Pillars of Fire In My Soul

Second, by the explicit will of Jesus, the Image is to be a sign which is to bring to mind Christ’s demand for performing acts of mercy. Since this second function of the Image is often forgotten, and the veneration alone without deeds of mercy is not the Devotion required by Christ, worshipers of Mercy should conform to Christ’s demand so that they let no day pass without performing at least one act of mercy: by deed, word, or prayer. A practical, clear and very important conclusion flows from the second function of the Image: Jesus awaits and demands that the prayer of trust before the image of the Merciful Jesus be combined with an examination of conscience, an examina- tion of how we have fulfilled Christ’s demands to perform at least one deed of mercy daily. There are two components in the promises connected with this veneration: what Christ promised distinctly and what He promised indistinctly. In the inaugural revelation of February 22, 1931, Christ assured, “that the soul that will venerate this Image will not perish.” Christ, therefore, attached the promise of everlasting salvation to the veneration of this Image. Christ promised that those who venerate the Image would achieve great progress along the road to holiness gaining victo- ry in this life over the enemies of the soul and enemies of sal- vation. He promised a happy and holy death with the assurance that He personally would defend them as His glory at the hour of their death. The range of promises not directly named by Jesus was defined by the first role of the Image, i.e., that of a vessel for drawing graces from the wellspring of Mercy, but subordinated to trust. Consequently, we will obtain more quickly and in a much greater degree all the saving graces and all the temporal benefits which it is possible to obtain through unwavering trust in Divine Mercy, if we express this trust in the form of veneration of the Image. If the Lord Jesus assured us that, “I 110 Pillars of Fire in My Soul