Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II: Lessons in Suffering and Self Abandonment

We now have two new saints enrolled in heaven, Pope St. John XXIII and Pope St. John Paul II. Pope Francis gave a beautiful sermon in the canonization Mass that sheds much light on the role of the Church in the world today. Being that it was Divine Mercy Sunday, the Holy Father's sermon focused on the great message of Divine Mercy, which I believe, as I have already stated many times, to be the driving force behind the contemporary Catholic Church. I don't believe we can understand or be a part of the Catholic Church today unless we understand this great message as given to St. Faustina.

Divine Mercy is deeply and intimately connected with the Passion of Jesus Christ. The Mercy of Our Lord cannot be understood apart from His Suffering. We receive the Mercy and Forgiveness of Jesus by partaking in His Suffering:

“There is more merit to one hour of meditation on My sorrowful Passion than there is to a whole year of flagellation that draws blood; the contemplation of My painful wounds is of great profit to you, and it brings Me great joy.” (Diary 369)

“There are few souls who contemplate My Passion with true feeling; I give great graces to souls who meditate devoutly on My Passion.” (Diary 737)

“My mercy is greater than all the sins of the world… For you I descended 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 opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come then with trust and draw graces from this fountain… I never reject a contrite heart … You will give Me pleasure if you hand over all your troubles and griefs. I shall heap upon you the treasures of My grace.” (Diary 1485)

“But there is no way to heaven except the Way of the Cross. I followed it first. You must learn that it is the shortest and surest way…“I endured that too when My soul was crushed in mortal anguish at the Garden of Olives… I am giving you a share in those sufferings because of My special love for you and in view of the high degree of holiness I am intending for you in heaven. A suffering soul is closest to My heart.” (Diary 1487)

The gospel reading on Divine Mercy Sunday is the story of doubting Thomas, who was not present the first time the Resurrected Lord appeared to the apostles in the upper room.  It is interesting to note that when our Lord first appeared to the apostles in the upper room, He identified Himself by His Wounds, which He will carry with Him for all eternity.  John 20:19-20:

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Thomas refused to believe Christ was alive and stated, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24). And once again, when Our Lord appeared with Thomas present, Jesus identified Himself by His Wounds.  John 20:26-27:

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas responded with the famous statement that we still use when we behold Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament:  "My Lord and My God."

Shroud of Turin

If we are to know Jesus Christ and be His true followers, we must know Him through His Suffering and His Wounds.   Our Lord has given us an actual physical artifact showing His Wounds in a way that has astounded even nonbelieving scientists, and that is the Shroud of Turin.  Many scientists have spent their entire lives studying this cloth because there is nothing else like it in all of creation.  It is not a painting and not a photograph.  In 1978, a group of scientists, many of whom were atheists and certainly no believers in the Shroud, were given physical access to the Shroud to study it and compile data with the sole purpose of discovering what made the image.  In 1981, they issued their final report, which you can read HERE:

No pigments, paints, dyes or stains have been found on the fibrils. X-ray, fluorescence and microchemistry on the fibrils preclude the possibility of paint being used as a method for creating the image. Ultra Violet and infrared evaluation confirm these studies. Computer image enhancement and analysis by adevice known as a VP-8 image analyzer show that the image has unique, three-dimensional information encoded in it. Microchemical evaluation has indicated no evidence of any spices, oils, or any biochemicals known to be produced by the body in life or in death. It is clear that there has been a direct contact of the Shroud with a body, which explains certain features such as scourge marks, as well as the blood. However, while this type of contact might explain some of the features of the torso, it is totally incapable of explaining the image of the face with the high resolution that has been amply demonstrated by photography.

The conclusion of these scientists:

Thus, the answer to the question of how the image was produced or what produced the image remains, now, as it has in the past, a mystery.

We can conclude for now that the Shroud image is that of a real human form of a scourged, crucified man. It is not the product of an artist. The bloodstains are composed of hemoglobin and also give a positive test for serum albumin. The image is an ongoing mystery and until further chemical studies are made, perhaps by this group of scientists, or perhaps by some scientists in the future, the problem remains unsolved.

Over 30 years later, the Shroud remains a mystery.  However, it has been studied by forensic scientists who conclude it is absolutely anatomically correct and shows a man who was ruthlessly tortured and whipped, with 120 scourge marks found on his body, signs of crucifixion through the wrists and feet, a crown of thorns thrust on his head and a spear wound to his side, as stated in this paper released by THE THIRD DALLAS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN: DALLAS, TEXAS, SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2005 [HERE]:

Although not all scientists are unanimous, it has been shown by many scientists that the linen sheet enveloped or wrapped the corpse of a man who had been scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified with nails, and stabbed by a lance in the side. Also impressed are many other marks due to blood, fire, water and folding, which have greatly damaged the double body image. Of greatest interest are the wounds which, to forensic pathologists, appear to be unfakeable.

Just as Our Lord appeared to the apostles and then to Doubting Thomas and identified Himself by His Wounds, in the same way He has identified Himself down through the ages and to us today, 2000 years after His Death and Resurrection.  

This was the primary message that Pope Francis gave us at the canonization Mass of Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II.   

Pope Francis began his homily by stating that the "glorious wounds of the risen Jesus" are at the heart of Divine Mercy Sunday:

At the heart of this Sunday, which concludes the Octave of Easter and which John Paul II [at the specific request of Jesus Christ to St. Faustina] wished to dedicate to Divine Mercy, are the glorious wounds of the risen Jesus. He had already shown those wounds when he first appeared to the Apostles on the very evening of that day following the Sabbath, the day of the resurrection. But Thomas was not there that evening, and when the others told him that they had seen the Lord, he replied that unless he himself saw and touched those wounds, he would not believe. A week later, Jesus appeared once more to the disciples gathered in the Upper Room, and Thomas was present; Jesus turned to him and told him to touch his wounds.  Whereupon that man, so straightforward and accustomed to testing everything personally, knelt before Jesus with the words: "My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28).

