Pillars of Fire In My Soul

charity had to leave them an ongoing baptism of blood accessible by heartfelt contrition and a holy confession as soon as they can confess to my ministers who hold the key to the blood. This blood the priest pours over the soul in absolution. But if they cannot confess, heartfelt contrition is enough for the hand of my mercy to give them the fruit of this precious blood. ... So you see, this baptism is ongoing, and the soul ought to be baptized in it right up to the end, in the way I have told you. In this baptism you experience that though my act of suffering on the cross was finite, the fruit of that suffering which you have received through me is infinite. This is because of the infinite divine nature joined with finite human nature [in Christ]. According to St. Catherine of Siena, therefore, the complete renewal of baptismal grace is available to the soul from the Mercy of God in a variety of ways, and a renewal of these graces should be a constant feature of the life of the soul journeying toward perfection. If this be so, then what is so “extraordinary” about the grace of baptismal renewal offered to souls on Divine Mercy Sunday? Is not such an extraordinary grace always available to us? First, let us examine the nature of the extraordinary grace itself. One can, theoretically, receive the complete remission of sins and punishment any time from the sacrament of Confession fol- lowed by Holy Communion, all undertaken with the perfect love of God. But how many of the faithful ordinarily receive these sacraments with such a pure disposition? Usually, the intentions of the penitent-communicant are more mixed, includ- ing fear of God as well as love, and, to some extent, with con- Essential Features of the Devotion to The Divine Mercy 131