There is no sin Jesus cannot forgive. (It’s true that Our Lord said blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven [Mk 3:28ff.]. The consensus of interpreters within the Church seems to be that by blasphemy against the Holy Spirit Jesus means final impenitence – refusing to ask for forgiveness, refusing to accept it, refusing God’s mercy all the way to the bitter end. God made us free, and He will never violate our freedom, even our freedom to prefer damnation to His mercy.) There is no kind of sin, there is no number of sins, that Jesus is not eagerly waiting to wash away with His love, with His Own Blood. Yeah, but what if my sin is that I paid somebody to kill my innocent little son or daughter? That makes me a terrible sinner, the worst kind of sinner. “The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to my mercy (St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, 723).” That’s what Jesus tells us through Saint Faustina, the Secretary of His Divine Mercy. And though logic tells us that there can be no right to mercy, rights being strictly a matter of justice, are we really prepared to argue with words right out of God’s Own Mouth?
One of the best ways to call down Jesus’ mercy on myself, and at the same time on everybody else, is by praying from my heart the chaplet of Divine Mercy.
Just how big is God’s mercy?
Let’s say I killed a boy while driving under the influence. I do some time in prison for manslaughter and am then released. But I still feel so bad about killing that boy that I go to my victim’s father and say, “I’m sorry I killed your son. Whenever you think of him, smashed in front of my car, bleeding on the asphalt, dying slowly in agony, will you please love me tenderly and do me some great favor?” How does that strike you? Sound like terrible presumption? Unspeakable insensitivity and gall? The mind-boggling truth is this: that little scenario is a paraphrase of: For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world – the prayer that makes up most of the chaplet of Divine Mercy. Our sins killed God’s Son. And praying those words is neither insensitive nor presumptuous – because those words are recommended to us by our Victim Himself as the perfect words to call forth His Father’s tender love (that is, His mercy and forgiveness) and some great favor (that is, our conversion and sanctification).
Pray the chaplet every day. Pray it at the Hour of Mercy ¾3:00 pm, the hour of Jesus’ death, the hour when God’s mercy, along with the Blood and Water from His Son’s Side, gushed out over you, me, and the whole world, gushed out to become an ocean to drown every sin. Pray a few chaplets a day (one chaplet only takes about five minutes). Pray one for yourself and your family. Pray one for your friends. Pray a chaplet for the dying, for the souls in Purgatory, for our leaders in the Church and in the world. Pray a chaplet for your enemies, like Jesus prayed for you, long before you loved Him.
Some people pray to the Father as though they were writing a letter to Santa Claus – whether they’re naughty or nice, that jolly, big Sweetie is bound to come through on Christmas morning with every present on their list. (Please – God is not Santa Claus.) Some seem to think of Jesus as Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter’s mentor – Great Wizard of White Magic, who can show them the secret words to make anything they want to happen, happen. (Know this – magic is a perverted imitation of Grace.) Some treat the Holy Spirit like a Celestial Slot Machine – put in enough coins and they’re gonna hit, they gotta hit, that jackpot. (Wrong – God’s promises are not a gamble, they’re a Sure Thing: the Holy Spirit‘s payoffs are free gifts.)
Don’t you be like those knuckleheads. When you pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy, pray it with an open heart. Pray it attentively, focused on Jesus. (As with the rosary, it is not necessary to concentrate 50 times on the meaning of the brief prayer you repeat 50 times; in such an attempt you risk zoning out and slipping into the snare Jesus condemned (Mt 6:7): thinking you’ll get God’s attention by multiplying words, by babbling the way the pagans do.) The important thing is to commune with God, to meditate on Jesus, your Friend, especially on the tremendous mercy shown you in the words and events of His Life, Death, and Resurrection. Don’t make your focus your horrid past, or your present sinfulness, or your radical unworthiness. Set your heart and your hope on Jesus’ suffering for you and on the Father’s great loving and merciful Heart: God wants to shower His love and mercy on you way more than you want to receive it – not because you deserve it, but because He is a Lover and a Giver.
Pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy every day and you will begin to experience God’s Goodness in a new and mysterious and powerful and very personal way.
Members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy commit to praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy one time each week, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, for all those who have had abortions and have not yet made their peace with God. We highly recommend, as mentioned in the article above, praying the Chaplet every day.
To learn how to pray the Chaplet, please visit the link on our right side bar.