Pope Francis then explains the contradictory nature of the Wounds of Jesus, that they are a scandal and stumbling block and at the same time, they are the test of our faith.  Christ will carry these wounds on His Glorified Body for all eternity:

The wounds of Jesus are a scandal, a stumbling block for faith, yet they are also the test of faith. That is why on the body of the risen Christ the wounds never pass away: they remain, for those wounds are the enduring sign of God’s love for us. They are essential for believing in God. Not for believing that God exists, but for believing that God is love, mercy and faithfulness. Saint Peter, quoting Isaiah, writes to Christians: "by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet 2:24, cf. Is 53:5).

Pope Francis tells us that we cannot believe Christ, we cannot have faith in the salvation He offers us apart from His Passion and Wounds.  The Wounds of Jesus Christ impart to us the belief that "God is love, mercy and faithfulness."  Both John XXIII and John Paul II willingly and lovingly embraced the Suffering Lord, and they saw the Suffering Lord in all men everywhere.  This is the great message we can learn from these two saints:

John XXIII and John Paul II were not afraid to look upon the wounds of Jesus, to touch his torn hands and his pierced side. They were not ashamed of the flesh of Christ, they were not scandalized by him, by his cross; they did not despise the flesh of their brother (cf. Is 58:7), because they saw Jesus in every person who suffers and struggles. These were two men of courage, filled with the parrhesia of the Holy Spirit, and they bore witness before the Church and the world to God’s goodness and mercy. 

This message of the Suffering Jesus, who took on the sins of the world and healed us through His Suffering, has always been the message of the Church, but it has received even greater emphasis in the 20th Century and now 21st Century. John XXIII and John Paul II experienced firsthand the suffering of modern man. This produced not bitterness and anger in them, but great love and compassion because they identified so strongly with the Suffering Lord:

They were priests, bishops and popes of the twentieth century. They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful; faith was more powerful – faith in Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man and the Lord of history; the mercy of God, shown by those five wounds, was more powerful; and more powerful too was the closeness of Mary our Mother. 

Pope Francis explains in greater detail just how the Suffering Jesus gave hope and joy to our two newest saints and allowed them rise above the suffering and misery that surrounded them and filled them with such a great love for all people.  For John XXIII and John Paul II, like all saints, their great joy and hope was born from the suffering they willingly endured in their lives and which led them to the hope and joy of Easter and filled them with the Love of God:

In these two men, who looked upon the wounds of Christ and bore witness to his mercy, there dwelt a living hope and an indescribable and glorious joy (1 Pet 1:3,8). The hope and the joy which the risen Christ bestows on his disciples, the hope and the joy which nothing and no one can take from them. The hope and joy of Easter, forged in the crucible of self-denial, self emptying, utter identification with sinners, even to the point of disgust at the bitterness of that chalice. Such were the hope and the joy which these two holy popes had received as a gift from the risen Lord and which they in turn bestowed in abundance upon the People of God, meriting our eternal gratitude.  

Pope Francis takes us back to the very beginning of the Church and shows that the same hope and joy shown by Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II were in the first believers in Jerusalem.  It is the same Spirit which has filled the Church for 20 centuries:

This hope and this joy were palpable in the earliest community of believers, in Jerusalem, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:42-47). It was a community which lived the heart of the Gospel, love and mercy, in simplicity and fraternity.

Pope Francis now ties in the Second Vatican Council to this beautiful message of hope and joy which we receive from the Suffering Christ. As Pope Francis tells us, it is the saints - those who have been sanctified and made one with the Suffering Christ - "who give direction and growth to the Church." Our Lord has always chosen to speak to us through His Saints, and that is a major reason why the Church formally recognizes saints through canonization, so that we will know that these are people who have been given a special message to which we must pay attention. To disregard the message of formally declared saints will bring judgment upon us:

This is also the image of the Church which the Second Vatican Council set before us. John XXIII and John Paul II cooperated with the Holy Spirit in renewing and updating the Church in keeping with her pristine features, those features which the saints have given her throughout the centuries. Let us not forget that it is the saints who give direction and growth to the Church. 

As Pope Francis now tells us, John XXIII was the tool of the Holy Spirit when he convened the Second Vatican Council.  The Holy Spirit was leading and guiding the Church.  Pope Francis tells us that the greatest service of John XXIII was his "openness to the Spirit," a great lesson for all of us:

In convening the Council, John XXIII showed an exquisite openness to the Holy Spirit. He let himself be led and he was for the Church a pastor, a servant-leader. This was his great service to the Church; he was the pope of openness to the Spirit. 

Pope Francis tells us that John Paul II was the great defender of the family, the one who defended the sanctity of life.  The Church is continuing this defense of the family in the Synod later this year.  I know many think that great heresies will come from the Synod, but if anyone actually believes that, then they are doubting the very words and promises of Jesus Christ:

In his own service to the People of God, John Paul II was the pope of the family. He himself once said that he wanted to be remembered as the pope of the family. I am particularly happy to point this out as we are in the process of journeying with families towards the Synod on the family. It is surely a journey which, from his place in heaven, he guides and sustains. 

Pope Francis summarizes the points in his homily, urging us to be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and enter ever more deeply into the "mystery of divine mercy":

May these two new saints and shepherds of God’s people intercede for the Church, so that during this two-year journey toward the Synod she may be open to the Holy Spirit in pastoral service to the family. May both of them teach us not to be scandalized by the wounds of Christ and to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of divine mercy, which always hopes and always forgives, because it always loves.

There is a beautiful message from Jesus Christ to St. Faustina as recorded in her diary which very much echoes the words of our Holy Father, and which we should take to heart.  We must be willing to humble ourselves, to make ourselves small as St. Therese of Lisieux said so many times.  If we think that we have all the answers and refuse to listen to His Church, we may well be cutting ourselves off from the saving grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Remember, the entire message of Divine Mercy can be summarized in five words:  Jesus, I Trust In You.

