A Divine Mercy Meditation Novena – Day 3

Day 3 – A Look into His Heart

At the core of Divine Mercy is the open heart of Jesus. In the image revealed to St. Faustina, Jesus’s left hand is pulling back his tunic to allow the love of his heart, in the form of the two rays, to burst forth into the world.

Here is the image of his left hand pulling his tunic back to reveal his heart:

In my own interpretation, I tried to give a gentleness to his action. Jesus is pulling open his tunic, but not ripping it open. This is the risen Jesus, calm, eternal, peaceful.  His mercy is eternal; he has all day!

That Jesus was a man deeply in touch with the world and with his own heart is evident throughout the Gospels. He was not passive before the events of his life, but acted and reacted to what he experienced. Consider the following moments in the life of Jesus: He wept over Jerusalem. He wept for Lazarus. He rejoiced in the Spirit. He blessed and embraced little children. He walked prayerfully through the fields, thirsted by a well, and became angry and drove the money changers from the temple. He had friendships with men and women alike. He grew tired and slept in a boat. He loved and obeyed his mother. He suffered a deep sorrow in Gethsemane. He sweat blood before his passion yet remained steadfast to his Father’s will.

Jesus, the Son of God, descended to Earth to become one of us. He did not display a god-like immutability or indifference. He did not remain aloof to our existence. He illustrated this very “human” complaint to St. Faustina one day:

During Holy Hour today, Jesus complained to me about the ingratitude of souls:
In return for My blessings, I get ingratitude. In return for My love, I get
forgetfulness and indifference. My Heart cannot bear this.(Divine Mercy in My Soul #1537)

This is not the comment of an indifferent, untouchable God, but of a God of mercy and love who longs for his children with the love of a father.

In May of 1926, a few weeks after St. Faustina took her religious habit, Pope Pius XI published this Church teaching. He wrote: 

Now if, because of our sins also which were as yet in the future, but were foreseen, the soul of Christ became sorrowful unto death, it cannot be doubted that then, too, already He derived somewhat of solace from our reparation, which was likewise foreseen, when “there appeared to Him an angel from heaven” (Luke 23:43), in order that His Heart, oppressed with weariness and anguish, might find consolation. And so even now, in a wondrous yet true manner, we can and ought to console that Most Sacred Heart which is continually wounded by the sins of thankless men.  Pope Pius XI in Miserentissimus Redemptor

This is consoling the Heart of Jesus, which can be our own response to the image of Divine Mercy. It is a response of trust in the merciful Jesus.  Every one of us is invited to become that nameless, faceless angel in the Garden of Gethsemane that the Father sent to strengthen and console his son. We are truly able to console the suffering heart of Jesus historically and mystically, both then and now.

Christ in Gethsemane
by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834-1890)

PRAYER:

Today let us pray for all the Christian faithful, that we may be apostles of mercy and through our lives console the Heart of Jesus.

O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy (Divine Mercy in My Soul #163).