Pillars of Fire In My Soul

The structure of the Chaplet is perfectly clear. It begins with the recitation of the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Creed. This is followed by five decades which should be said on ordinary rosary beads. Each decade begins with the words: “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” These words should be said on the large beads. Next, on the small beads we should pray ten times the words: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” Before any further considerations, we should establish the meaning of the two prayers. What is the meaning of the intro- ductory words, “I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ”? First, it is certain that this form is entirely in accord with Catholic teaching of the Faith. [This is evident] because this same wording is found in the prayer dictated to Lucy and her companions by an Angel at Fatima in 1916. The Church has recognized the supernatural origin of the Fatima revelations, a fact which could not have transpired if the wording was either contrary to the Faith or dangerous to it. Consequently historical precedent supports the complete correctness of the introductory words of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. These words also find support in the logical analysis of their substance. Based on the fundamental principle of textual interpretation, the meaning of words is usually and finally described by the context in which they appear. Let us, therefore, notice that what we offer to God the Father by these words is not Divinity, pure and simple and without any other explanations and descriptions. In other words, what is being offered is not the Divine nature shared in common by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By the formulation, we offer the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and according to the teaching of the Church and theologians, the Divinity of Jesus Christ in point of fact directly and immediately indicates the Divinity proper to Jesus, as differentiated from the Divinity of the Father. 116 Pillars of Fire in My Soul