My child, make the resolution never to rely on people. Entrust yourself completely to My will saying, “Not as I want, but according to Your will, O God, let it be done unto me.” [these are the words of Jesus Christ as He suffered in the garden] These words, spoken from the depths of one's heart, can raise a soul to the summit of sanctity in a short time. In such a soul I delight. Such a soul gives Me glory. Such a soul fills heaven with the fragrance of her virtue. But understand that the strength by which you bear sufferings comes from frequent Communions. So approach this fountain of mercy often, to draw with the vessel of trust whatever you need. (Diary 1487)

Credit:  quotes-pictures.vidzshare.net

Pope Francis and The Ideologues

Credit:  www.etsy.com

In the past few days there has been a story circulating around the Internet that Pope Francis called a divorced-and-remarried Argentinian woman to let her know that she could receive communion despite her marital status.  This story started in "The Telegraph" under the title, "Pope Francis 'phones divorced woman' to say she can receive Communion. This is potentially a huge story."

From the story:

The woman's husband, writing on Facebook, claims that the Pope – introducing himself as "Father Bergoglio" – spoke to his wife, who'd been divorced before marrying him and told her that men or women who were divorced and received Communion weren't doing anything wrong. He apparently added that this matter is under discussion at the Vatican.

The author of the blog is very skeptical and writes in parentheses:

"Quick health warning: given the complexity of this subject, we need much more clarity on what Francis reportedly said. I find it hard to believe that he would make such an unqualified statement."

A lot of other people had problems with the credibility of this story as well, but that didn't stop other Catholic bloggers from running with it in order to showcase the heretical Pope Francis.

From A Blog for Dallas Area Catholics:

Yikes?  I know Fr. Z and others are trying to caution, and rightly so, that this is an unconfirmed story (parts are confirmed, see below), that even if true, this is a private conversation and not a doctrinal statement, and that we don’t know all the details.

All Mostly true, but nonetheless, this story fits a pattern of established behavior and also seems to align with public sentiments expressed by Francis elsewhere, so that discounting it as totally implausible seems a bit rash:

Dallas Area Catholic quotes from another Catotholic blog: thatthebonesyouhavecrushedmaythrill, or "Bones" as he calls it:

Clearly, whatever the truth of the matter, someone is doing this undermining of the Magisterium and the Papacy on purpose. The question remains whether that person is one of the Pope’s enemies, or one of his friends, or the Pope himself.

Another "Catholic" blog, run by a guy who identifies himself only as "Mundabor", wrote this:

All this happens because we have a disgraceful Pope in love with his own popularity, with no idea of sound Catholicism, prone to stunts of all sorts, with a sovereign contempt for decency, and not very intelligent. A halfway decent Pope would never make such calls in the first place; even if he were able to put three phrases in a row that make some sense.

If you really want to subject yourself to it, you can read his full post HERE.  

These are just a couple of examples of the rash reactions you will find on some Catholic blogs.  In this day of instant communication, no one can ever let a story sit.  No one seems able to say, I really don't know enough about this to even comment on it, so why don't I just shut up so I won't be guilty of slandering or judging anyone.

The Vatican Office's response to this story was wholly unsatisfactory to most of those making the accusations against Pope Francis. Father Lombardi of the Holy See Press Office released this statement:

“Several telephone calls have taken place in the context of Pope Francis’ personal pastoral relationships. Since they do not in any way form part of the Pope's public activities, no information is to be expected from the Holy See Press Office. That which has been communicated in relation to this matter, outside the scope of personal relationships, and the consequent media amplification, cannot be confirmed as reliable, and is a source of misunderstanding and confusion. Therefore, consequences relating to the teaching of the Church are not to be inferred from these occurrences”

This obviously does not resolve the veracity or lack thereof in this story at all.  Anyone who was accused of making such a potentially heretical statement as Pope Francis would certainly seek to be exonerated if he was innocent, wouldn't he?  Since he refuses to do so, it can only be assumed that the Pope actually made this phone call and told this divorced-and-remarried woman that she could receive communion.

This is from a popular Catholic blogger, Steve Skojec, who wrote in answer to the Holy See's Press Release:

This doesn’t mean anything. It also makes no sense.

Why would this woman lie if she got the answer she wanted? Why make something up?

And if she didn’t get the answer she wanted and did lie about it, only the Pope himself can say, “Yes, I spoke to her, but this is not what was said.” Since he knows this is becoming a big story, it behooves him to do this if he cares about preserving doctrinal clarity and avoiding unnecessarily scandalizing the faithful. If he doesn’t want to speak to it directly, the statement that needs to be made by the press office, with his authorization, is astonishingly simple:

“The Holy Father cannot comment on the contents of a personal phone call, but suffice to say that in his discussion he did, in fact, reaffirm the Church’s longstanding teaching on divorce and remarriage, and the conditions for the reception of communion.”

That kills the noise. Instead, this continues to get bigger and spread and affect people’s perceptions of what is really going on. The pope understands by now how fast the media machine works. He should be pretty used to creating controversy at this point, and a man in his position with his obligation to safeguard the sensus fidei would, one would assume, care a great deal about setting the record straight.

And yet…nothing.

This is EXACTLY what someone trying to change Church teaching through public perception rather than doctrinal alteration would want. If this isn’t planned, it’s the most unbelievably devilish luck.

I am forced to conclude that his silence is a form of consent. Which leads to other conclusions:

(If you want to read his other conclusions, you can go HERE.)

Oh, really?  Maybe we should slow down just a little bit.

There is a story that came out today from aletia.org entitled, "Pope Francis Preaches 'Indissolubility of Christian Matrimony'".  Huh?  How can this be after the scandalous phone call he made?  According to the article, in a meeting with bishops from southern Africa, Pope Francis made the following statements:

“The holiness and indissolubility of Christian matrimony, often disintegrating under tremendous pressure from the secular world, must be deepened by clear doctrine and supported by the witness of committed married couples,” Pope Francis said.

“Christian matrimony is a lifelong covenant of love between one man and one woman; it entails real sacrifices in order to turn away from illusory notions of sexual freedom and in order to foster conjugal fidelity.”

