Pillars of Fire In My Soul

Helen answered the enormous grace of hearing Jesus call to her with immediate action, an unconditional yes . God shows no partiality; we are each called to be one with God. Yet none of us responds in exactly the same way. Helen’s wholehearted response to Jesus was indicative of her great spiritual gifts, her deep desire to be with God, and her gratitude for God’s mercy and for the gift of redemption. Helen’s uncle observed her crying on the train as she left her family to do what Jesus asked of her. He interpreted her grief as sadness at leaving her family behind, without saying goodbye to her parents whom she loved dearly. Perhaps, too, Helen was feeling grief at her human frailty and weakness in light of the perfect love and patience of Divine Mercy being shown to her. The Image of The Divine Mercy that St. Faustina caused to be painted has rays of two colors — for blood and for water. Because Jesus shed His blood for our redemption, it makes sense to explore the chemistry of blood to understand the idea of redemption. Blood cleanses, taking out the toxins that get into our bodies, the things that make us ill or keep us out of balance. And blood also gives us life, bringing oxygen and nutrients to all the parts of our body so that we may be healthy. Mercy — redemption — is therefore a part of a purification process that enables us to understand the attitudes and behav- iors that throw us out of balance spiritually or prevent us from being with God. Once we are aware of these attitudes and behaviors, we begin to work with God to be transformed and have new life with and in God. For St. Faustina, a key cleansing aspect of her personal redemption was in letting go of the obstacle that her family represented. The new, healthy life was turning her will and her whole life over to the care of Jesus. Her complete acceptance of Jesus’ mercy allowed her to move further along the road to canonization. The Road to Canonization 143