Monday's Mercy Minutes...

 

Divine Mercy Daily

Reflections from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Monday, March 7   Do Not Fear; I Am with You          

Why Are You Fearful?   On one occasion, the Lord said to me, Why are you fearful and why do you tremble when you are united to Me? I am displeased when a soul yields to vain terrors. Who will dare to touch you when you are with Me? Most dear to Me is the soul that strongly believes in My goodness and has complete trust in Me. I heap My confidence upon it and give it all it asks (Diary, 453).

On one occasion, I felt an urge to set to work and fulfill whatever God is demanding of me. I entered the chapel for a moment and heard a voice in my soul saying, Why are you afraid? Do you think that I will not have enough omnipotence to support you? At that moment, my soul felt extraordinary strength, and all the adversities that could befall me in carrying out God's will seemed as nothing to me (Diary, 527).

My Prayer Response:

Lord Jesus, I trust in Your omnipotence to care for me. Give me strength when I am fearful and question Your love and mercy.

Sunday's Mercy Minutes...

 

Divine Mercy Daily

Reflections from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Sunday, March 6  Do Not Fear; I Am with You             As a Little Child    Once, when I was deeply moved by the thought of eternity and its mysteries, my soul became fearful; and when I pondered about these a little longer, I started to be troubled by various doubts. Then Jesus said to me, My child, do not be afraid of the house of your Father. Leave these vain inquiries to the wise of this world. I want to see you always as a little child. Ask your confessor about everything with simplicity, and I will answer you through his lips (Diary, 290).

My daughter, have fear of nothing; I am always with you. All your adversaries will harm you only to the degree that I permit them to do so. You are my dwelling place and my constant repose. For your sake I will withhold the hand which punishes; for your sake I bless the earth (Diary, 431).

My Prayer Response:

Lord Jesus, with childlike simplicity, may I always trust in You. I will then watch with delight to see how You work things out in Your providence.

Saturday's Mercy Minutes...

 

Divine Mercy Daily

Reflections from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Saturday, March 5   Do Not Fear; I Am with You    

 Profound PeaceI  I  have wasted many of God's graces because I was always afraid of being deluded. God drew me to Himself so powerfully that often it was not in my power to resist His grace when I was suddenly imm   ersed in Him. At these moments, Jesus filled me with such great peace that, later on, even when I tried to become uneasy, I could not do so. And then, I heard these words in my soul: In order that you may be assured that it is I who am demanding all these things of you, I will give you such profound peace that even if you wanted to feel troubled and frightened, it would not be in your power to do so today, but love will flood your soul to the point of self-oblivion (Diary, 143).

Jesus looked at me kindly and said, My daughter, do not be afraid of sufferings; I am with you (Diary, 151).

My Prayer Response:

Lord Jesus, in Your great mercy, help me to respond to my troubles with trust! Give me profound peace that will dispel my fears.

Friday's Mercy Minutes...

 

Divine Mercy Daily

Reflections from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Friday, March 4  Do Not Fear; I Am with You         

Filled with a Certain Strength   Suddenly I saw the Lord interiorly, and He said to me, Fear not, My daughter; I am with you. In that single moment, all the darkness and torments vanished, my senses were inundated with unspeakable joy, [and] the faculties of my soul filled with light (Diary, 103).

Satan always takes advantage of such moments; thoughts of discouragement began to rise to the surface — for your faithfulness and sincerity — this is your reward. How can one be sincere when one is so misunderstood? Jesus, Jesus, I cannot go on any longer. Again I fell to the ground under this weight, and I broke out in a sweat, and fear began to overcome me. I had no one to lean on interiorly. Suddenly I heard a voice within my soul, Do not fear; I am with you. And an unusual light illumined my mind, and I understood that I should not give in to such sorrows. I was filled with a certain strength and left my cell with new courage to suffer (Diary, 129).

My Prayer Response:Lord Jesus, help me to hear Your word of encouragement when I need it: Do not fear; I am with you.

Thursday's Mercy Minutes...

 

Divine Mercy Daily

Reflections from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Thursday, March 3    Misery   Offer Me Your Misery   Write, My daughter, that I am mercy itself for the contrite soul. A soul's greatest wretchedness does not enkindle Me with wrath; but rather, My Heart is moved towards it with great mercy (Diary, 1739).

For you, I am mercy itself; therefore I ask you to offer Me your misery and this very helplessness of yours and, in this way, you will delight My Heart (Diary, 1775).

My Prayer Response:

Jesus, You are mercy itself. I offer You my misery and that of the whole world. May Your Heart of Mercy delight at this offering of our misery to You. Jesus, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Wednesday's Mercy Minutes...

 

Divine Mercy Daily

Reflections from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Wednesday, March 2    Misery  Distressed Souls

Write this for the benefit of distressed souls; when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother. These souls have a right of priority to My compassionate Heart, they have first access to My mercy. Tell them that no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame. I delight particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in My goodness (Diary, 1541).

My Prayer Response:

Jesus, I pray for distressed souls — plunge them into the ocean of Your mercy. Help them to trust in Your goodness! May trusting souls delight You.

Tuesday's Mercy Minutes...

 

Divine Mercy Daily

Reflections from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Tuesday, March 1       Misery   Nothing Will Stop Me

Today the Lord said to me, My daughter, My pleasure and delight, nothing will stop Me from granting you graces. Your misery does not hinder My mercy. My daughter, write that the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy; [urge] all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all. On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls — no one have I excluded! (Diary, 1182).

My Prayer Response:

Thank You, Jesus, that nothing will stop You from granting me Your graces. I rely on Your Heart opened on the cross to bathe me in Your mercy. Bathe me and the whole world in Your mercy!