The article continues:

Pope Francis noted the pastoral challenges presented by marital separation and divorce, even in Christian families, and the lack of a stable home for many children.

. . .

He stressed the need to continue “indispensable” marriage preparation programs that give “new hope” to young people for their futures as husbands, wives, fathers and mothers.

So what gives here? How could the Pope say one thing to the Argentinian woman and another thing to the bishops? Because he didn't!! Anyone who is willing to look at this situation without prejudice and downright hate for the Holy Father can easily see what happened. The Argentinian story was made up. But the Holy Father, out of love and compassion for the woman and her family, refused to call her on it and instead took the hit for her. 

Sure, it would have been easy for Pope Francis to have protested his innocence. But Our Holy Father truly is a man of God, and he is much more concerned about the woman and her spiritual state than how he looks in public. To have called her a liar in public could have irreparably driven her away from God and the Church. Most people without an agenda saw through this story, but the idealogues saw this as red meat and went for it. Do you think any of them will apologize? Hardly.

And for the faithful who, as Steve Skojec says, need "doctrinal clarity," then they need only look to the public on-the-record statements of Pope Francis, and not some unsubstantiated gossip.

It should also be noted that Pope Francis also spoke about abortion in this meeting with the southern African bishops:

In his comments to the southern African bishops, Pope Francis also noted the damage caused by abortion and an attitude of disrespect for life.

“Abortion compounds the grief of many women who now carry with them deep physical and spiritual wounds after succumbing to the pressures of a secular culture which devalues God’s gift of sexuality and the right to life of the unborn,” he said.

I am personally struck by the deep compassion shown in this statement as well.  I have prayed in front of abortion clinics for a few years, and I see the young women going in there to destroy their babies.  I see the look of pain on their faces, and I know that it will only get worse as time goes on.  Pope Francis shows that he understands this pain as well, and he is reaching out to these young women and rightly telling them that they, in many ways, are victims of a culture of death, as so aptly named by St. John Paul II, just as much as their babies are.  With his words of mercy, Pope Francis is inviting them to the loving forgiveness of Jesus Christ, who is the only One who can truly heal them.  

Pope Francis has so much to teach us, but as long as we keep our own prejudices so firmly in place, we will never learn these valuable lessons.  We have been given a wonderful Holy Father in Pope Francis, and it pains me that so many Catholics reject him as a "modernist" and "heretic", ready to believe the very worst about him.

May God Bless Pope Francis and guide him in all his actions and words, and keep him safe from the wolves.

Divine Mercy Sunday: A Day and A Message of Hope

Credit:  www.turnbacktogod.com

This Sunday, April 27, is Divine Mercy Sunday. This year it is even more special than usual because two popes - John XXIII and John Paul II - will be canonized that day. Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted by soon-to-be St. John Paul II in the year 2000. Saint John Paul II gave us this Feast in compliance with the explicit request in 1931 by Jesus Christ Himself to St. Faustina, who was canonized on that first official Divine Mercy Sunday, April 30, 2000.

Why did Our Lord want to give us this feast day? Dr. Robert Stackpole explains on the website thedivinemercy.org in an article entitled, "Divine Mercy Sunday", which you can read HERE,

First, why did Jesus ask the Church, through St. Faustina, to institute the Feast of Mercy? As recorded in Diary entry 965, Jesus said to Faustina:

Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them ... the Feast of My mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity. Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice is near.

In short, the main reason that Jesus wanted this Feast to be established is that He wanted to "throw a lifeline," so to speak, to souls who are perishing, souls who are drowning in sin and despair. That lifeline is this Feast, with all the tremendous promises of graces and benefits which Jesus attached to it. As He said to St. Faustina, He wanted to make this Feast day a special "refuge and shelter" for the "consolation" of souls. In Diary entry 1517, Jesus said: "the Feast of My Mercy has issued forth from My very depths for the consolation of the whole world." In short, Jesus gave us this Feast as both a comfort and a lifeline for souls.

As I have posted previously, I believe Divine Mercy is the essence of the message of the Catholic Church in the world today.  In our human reasoning we look at the world around us brimming over with evil and human suffering, from abortion to war to euthanasia to immorality, the destruction of the family, and on and on and on, and our answer to it is to raise our voices in condemnation and let everyone know that unless they repent they are headed to the lowest depths of hell.

But in the 1930's, Jesus - who has a much better and clearer picture of the evil in this world than we can ever have - appeared to a unknown and seemingly insignificant little nun in Poland and explained to her why He wanted the Feast of Divine Mercy to be instituted by the Church, as quoted by Dr. Stackpole.  This message from Jesus Christ is the exact opposite of condemnation:

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.  (Diary 699)

Through St. Faustina, Jesus told the world that He is not here to condemn us but to pour His Mercy upon us if only we will say Yes to Him.  In fact, He tells us that "mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy."  Jesus Christ says plainly here that the only path to peace is through His Mercy.  It is only when we accept the loving forgiveness of Jesus Christ, when we wash our souls in His Precious Blood and allow Him to change our minds and hearts that we will find true peace.   He does this not through words of condemnation but through pleas to accept His Mercy.

One of the devotions given to St. Faustina by Jesus is the Divine Mercy Novena, which starts on Good Friday and culminates on Easter Saturday.  Our Lord told St. Faustina:

I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fountain of My mercy, that they may draw therefrom strength and refreshment and whatever grace they need in the hardships of life, and especially at the hour of death. 

On each day you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls, and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy, and I will bring all these souls into the house of My Father. You will do this in this life and in the next. I will deny nothing to any soul whom you will bring to the fount of My mercy. On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My bitter Passion, for graces for these souls.  (Diary 1209)

The following are the souls for whom we are to pray each day (as taken from the EWTN website):

DAY 1 (Good Friday) - All mankind, especially sinners
DAY 2 (Holy Saturday)- The souls of priests and religious
DAY 3 (Easter Sunday) - All devout and faithful souls
DAY 4 (Easter Monday)- Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him
DAY 5 (Easter Tuesday)- The souls of separated brethren
DAY 6 (Easter Wednesday)- The meek and humble souls and the souls of children
DAY 7 (Easter Thursday)- The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy
DAY 8 (Easter Friday)- The souls who are detained in purgatory;
DAY 9 (Easter Saturday)- The souls who have become lukewarm.

