Mercy for the discouraged

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Mercy for the discouraged

Author: Maria Zboralska,
"Love One Another!" 40/2017
Divine Mercy

In this Year of Mercy God especially awaits all those who are lost. He wishes to heal their wounds with the balm of His compassion.

Mercy for the discouraged

I ran from one sin to the next

The number of people who have been transformed by God’s grace is very great, but some of them traversed a long road before they found their way to the home of the Father. One of these persons was St. Augustine. For many years this great son of the Church led a life far from God and His Commandments. His mother, the devout Christian St. Monica, was greatly pained by this situation. She never diminished her prayer, and constantly asked God to have mercy on her child. She was not discouraged by Augustine’s continuous misadventures, even though humanly speaking there was not even a hint that he would reject his dissolute lifestyle. And the Lord gradually touched His “prodigal son” with His mercy, ultimately leading him to repentance. What’s more, Augustine not only received baptism, but also, in time, became the bishop of Hippo, and today is honored as one of the greatest saints of the Catholic Church.

“The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive” (Diary 1578)

In his Confessions he himself de – scribes his life and God’s interven – tion in it: “I immersed myself deeply in the swamp and darkness of false – hood. Sometimes I made an effort to extricate myself from it. I thrashed about, but the mud thickened about me, and I sank deeper […]. I walked every road that my tainted passions led me down. But no matter where I ran in my blindness, Your mercy came flying after me. My miseries increased daily, and daily Your care for me increased closing the route of escape sweetly, gently, or angri – ly. I ran from sin to sin, but Your mercy was never exhausted, and never left me”.

Oh, how your spirit is dear to me!

The story of the life of St. Augus – tine shows that God never forgets about human persons. The Lord Jesus wishes to lead each hardened sinner on the path of holiness, to grant hope to the desperate, and re – lief to the suffering. Unfortunately, to the person weighed down with burdensome sins, who is avoiding the Church and the sacrament of penance, this truth often seems ab – stract. It usually comes from a lack of faith in God’s power to act, espe – cially with regards to that person’s life. People of this sort live with the conviction that nothing and no one is capable of freeing them from the yoke of sin. At the same time, it is Jesus Himself – He who defeated hell, death, and Satan – who has the power to heal. He is the first to reach out to those who are struggling (Mt. 9:12). This is corroborated by St. Faustina’s account of Jesus’ con – versation with a sinful soul:

“Jesus: Be not afraid of your Savior O sinful soul. I make the first move to come to you, for I know that by yourself you are unable to lift yourself to me. Child, do not run away from your Father; be willing to talk openly with your God of mercy who wants to speak words of par – don and lavish his graces on you. How dear your soul is to Me! I have inscribed your name upon My hand; you are engraved as a deep wound on My Heart.

– Soul: Lord, I hear Your voice calling me to turn back from the path of sin, but I have neither the strength nor the courage to do so.

– Jesus: I am your strength. I will help you in the struggle” (Diary 1485).

It is my desire to give abundantly

For God to be able to act, the door must be open to Him, to permit Him to enter into the life of the person with His grace. How? Blessed Fr. Mi – chael Sopocko, St. Faustina’s confes – sor and spiritual director, makes the point that the key that opens the door to God’s power is trust. Trust is the essential condition for receiving God’s mercy. Trust – that is, the expectation of God’s help – gives courage and strength, eliminates sadness and dejection, and also in – stills peace into the soul despite the greatest sufferings and persecu – tions. It was not insignificant that the portrait of the Merciful Jesus, painted according to Jesus’ instruc – tions bears the inscription “Jesus, I trust in You”, and that St. John Paul II on numerous occasions reassured us of the power of this entrustment. In His appearances to St. Faustina the Lord told her: “The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is – trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to me, because I pour all the treasures of My grac – es into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it is My desire to give much, very much. On the other hand, I am sad when souls ask for lit – tle, when they narrow their hearts” (Diary 1578).”

The place for the greatest miracles

A trusting confidence that all our sins, even the most serious ones, will not tip the balance of God’s Mercy, should, as a subsequent step, guide the feet of a sinner to the confessional. The sacrament of penance is, after all, “the tribunal of God’s mercy”, the place where the Lord God performs the greatest mir – acles (see Diary 1448). One must can – didly acknowledge all of one’s sins (as recognized through the process of the examination of conscience) to the priest, repent of them, deter – mine to correct one’s behavior, and perform penance. All uncertainties regarding confession are dispersed in Jesus’ dialog with the sinful soul. In the Diary we read:

“– Soul: Lord, I doubt that you will pardon my numerous sins; my misery fills me with fright.

– Jesus: My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the en – tire world. Who can measure the extent of My goodness? For you I descend from heaven to earth; for you I allowed Myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus open – ing wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your mis – ery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy. Do not argue with me about your wretchedness. Give me the pleasure of handing over to Me all your troubles and griefs. I shall heap upon you the treasures of My grace” (Diary 1485).

After receiving absolution it is worthwhile to thank God for his goodness and to praise His mercy. Because – as the Psalmist writes: “The Lord is merciful and gra – cious, slow to anger and abound – ing in steadfast love. He will not al – ways accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:8-12).

Source: https://loamagazine.org/archive/2017/2017-40/mercy-for-the-discouraged

The article was published with the permission from "Love One Another!" in May 2021.