In fact, as He puts it: “On that day (this day) all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.”
And, with this promise, with this request, Jesus asked for something else as well, He asked that an image be made, an image, as He put it that must be: “solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly (He says) so that every soul may know about it.”
And, yet, we need only look at that image to know why He wants it to be seen. For, that image, like all images contains within it some of the most beautiful and powerful symbols. In fact, the image is dark, and the only light is from Jesus Himself, almost as if He is glowing. It is a symbol of how Jesus lights our path, and removes the darkness in our lives.
We can also see His wounds, the same wounds that became proof for St. Thomas in our Gospel today, that this is the same Jesus who not only died but rose again.
He is also raising His hand blessing us, and He is doing this while exposing His heart, to show us how much He loves us.
And from His heart there are two rays of light, one is red and one is white. The white is a symbol of the water that came from Jesus’ side when He was pierced with a lance, and is seen as a sign of Baptism. And, the red is a sign of the Eucharist, because just as blood is needed to keep us alive, the Eucharist keeps us spiritually alive.
Yet, if that weren’t enough, while it may seem a little insignificant, His eyes are facing down yet, as Jesus says: “My gaze from this image is such as the gaze from the cross” so that Jesus looks at us in this image in the same way and with the same love as He did when He was hanging upon the cross.
It is the same love that causes Him to take a step forward, as He is doing, so that He comes closer to us and appears in our midst as He did to those in the Gospel today, reminding us that His mercy is not just something we need to desire, it is something that He is eager to give us, waiting for us to take the next step.
And, if you look closely you will see something quite unique and different than most other paintings. There are words that Jesus Himself told St. Faustina to write, five simple, but incredibly challenging, words: “Jesus, I trust in you.”
It is an interesting choice of words, to say the least, because it is not: “Jesus, I love you,” not: “Jesus, I have faith in you,” not even “Jesus, I believe in you,” but “Jesus, I trust in you.”
But, if you think about it, that simple phrase implies them all.
Jesus, I trust in you.
We never fall in love, without establishing a level of trust, because we can never give ourselves over to someone completely unless we know it is safe, unless we know that we can rely on that person no matter what. When Jesus asks us to carry the cross He does so having already done it Himself, and though it may appear to be a burden, it is an extension of love, it is God showing us that, indeed, it is safe, but even more so, it is God reminding us that in order to truly rely on Him we have to allow ourselves to give up control.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Jesus once said that with faith the size of a mustard seed we could move mountains, yet all too often our faith is challenged by our mind, by our reason, our faith is challenged by our desire for proof, for tangible evidence. St. Thomas is a perfect example of this, he refused to believe until he saw, he refused to even exercise a mustard seed of faith and though he came to believe by seeing, Jesus says “blessed are those who have not seen and believed.”
This is why, at its core, faith is nothing more than an overwhelming trust in God, it does not demand miracles or signs but sees them every day, it is a simplicity of life, because it’s one and only desire is of God and His concerns.
Jesus, I trust in you.
We can never, ultimately, trust if we do not believe because belief itself is the greatest act of trust, belief itself is the greatest act of humility. It demands a complete abandonment, because it asks us and challenges us to go beyond our very selves and, with conviction, to declare the existence of the unseen and to confirm our love, our faith and our dependence upon Him.
Jesus, I trust in you.
At heart, whether we admit it or not, we are dependent people. We are incomplete without God. If anything, Divine Mercy is, quite simply, patience, God’s patience as He waits for us to understand this, that what trust truly is, is a giving of ourselves completely to God.
Jesus, I trust in you.
That is why, in the end, there is no better phrase that we can say, no better words that we can have upon our lips, because they encapsulate the boundless mercy of God and place us, simultaneously, at the foot of His cross and in the center of His Will.
Jesus, I trust in you.
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