This novena covers every soul on earth.  And as Jesus commanded St. Faustina, we are to "immerse them in the ocean of My mercy."  Our Lord is doing everything He can to remove the great barriers that exist between mankind and Himself, barriers that we created but which can be torn down and erased by turning to His Great Mercy.  As Jesus said to St. Faustina, "bring souls to the fountain of My mercy, that they may draw therefrom strength and refreshment and whatever grace they need in the hardships of life, and especially at the hour of death."

Further, Jesus says that "You will do this in this life and in the next."  The saints in heaven and even the poor souls in purgatory continue to intercede for us just as they did when they were here on earth.  To be one with Christ is to be one in His Great Sacrifice on the Cross, to join with His Sorrowful Passion, as we pray in the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Do we bring souls to Jesus Christ through words of condemnation?  Are those in heaven sitting before Christ and condemning us?  Or are they interceding with words of love and mercy on our behalf?  If in the next life we will be interceding on behalf of sinners with mercy and compassion, how can we possibly believe that our actions should be any different while we are on earth?  Is it really our job as followers of Jesus  Christ to confront with words of condemnation those who are entrapped by their sins and completely unable to break free on their own?

Our Lord did not direct St. Faustina to confront sinners.  He told her, and us, to bring sinners to His Mercy through our prayers, always invoking the Passion of Jesus Christ.  He told us, through St. Faustina, to be willing to sacrifice for others, joining our sacrifices with His Great Sacrifice on the Cross. 

It is so easy to get on our high horse and look down on the rest of the world, pointing out their sin and telling them they are a bunch of pathetic losers.  But that is not why Christ died that horrible, bloody death on the Cross.  He took on our sins and went to His Cross to show the world how much He loves all of us.  We who have accepted that great Mercy into our lives and been transformed by it, are now given the great responsibility and duty to spread this message of Mercy and Love to others.  

Unfortunately, that is not how some people see it. Some people think that this idea of Divine Mercy, despite the fact that these are direct commands from Jesus Christ, is "pampering sinners". Michael Voris once again sadly gives us the perfect example of this thinking. He just did a Vortex episode entitled, "Easter Division", which you can watch HERE. In this Vortex, Michael Voris makes the argument that the purpose of the Church is, believe it or not, to cause division:

Know this and learn it well – if the world .. meaning your family, friends and neighbors who live in opposition to the truths of Christ don’t see a stumbling block in you, a cause of division – then you are living your faith as a coward – as Judas.

You have made compromise with the world. You are appeasing the Prince of this world at the cost of worship to your King.

You are a dead or wounded soldier, brought down by your own lack of fidelity and cowardice to confront the kingdom of Hell.

Really, Mike?  Just how do you reconcile Our Lord's words to St. Faustina, that we should be praying for the world and "immersing them" in the ocean of His Mercy, with being a "stumbling block" and causing division?

St. Paul gave the exact opposite message as he wrote in Romans 14:13:

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

In fact, Voris would probably condemn St. Paul for writing the following as recorded in II Cor. 6:3:

We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.

What did St. Paul do in his ministry?  Verses 4-10:

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

In other words, St. Paul suffered on behalf of sinners in order to bring them to the saving message of the Gospel.  And as he wrote, he acted "in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God."  No words of condemnation or division.

Those who would agree with Michael Voris about causing division will no doubt point to subsequent verses in II Corinthians 6: "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (verse 14) St. Paul also quotes from the prophets, "Come out from them and be separate" (verse 17). However, to use this to justify causing "division" is a canard because there is a big difference between being "yoked" with unbelievers, i.e., taking part in their sinful conduct, and condemning unbelievers. Condemnation is a stumbling block to people, and St. Paul says he will not do that. How can we expect to bring people to Christ when we are pushing them away with our words?

This is certainly not to say that Paul never verbally corrected anyone. However, the people he corrected were those within the Church who should have known better, such as the Corinthians who allowed and even approved of a blatant sinner within their midst (I Corinthians 5). Once the Corinthians accepted St. Paul's correction, he encouraged them with love and kindness. And St. Paul further told the Corinthians that they should show love and acceptance to those who offend. From II Corinthians 2:

5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.

The difference between separating ourselves from the sin of others and condemning them is further clarified in James 4:11-12:

Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

Following is Michael Voris' answer to the above scriptures:

The Church of Nice goes on and on incessantly about love of neighbor, but at the end of the day, is perfectly content to let their neighbor be damned for everyday offenses against almighty God like contraception, adultery, homosexuality, and so forth.

See, the Church of Nice isn’t really all that Nice. It’s all just a show. They don’t like the Church Militant because they are convicted in their consciences of their pitiful lack of fight – of militancy.

And if there is one thing that the Church of Nice detests, on principle and in practice – it is division. And here is where the adherents of the Church of Nice are dead wrong. In order to achieve the unity that Our Lord begged for, there must be division.

Michael Voris conflates mercy and compassion with being "perfectly content to let their neighbor be damned for everyday offenses against almighty God like contraception, adultery, homosexuality, and so forth."  That is a completely deceptive and false statement.  Using this logic from Michael Voris, we would have to say that Jesus Christ was content to let people be damned when He refused to condemn those who were crucifying Him and instead said from the Cross, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."  Mercy does not mean accepting people's sins.  It means praying that sinners will accept the love and forgiveness of God.  That is what the Divine Mercy Novena is all about.

Michael Voris derisively uses the term "Church of Nice" (a term many Catholics, including myself at one time, have unfortunately adopted from Voris) to describe those who do not agree with the absurd and destructive philosophy that unity is born of division.  Michael Voris, if he was to be totally honest, would most certainly put St. Faustina, St. Paul, St. James and even Jesus Christ Himself in the category of "Church of Nice" because they preached against attacking one another in the Church.

