The days are scary, just watch the news, they’ll tell you how frightening things are. We have Covid-19, natural disasters, crime, abortion, politicians, so many things that can make things look dark and foreboding. And, on top of this all, we have a 24 hour news cycle to remind us of all these fears.
In fact, I had someone recently ask me if I thought the Coronavirus was in the Book of Revelation. Actually, they weren’t asking, they already ‘knew’ this virus pointed to ‘the end times’. Honestly, I don’t know that answer. Jesus told us even He didn’t know, this is for the Father. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Matthew 24:36
This is way, way waaay above my pay-grade. Many sit in fear for all the ‘signs’, watching the news in terror.
But, that’s not what God wants of any of us. Sure, these could be the last days, or that day may be a long time in the future. That is God’s choice.
What God asks of us is simple trust. Trust in His Divine Mercy and love that nothing of this world can affect us. We rest in God’s hands. That’s why the painting was such a big deal for Jesus to have St Faustina complete. The painting is done to remind us of the moment Jesus walked into the upper room where His disciples sat in fear and anxiety. He walked inb
and blessed them and said to them, “peace be with you” and then reaffirmed that blessing by repeating, “peace be with you, as the Father has sent Me, so I send you” John 20:19,21
This is the same thing He is saying through the painting and through all of Mary’s appearances, through all the Bible and to me personally in those days when my daughter was in the ICU – “peace be with you – Trust in Me”.
When we surrender and trust Jesus with our fears, even offering them as sacrifices to Him, He gives us more peace than anything in this world can provide. Then, when we find this peace, He tells us the same thing He said to the disciples, “as the Father has sent Me, so I send you”. And we can reach out to those “still locked in the room in fear” and share His peace with them.