Divine Mercy Chaplet: An Appeal from the Heart to the Heart

My brothers and sisters,

If anyone is watching the live-streaming of this Chaplet of Divine Mercy half-hour and you have been far away from Christ for whatever reason; for whatever sin or number of sins; for whatever quantity or quality of sin; however serious, however long it has been in your life; however low it has taken you; however much it has emptied you of a feeling of worth or dignity; whatever damage it has done to your body, to your heart, to your psychology, to your conscience, to your marriage, to your family, to society, to the Church; however bad it has been, however bad you think it’s been: the mercy of Christ is for you!

He died not for the just, and who among us can say that he is just? Who among us can point the finger? Who among us can throw the first stone? The Crucified Lord, the Jesus of Divine Mercy, died for all sinners, for every one of us.

I appeal especially to those who feel far from the Lord, far from goodness, far from grace: Jesus’ death on the Cross and the suffering He went through are for you! They’re not for someone else. Don’t think that, “Jesus’ death can forgive everyone’s sins, but mine is too great, mine is too big.” Who do you think you are?

Do you think that because you are a terrible sinner you are beyond the power of Christ, beyond the mercy of the Lord? Don’t. Be. Daft. He died with his eye on you. He died with His heart open for you. He died so that He could say to you, “I want to have mercy on you. I love you.” He died so that you, in your grief and misery, would turn to Him and say, “Lord Jesus, I trust in you. I know that if you could raise Lazarus from the dead, if you could bring back the prodigal son from the pigsty, then you can raise me from the depths of my pigsty, you can raise me from the spiritual grave into which my sins have put me. Yes, all because of my stupidity and my mistakes, but nevertheless I trust that your mercy is greater than my mistakes and my stupidity, that hell is no place for me. The only place for me is close by You in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

So, please, if you feel you are the worst of the worst and the lowest of the low: you might be! I might be! Your next-door neighbour might be! But it’s not about that. It’s not about you or me or any other sinner. It’s about Jesus, about the superabundance and power of His mercy to lift you up from whatever depths into which you have fallen, to draw you back no matter how far you have wandered. You are that lost sheep He wants to carry on his shoulder and rejoice over! You are that beloved child He wants to come home! You are that lost coin for which He sweeps the world to try and find you!

You are the apple of His eye because He sees beyond your sin. Don’t allow the power of evil to convince you that you are your sin. You are not your sin! You are a son, you are a daughter of the living God. Your place is in the House of God. Your place is at the table of the Father in the wedding-feast of his Son. Your day should not be passed in tears and in darkness. Nor should it be passed in using all your energy to deny that you have a sin, or to put on a face, or to pretend you’re “free” and “you don’t need God” and you “don’t need grace” and you “don’t need sacraments.”

Let the defences down. Stop the charade. Stop the game-playing. Allow Him to love you and to bring you back to yourself, to give wholeness back to your life, to restore your sense of integrity and dignity. Allow the Crucified and Risen Lord, through the wounds on his hands, on his feet and in his side, to reassure you that He rose so that He could raise you from the depths of whatever sin or sinfulness you may find yourself in.

The story of Christ and the sinner always has a happy ending. Always. All He asks us to do is to come to Him and say, “Lord, I have sinned, but I trust in your great mercy.” The minute you do that, you will feel “100%.” You will feel you are on the top of the world. You will feel that the weight of the world has fallen from your shoulders, the weight in your heart which has been depressed and oppressed by sin possibly for years is being lifted up and is rising and happy and filled with the peace and goodness of God.

Allow the mercy of God to reach you and allow yourself to be brought home to where you belong in the heart of God and in the heart of his Church.