Voris gives us St. Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost as an example of one who is not afraid to cause division:

The very first words spoken publicly about the resurrection were charges of complicity leveled against the Jews by St. Peter himself at Pentecost.

Talk about saying something divisive right out of the gate. No political correctness there with him, no siree. He came right out with it – and not just once – but TWICE.

Men of Jerusalem – this Jesus whom you crucified God raised from the dead!

Voris doesn't give us any exact quotes from scripture, so I will. St. Peter starts out by quoting from the prophet Joel, a very upbeat and encouraging message (Acts 2:17-21):

‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

No words of condemnation or division there, just words of hope: "and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." No one is left out of this message of hope and salvation. Everyone is included.

St. Peter then goes on to explain to the people what had happened only a little more than 50 days prior to that day on which he spoke:

Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Do you hear any words of condemnation there?  Yes, St. Peter did say that these Jews were complicit in putting Christ to death, but he also said this was done according to "God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge."  St. Peter explains that "it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."  St. Peter couched the words of accusation with words of hope.

Then, in verse 36, St. Peter tell the Jews the good news that this Jesus whom they crucified is their Lord and Messiah:

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

As the very next verse, verse 37, tells us, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' " It was not words of condemnation that brought the people to this point. It was being told that yes, they are sinners, but they have a great Lord and Messiah who gave everything to save them from their sin. St. Peter, in this famous sermon, was immersing the people in the ocean of Christ's Mercy, just as Our Lord told St. Faustina almost exactly 2000 years later.

In response to the question of what they should do, St. Peter gave them the beautiful Gospel message He had received from Our Lord (Acts 2:38-39):

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.

Yes, St. Peter told the people that they were sinners and responsible for the death of Jesus Christ, but the primary message from St. Peter was that Christ had died and been resurrected in fulfillment of God's Great Divine Plan to save mankind from their sins.  This is the message of the Gospel, the Good News that we are to spread around the world.   Contrary to the assertions of Michael Voris, there were no words of division in St. Peter's message but exactly the opposite - words of encouragement, hope and unity.

We need to ask ourselves, is the work of a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, one of confrontation leading to division?  Or is it to bring the healing message of mercy and salvation?  Do we look at our Lord on the Cross and see condemnation and division, or do we see Divine Mercy and Love?  What is it that we want to bring to the world?  What is the message that will save the world?  Michael Voris tells us that everything he does is to save souls.  Yet, it seems he wants to do it his way, with harshness and condemnation, and he ridicules anyone who doesn't agree with him.

This Sunday, April 27, 2014, two popes will be canonized.  They were both popes who did much to spread the message of mercy and hope of salvation to the world.  They both saw a world that is in immense pain and suffering, and they sought to bring healing.  These two popes lived the following command from Jesus Christ as told to St. Faustina,

I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of Mine toward the souls of sinners. Let no sinner be afraid to approach Me.  (Diary 50)

Both John XXIII and John Paul II embodied the following passage from the diary of St. Faustina:

In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My People. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy.  (Diary 1588)

Jesus Christ Himself tells us that "My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice."  We need to take these words to heart.  It goes against everything that we humans regard as "common sense" that as the world descends into evil in a way that could have never been envisioned in history, Jesus Christ comes to us not with words of condemnation, but with the great message of His Mercy.  He says He does not want to punish us.  This is the message of Jesus Christ:

JESUS IS ALIVE!

I love to watch old movies from the 30's and 40's, and yet I am very much sobered when watching these movies because I realize that 99% or more of the people I am looking at in the movie, who seem so alive, are actually now very dead, and one day I will join them.  It is a a fact of life which cannot be negotiated in any way.

All of us live with the fear of death, our own death and that of those we love.   No matter how much happiness and satisfaction we may find in our lives, we know that one day it will all come to an end.

But today, Easter Sunday, we celebrate the victory over death. Jesus Christ has risen and conquered death and sin, and there can be no greater message. "You shall not die." St. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:55

“O death, where is your victory?
Where is your power to hurt?”

As Catholics, we celebrate the physical death of our saints because we know that is the day they entered into eternal life, into glory and eternal bliss in the presence of God.  It is Jesus Christ, the God Man who died a horrendous death on a cross and then rose to life who made this possible for us.  It doesn't matter how black our sins are, it doesn't matter what we have done in life.  If we are willing to coming to Our Lord and let Him cleanse our soul in His Precious Blood, we can be made whole and enter into True Life with Him.

Here is a very joyous, upbeat video which I think really expresses it well.  I have included the lyrics below:

Have a wonderful, happy Easter (which lasts all week long) as we celebrate the great victory over death.

For all the earth had trembled,

The sun had hid its face,

All the men that walked with him

Had turned and run away,

They crucified Our Savior,

And laid Him in a tomb.

The Life that once brought love and hope slipped away that afternoon.

Satan gleamed with pleasure that day at Calvary,

For he thought he had won a mighty victory.

And like him all of the demons of hell began to cheer,

Oh but little did they know that their end was drawing near.

Cause early Sunday morning just like Jesus said,

He broke the curse of sin and death and He rose up from the dead.

Now we have a new beginning in a Kingdom that has no ending. 

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!!

Jesus Is Alive!

Death has lost its victory and the grave has been denied.

Jesus lives forever.

He’s Alive! He’s Alive!

He's the Alpha and Omega

The first and last is He.

The curse of sin is broken,

And we have perfect liberty

The Lamb of God is risen.

He's alive! He's alive! 

He’s the author and the finisher of our faith,

The Stone they threw away is the Cornerstone today.

Death has no more victory and the grave has no more sting.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!!

Wonderful Counselor, A Mighty God is He!

The Everlasting Father, He’s the Precious Prince of Peace.

He’s the Word that lives forever.

He’s Alive! He’s Alive!

Oh Hallelujah!

Jesus is Alive!

Death has lost its sting, and the grave has been denied.

Jesus lives forever! He’s Alive!

