As Divine Mercy Sunday comes again this year, we’re reminded that Jesus not only meant for us to trust in him one day a year, but to trust in him every day in every situation, from daily problems to worldwide pandemics.

“In the state of the world we live in now, Jesus has not only given us his image of Divine Mercy, but ended it with his signature, ‘Jesus, I Trust in You,’” emphasized Emily Jaminet, who co-wrote two books on Divine Mercy (learn more at EmilyJaminet.com).

“Trusting Jesus is knowing that he is there in the good times and in the bad. This moment in time is difficult. We’re trusting the Lord to provide not only physically but spiritually. Grace is greater than any physical gift; actually the greatest gift the Lord is offering us through trust in him.”

Jaminet and her husband, John, have seven children, who range in age from 4 to 20 years old. The family is all together now, with the two eldest home from college due to the coronavirus crisis.

The children view the situation in light of the Divine Mercy message, according to their mother.

“I see they’re trusting in the Lord because that’s been our ongoing messaging since they were little — we’re not in control,” Jaminet said.

At the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Father Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception emphasized how Jesus said “… trust is the vessel by which all grace is received. You don’t get grace until you have trust. And the more trust we have, the more God can fill us with grace” (see St. Faustina’s diary, 1578).

 

Trusting Jesus

Father Alar, the director of the Association of Marian Helpers, pointed out that “Jesus, I Trust in You in Greek actually says Jesus I ‘Faith’ in You because faith and trust are intertwined. If I believe in you or believe something, I have to put it into practice or I don’t truly believe it. I have to put that belief into action.” Father Alar emphasized, “Jesus said we must believe in him to get to heaven, but in order to truly believe, we must trust.”

He continued, “What is the Word of God? Jesus. Jesus is the Word of the Father. When the Father speaks, we have the Eternal Word. That’s why Jesus said we must trust in him.”

 

Actions Count

Father Alar said that when we trust God we put our belief in his word into action. “To believe in the word of God means to live it — then I trust.”

“Jesus tells us the right road,” explained Father Alar. “If we trust him, we follow that road, the way he tells us it is, not our own way.”

“That road is the commandments,” Father Alar said. “And to live those commandments, our offer of help from God is Mary and the sacraments. So if we truly trust God, we accept the offer of his gift of Mary and Divine Mercy, and within God’s Divine Mercy is Christ and the sacraments.”

This is why there has to be trust in Jesus every day of the year and not just on Divine Mercy Sunday.

He stressed, “We need to accept the help God gives us through Mary and Divine Mercy, which is given to us through the sacraments, every day of the year” by going to Mass every opportunity we can; by consecrating ourselves to the Blessed Mother, every morning putting ourselves in her hands; praying for her intercession every day. “That’s not just for Divine Mercy Sunday, but every day.”

 

Trust — and Live Mercy

Using examples from her own life and family, Emily Jaminet said Catholic parents must show their belief in God and that they trust in his mercy and loving care by how they live. That means, she said, “first by how we live our obligation as Catholics.” That means going to Mass, even at this time of no public Masses.

Mass has not been “canceled,” as Masses are still being said privately by priests all over the world, with many Masses livestreamed or televised for the participation of the faithful in their domestic churches.

“The Mass has definitely not been canceled. We are unable to have public celebrations of the Mass as a prudent measure to protect our people in our community from the spread of this deadly and contagious virus. Priests continue to celebrate Holy Mass and are finding creative ways to allow their people to connect to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass through technology,” explained Father Jonathan Wilson, pastor of St. Paul the Apostle parish in Westerville, Ohio.

Father Wilson, who is Jaminet’s brother, added, “We might say that people are participating in the Mass in new ways and also rediscovering the gift of the Mass in new ways, where before some may have taken it for granted.”

“We’re blessed to enter into our faith” via the media amid this crisis, Jaminet said.

“Devotion, family prayer, creating an environment at home that reflects our faith” is essential, she said. The Jaminet family has been gathering for prayer in the evenings after dinner. “During this time of social isolation we’ve been praying the full Rosary.”

She added, “Now we’re focused on what matters most. For that we have to trust Jesus. The Divine Mercy message is a message of hope, and this is what we need in the climate of the times we live in, for sure.” The Divine Mercy message is all about “trusting God with ourselves, our family, our future.”

She shared how St. Faustina wrote that being merciful includes service (diary, 742). “Real mercy is also: What can I do to soften the pain of others around us?” Jaminet said. “That’s when the Holy Spirit is going to work in our hearts.”

That’s exactly what registered nurse Marie Romagnano does as the founder of Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy, a Divine Mercy outreach of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception (TheDivineMercy.org/healthcare).

“Trusting in Jesus is a way of life for those that have had the privilege of being health-care providers. … The health-care profession is the practical application of mercy,” Romagnano said, adding that Marian Father Seraphim Michalenko, rector of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy and director of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy, both located in Stockbridge, told group members that the health-care provider is “the merciful presence of Jesus.”

Considering the present world situation, she said, “Now is a good time to see how good and merciful Our Lord is and turn to him. In the middle of a crisis, ‘Jesus, I Trust in You’ is very powerful. … It’s what we should be saying in our heart all the time. The Divine Mercy image is the hope of our patients and health-care professionals.”

Romagnano would like to see every health-care provider have a holy card with the Divine Mercy image in order to place patients in the trusting care of Christ as Divine Mercy. (Holy cards are available from the Marian Fathers online at ShopMercy.org and 800-462-7426.) She said Father Michalenko also said the Divine Mercy image in health care is so important because it bathes patients in the rays of mercy. Jesus told Faustina, “Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter [of the rays of mercy]” (diary of St. Faustina, 299).

Nurses, doctors and other health-care providers may be the last people a patient sees, so it is vital their eternal salvation is kept in mind amid caring for their physical needs.

Romagnano has seen the transformative effect of trusting in Jesus in her nursing work: “I have had patients recover praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and having the image in the room.”

Joseph Pronechen is a Register staff writer.

 

 

 

Prayers for Patients and Caregivers

Marie Romagnano, R.N., the founder of Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy, a Divine Mercy outreach of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, says the Divine Mercy image becomes a special transmitter of divine blessings to patients because of Our Lord’s great promises in St. Faustina’s diary: “Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties, obtain for them trust in my mercy, because they have most need of trust and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer” (1777). “By means of this image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so let every soul have access to it” (570). “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as my own glory” (48).

For nurses, she recommends prayers for nurses in Nursing With the Hands of Jesus: A Guide to Nurses for Divine Mercy, a free booklet available online at: https://images.marianweb.net/archives/flip/NTHJ/.

“The Lord’s promises are secure and can be depended upon,” said Marian Father Seraphim Michalenko, rector of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy and director of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy, both located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. “We must trust him, otherwise it will not benefit us if we do not believe he acts on his promises. Distrust of the Lord is what hurts him the most.”

Resources to aid devotion may be found at: EWTNRC.com/Divine-Mercy.

— Joseph Pronechen