The Divine Mercy and the Holy Friendship

THE DIVINE MERCY IMAGE.
Image from theworkofgod.org via google.com

Tomorrow is the Octave of Easter, the Second Sunday of Easter, and it is celebrated as the Divine Mercy Sunday, a relatively new Feast established by Blessed Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000 during the canonization of St Faustina Kowalska of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Many of us are familiar about the Three O'Clock Habit, when we pray to the Lord of mercy for the salvation of sinners. It is usually prayed at three in the afternoon because it is at this moment when the Lord died, a death which freed humanity from the bondage to sin and purchased for mankind his eternal salvation.

The Divine Mercy Image shows us two rays in red and white colors, with the red rays signifying His blood, the life of souls, and the white rays, the water, that makes souls righteous, which flowed out from His side along the His blood when He was pierced by the Roman soldier with a lance or spear. For a more detailed explanation about the image, go here.

The Divine Mercy devotion specifically invites us to meditate on the great love of God for mankind, a love which led Him to send His only begotten Son to die upon the cross to save mankind from his bondage to sin so that he may gain access to heaven. Through the piercing of the Lord's side, his agonizing heart was cut and opened further releasing the greatness of God's love through the blood and water which flowed out from His wounded side. 

On the previous night, during the Last Supper, the Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist, the great memorial of His love for mankind, by which continued celebration we remember His passion, death and resurrection, until He comes again in glory [1 Corinthians 11:26]. He also declared during that night the great command to love one another through which the world will know His disciples [see John 13: 34-35]. The great manifestations of His love was finally crowned by the flowing out of blood and water from His heart on that Good Friday hour.

The Divine Mercy is therefore closely connected with the Holy Friendship for without God's mercy and love, we can never enter into a holy and intimate relationship with God. His love and mercy has ever since moved God to establish an intimate relationship with humanity, starting with the creation, giving mankind the special gift of sharing His image and likeness [see Genesis 1 to 2], and of keeping mankind under His protection even when man sinned against Him, thereby rejecting His friendship and love [see stories of the Patriarchs, Moses, the Judges, the Kings, the Prophets, etc], then through the sending of His only begotten Son who freed mankind from his bondage to sin [see John 3:16], and by letting the Holy Spirit make man's body as His temple to protect him from the clutches of evil [1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19]. 

God has been making the initiative in inviting humanity to enter into a special friendly relationship with Him. Only Abraham has been recorded in the Bible as God's friend [see 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23] though there are a lot of holy men and women in the Bible who have shown very close relationship with God or have shown great zeal for His law and have been appreciated by Him as worthy of His friendship [for example, see Number 25: 6-12]. Then the Lord during the Last Supper have opened the possibility of us becoming His friends if we will only love one another in the same manner that He loved us: by giving one's life for the sake of another [see John 15: 12-17]. 

As we celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday, let us be reminded that God loved us first because He wanted us to share in His glory and perfection [see 1 John 4: 10, 19; Ephesians 1:4]. If He did not love us and if He did not want us to enjoy eternal bliss, He would not have created us in the first place. So we must also love Him in return, keeping ourselves unstained by the world and loving one another as He loved us [see James 1:27]. 

A blessed Divine Mercy Sunday to everyone!