He’s Alive!

He’s Alive!

Jesus is alive!

Divine Mercy: Becoming a Living Martyr

Often times those who oppose and challenge us contribute more to our growth than those who support us. That is what has happened just recently with me. I just did a post entitled "Are We Judge or Healer" which you can read HERE. In this post, I discussed two recent speakers at Catholic High Schools, Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, O.P. and Father Rocky Hoffman, who gave separate unrelated talks at different schools regarding homosexuality and Catholic teaching. Both of these speakers were met with outrage from many of the students and parents who felt the talks were bigoted and hateful. The problem for the rest of us is that no one outside of the talks knows what was said because no recording or transcript was made of Sister Jane's talk, and although Father Hoffman's talk was recorded, that recording has not been released. So all reports basically amount to hearsay.

That has not stopped the Catholic blogosphere from launching into major attacks against those parents and teachers who complained about the lectures, with the bloggers condemning those who complained for not accepting orthodox Catholic Church teaching. And it is most likely true that the parents and students do not understand and/or accept Catholic teaching.

But my problem with attacking the parents and students is that we don't know what was said, so we really can't make a just judgment. Further, I see the reaction of the parents and students as a wake-up call to the rest of us not so much that there are Catholics who reject the teachings of the Church as the fact that they are spiritually wounded, and condemnation is not going to help but will most likely only drive them further away from the Church and from Jesus Christ. I believe that our Lord would have us lead them to the truth not with harsh words and condemnation but with mercy and compassion. I gave the example of Pope Francis' statement of the Church being a field hospital for the wounded.

This did not sit very well with a few readers, and they let me have it. I was accused of wanting to "pamper" sinners, and told that my ideas were basically protestant, and even go against common sense. The discussion evolved into one about Divine Mercy as given to us through St. Faustina, and I was again told that I had no idea what I was talking about. Those commenting argued that I was misinterpreting Divine Mercy and the words of scripture, which the commenters feel is a sure road to disaster.

For the record, St. Faustina wrote this in regard to the difference between judgment and mercy:

O my Jesus, when shall we look upon souls with higher motives in mind? When will our judgments be true? You give us occasions to practice deeds of mercy, and instead we use the occasions to pass judgment. In order to know whether the love of God flourishes in a convent, one must ask how they treat the sick, the disabled, and the infirm who are there. (Diary 1269)

How does Divine Mercy work in leading people away from their sins and to the saving graces of Jesus Christ? The message of Divine Mercy as given to St. Faustina involves much more than just being "nice" to people. Divine Mercy involves us doing penance and reparation in order to save the souls of sinners. It involves uniting ourselves to the greatest act of Mercy ever known, that of Jesus Christ on the Cross.  Here is an example from St. Faustina's Diary:

On one occasion I saw a servant of God in the immediate danger of committing a mortal sin. I started to beg God to deign to send down upon me all the torments of hell and all the sufferings He wished if only this priest would be set free and snatched from the occasion of committing a sin. Jesus heard my prayer and, that very instant, I felt a crown of thorns on my head. The thorns penetrated my head with great force right into my brain. This lasted for three hours; the servant of God was set free from this sin, and his soul was strengthened by a special grace of God. (Diary 41)

Credit:  www.pinterest.com

Notice the actions of St. (then Sister) Faustina. She saw a priest "in the immediate danger of committing a mortal sin." Her reaction was not to go and verbally warn the priest, or to say anything at all to him. She, instead, asked to join with the suffering Christ.  Our Lord obliged by allowing her to suffer the pain of a crown of thorns for three hours, which is something that I cannot even imagine.  This example of St. Faustina shows that the answer to sin is prayer and penance.  Her reparations joined with the sufferings of Christ saved a priest from mortal sin.  This priest, I am sure, never knew what a great sacrifice St. Faustina had made for him.

There is another example from the diary in regard to St. Faustina's own sister.  

My sister [Wanda] came to see me today. When she told me of her plans, I was horror-stricken. How is such a thing possible? Such a beautiful little soul before the Lord, and yet, great darkness had come over her, and she did not know how to help herself. She had a dark view of everything. The good God entrusted her to my care, and for two weeks I was able to work with her. But how many sacrifices this soul cost me is known only to God. For no other soul did I bring so many sacrifices and sufferings and prayers before the throne of God as I did for her soul. I felt that I had forced God to grant her grace. When I reflect on all this, I see that it was truly a miracle. Now I can see how much power intercessory prayer has before God.

Once again, St. Faustina pulled back another person from the brink of eternal destruction mainly through prayer, reparations and sacrifice.  St. Faustina says in this passage that "for two weeks I was able to work" with her sister.  We don't know exactly what this means, but this passage mainly brings out the great healing effect of prayer and reparation.

These are only two examples of the suffering and reparation St. Faustina did on behalf of sinners. There are many more examples given in her diary.

Most of us are not capable of the great sanctity shown by St. Faustina nor are we able to bear such suffering as she did.  But in Diary paragraph 246, she gives a list of "small mortifications" that we can consider:

Small Mortifications

To recite the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy with outstretched arms.
On Saturdays, to say five decades of the Rosary with outstretched arms.
To sometimes recite a prayer [while] lying prostrate.
On Thursdays, a Holy Hour.
On Fridays, some greater mortification for dying sinners.

In Diary #243, she gives a further list of mortifications that she engaged in for the sake of others:

I will thank the Lord Jesus for every humiliation and will pray especially for the person who has given me the chance to be humiliated. I will immolate myself for the benefit of souls. I will not count the cost of any sacrifice, I will cast myself beneath the feet of the sisters, like a carpet on which they can not only tread, but also wipe their feet. My place is under the feet of the sisters. I will make every effort to obtain that place unnoticed by others. It is enough that God sees this.

In the comment section of my post regarding Sr. Jane and Father Hoffman, one person said that we need to confront people and tell them they are "dirty rotten sinners headed to hell."  St. Faustina would not agree:

235 O Jesus, I long for the salvation of immortal souls. It is in sacrifice that my heart will find free expression, in sacrifice which no one will suspect. I will burn and be consumed unseen in the holy flames of the love of God. The presence of God will help my sacrifice to be perfect and pure.

