Joy of the Lord

“The Mercy of the Lord I will sing forever. Before all peoples I will sing it.” Divine Mercy in my soul # 522

I was recently invited by my dear friends Patrick and Joy to sit in and host their 6PM Angelus on Facebook. The host it nightly on the their community, ‘The Cross of St. Benedict Society and Joyful Hope Ministries’, typically also shown in the Cross of St Benedict at 6am, noon and 6pm daily (EST).

From hosting the evening’s Angelus prayer and following talk, God reinforced in my heart how important His Divine Mercy is to every soul and how thankful I am that He opened my heart and chose to teach me in Divine Mercy. “O Inconceivable Trinity, no greater love is found than that of loving God” Divine Mercy in my soul # 507. That is so true for me personally and from that love of God, I’ve found myself to be able to be a more loving husband, father and friend.

To see the eyes of Jesus Christ is to find the absolute realization, the ultimate fulfillment, of our existence.

After Jesus came to my daughter the second time, she found the picture of Jesus as she saw Him. She commented about the image she found, “yes, that’s what He looks like but His eyes in the image aren’t quite right. They are so much more beautiful in real life.” When I was writing my book and got to this part, I was drawn to loon at what Colton said when he saw the painting in “Heaven is for real”. The words the boy said were very similar. This led me to an interview Akiane Kramarik had shortly after painting ‘The Prince of Peace’. She was asked if the painting was really Jesus, and replied basically that it was Him as she saw Him except for the eyes which she couldn’t capture the beautify of with paint and brush.

I fell to my knees in tears with the sudden realization that to look into the eyes of Jesus is to see love and mercy. When I gaze upon the eyes of Jesus In the Image of Divine Mercy, I can understand why Peter, James and and John would drop their nets and walk away from their business to follow Him. To look into the eyes of mercy, I understand how a sinful Matthew would walk out of the tax booth in His wake and how the tax collector, Zacchaeus, would pay back all those who he cheated.

Spend time today, a minute, 5, an hour, just gazing into the eyes of mercy in the image. As He looks across heaven’s divide and through time and space upon you, opening His Merciful Heart to pour His Divine Mercy our upon you.

I’ve included a picture with this post of the eyes of Jesus hanging in the Basilica of Divine Mercy in Kraków, Poland. Just ponder upon His Mercy. Let your heart focus with His gaze and feel His Mercy pouring out and flowing freely into it from His pierces Heart. No matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, soak in His Merciful gaze. And then, sing of His Divine Mercy with me as we join St. Faustina. “The Mercy of the Lord I will sing forever. Before all peoples I will sing it.” Divine Mercy in my soul # 522

“I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.” Psalm 16:8-9