the Water and Blood which flowed from the pierced side of Christ. However, the watery liquid flowing from Christ’s side, which was seen by Christ’s beloved disciple and which he wrote about in the Gospel, was partially mixed with blood and, according to the opinion of Biblical scholars, was pale in color, slightly rust-colored and similar to a person’s pale complexion. Jesus Himself, in describing the two rays of Mercy, told Sister Helen Faustina “through you, the rays of Mercy will pass into the world.” He related the meaning of the rays with the deep symbolism of water and blood which, according to the Gospel of St. John (19:34-37), flowed from the side of Christ. In the light of the entire Gospel of John, the water and blood flowing from the pierced side of Christ symbolize the graces of the Holy Spirit who was given to us as a result of Christ’s death. The two rays on the image of the Merciful Jesus ultimately pos- sess this same profound meaning. The Image of Divine Mercy painted byA. Hyla is at variance with the Plock vision of the Merciful Jesus in one detail, name- ly, the second ray on it is distinctly white. While it is unusually difficult to represent a watery liquid, as well as a pale ray, with paint, for the good of the Devotion, it is necessary to strive toward this. Nevertheless, one should anticipate that the Lord Jesus will reconcile Himself to the fact that the artistic rendition will not fulfill His intentions nor those of the artist. The Lord Jesus is concerned with the essence and not with secondary details. He is concerned that the image expresses our trust and the Mercy of Jesus, the source of which is His death. Jesus will reconcile Himself to such an artistic shortcoming in the same manner as He reconciled Himself to the deficiencies of the first image painted at Vilnius in 1934 by E. Kazimirowski. The defi- ciencies not only caused sadness but even weeping in Sister Helen Faustina. 108 Pillars of Fire in My Soul