Credit: friendsofdivine.blogspot.com

Many of us believe that our words to sinners are what will save them, that we have to confront them with the evil they are involved in. But how many of us are wise enough to truly understand the hearts of others, to know exactly what is motivating them? We don't know the experiences of their lives that may have brought them to the sin they are involved in. For example, many homosexuals were abused as children, spiritually and emotionally wounded. Despite their outward show of pride and defiance, they are really dealing with the constant pain of self condemnation. Our words of condemnation will only drive them further away from the saving graces of Jesus Christ.

The diary of St. Faustina shows us that the greatest way to bring sinners to repentance is to join with the suffering Christ. to spiritually hang on the Cross with Him:

To suffer without complaining, to bring comfort to others and to drown my own sufferings in the most Sacred Heart of Jesus!

I will spend all my free moments at the feet of [Our Lord in] the Blessed Sacrament. At the feet of Jesus, I will seek light, comfort and strength. I will show my gratitude unceasingly to God for His great mercy towards me, never forgetting the favors He has bestowed on me, especially the grace of a vocation. 

I will hide myself among the sisters like a little violet among lilies. I want to blossom for my Lord and Maker, to forget about myself, to empty myself totally for the sake of immortal souls – this is my delight (Diary 224)

In Diary #324, Our Lord told St. Faustina, "When I was dying on the cross, I was not thinking about Myself, but about poor sinners, and I prayed for them to My Father."  In Jesus' greatest moment on earth,  when He was hanging on the Cross literally pouring out His Precious Blood for the salvation of mankind, suffering beyond comprehension, He said He was thinking only about "poor sinners."  Notice the complete lack of condemnation in His words.  He was talking about us, the ones responsible for His horrendous death, and yet all He shows is compassion and mercy.

In this same passage, #324, Jesus tells us the way to save sinners:

There is but one price at which souls are brought, and that is suffering united to My suffering on the cross. Pure love understands these words; carnal love will never understand them.

In the very next paragraph, #325,  Our Blessed Mother appeared to St. Faustina and emphasized the importance of prayer:

My daughter, what I demand from you is prayer, prayer, and once again prayer, for the world and especially for your country.

This statement from Our Blessed Mother echoes almost exactly what she said at Fatima less than 20 years before the time of St. Faustina:

Credit:  www.pinterest.com

The angel of Fatima also told the children to pray and sacrifice for sinners:

What are you doing? Pray! Pray very much! … Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the most High…. Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down peace upon your country…. Above all accept and bear with submission the suffering which the Lord will send you.

Nowhere in any of these statements or examples are we told that the way to convert sinners is to confront them with their sin.  Even Our Lord saved sinners not by confronting them but by His Death on the cross.

In the Diary of St. Faustina, Jesus praises those who make great sacrifices:

To comfort you, let Me tell you that there are souls living in the world who love Me dearly. I dwell in their hearts with delight. But they are few. In convents too, there are souls that fill My Heart with joy. They bear My features; therefore the Heavenly Father looks upon them with special pleasure. They will be a marvel to Angels and men. Their number is very small. They are a defense for the world before the justice of the Heavenly Father and a means of obtaining mercy for the world. The love and sacrifice of these souls sustain the world in existence. (Diary 367)

St. Faustina would often feel that she was not accomplishing anything, but Jesus assured her otherwise:

In the evening, I saw the Lord Jesus upon the cross. From His hands, feet, and side the Most Sacred Blood was flowing. After some time, Jesus said to me, All this is for the salvation of souls. Consider well, My daughter, what you are doing for their salvation. I answered, “Jesus, when I look at Your suffering, I see that I am doing next to nothing for the salvation of souls.” And the Lord said to me, Know, My daughter, that your silent day-to-day martyrdom in complete submission to My will ushers many souls into heaven. And when it seems to you that your suffering exceeds your strength, contemplate My wounds, and you will rise above human scorn and judgment. Meditation on My passion will help you rise above all things. (Diary 1184)

In Isaiah 55:8-9, God says:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

What may seem to be "common sense" to us is not the way of God but the way of the world which will only lead to death. Certainly we need to speak out against the evil in the world. Our Lord commanded us to preach the Gospel to all creatures. That is the purpose of the Church. We must never hesitate to proclaim the Word of God. But if we are truly sincere in wanting to save sinners, to pull them from hell, then we must be willing to suffer with Jesus on the Cross. If we put our main efforts into condemnation of sinners, we are no better than Satan, the great accuser.

In the book of Numbers, the children of Israel had rebelled against God, and God had sent deadly snakes among them as punishment.  Many people died from the poisonous bites of these snakes.  Our Lord instructed Moses to put a brass snake on a pole and hold it up for the people to look at, and when they did so, they would be healed of the poisonous bites of the snakes:

Numbers 21:4-8:

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Moses and the brass snake

The brass snake on the pole is a picture of Christ on the Cross and the healing that comes from His Great Sacrifice.  If we want to help save people from their sins, we must turn them towards the Cross, let them look at Christ's Sacrifice, from which all true healing comes.  We do that by joining our sacrifices to His.

We should also be aware that our acts of mercy towards others may well decide our own fate:

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy. (Diary 1317)

In this Holy Week in which we are commemorating that great sacrifice that saved us all, let us not stand in condemnation of the world but instead truly endeavor to become one with Jesus Christ, and bring healing and hope to those in such dire need. As John 3:17 says, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." If we are to be followers of Jesus and allow Him to live in us, we too must be about saving the world, not condemning it.

Some final words from St. Faustina:

I often communicate with persons who are dying and obtain the divine mercy for them. Oh, how great is the goodness of God, greater than we can understand. There are moments and there are mysteries of the divine mercy over which the heavens are astounded. Let our judgment of souls cease, for God's mercy upon them is extraordinary. (Diary 1684)

Credit:  divine-mercy.ca