Some people have a passionate devotion to Our Lady and the rosary. For whatever reason, I'm not one of those people, and really never have been. Even some of the great saints admitted they had no love for the rosary. For me, my devotion is the Divine Mercy. The whole Church celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday this past weekend, so in a way, it was like getting a second feast day. There's an indulgence attached to it, too--not too shabby!
There is something so attractive to me about mercy--can you blame me? ;) The most incredible thing about embracing Catholicism is the constant, tangible graces and forgiveness we encounter in the Sacraments. We don't deserve a bit of it, yet God continues to pour it out on us anyway.
Mercy and hope are so central to the way I live my life--it's too short to waste on pessimism and worry. It's for this reason that the Divine Mercy is such a good fit for me; on days when things aren't going so well, or the future is uncertain, I can turn to the devotion and petition Him for mercy, trust, and strength. It never fails to give me the grace I need to handle my struggles, at least for that particular moment.
More than that, though, it helps me to be the sort of person the Lord asks me to be. There is more to the Divine Mercy than gaining it for ourselves, our reflecting on the triumph of the Cross. Each time we pray the chaplet, we remind ourselves not only that He is infinitely merciful, but that we are to be infinitely merciful. He trusted the Father, and we should trust the Father. He loved all sinners, and we should love all sinners. It is a call to forgiveness, to peace, and to charity.
Over the Lenten season, one of my additions was praying the chaplet at least three times weekly, mostly when I was home to sing it. Over the course of that period, I found myself given pause before saying something against charity. I forgave even when I would have rather held a grudge.
When you approach the Divine Mercy as more than just a bunch of prayers or slogans on rosary beads, when you embody it as a life philosophy, it changes you both mentally and spiritually. It sanctifies you, and makes you more like Christ. In my opinion, anything that can achieve those results is worth considering.
Jesus, I trust in You!
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