At the bottom of every image of the Divine Mercy is the inscription, “Jesus, I trust in you.” This has been one of my favorite prayers for many years. In fact, encountering the divine mercy of Jesus played a significant role in my years of deeper conversion in college.
I know I am not alone in having an affinity for the image and message of Divine Mercy given to St. Faustina Kowalska (d. 1938). In fact, I know that many have even stronger and more fervent devotions to it than I, admittedly. I think the Divine Mercy is one of the greatest forces of modern evangelical Catholicism. Fr. Michael Gaitley goes so far as to call it the “Second Greatest Story Ever Told.” It’s hard to disagree.
The only reservation I have when it comes to such powerful messages as this (e.g., Divine Mercy, Lourdes, Sacred Heart, Fatima, Guadalupe, etc.) is that the gap between private revelation and public revelation can get a little too wide for my comfortability. Allow me to explain.
Here’s the quick catechesis breakdown. Apparitions and messages that have been approved by the Church are considered private revelation. That is to say, they have been approved as authentic and not containing any error, but also confirming that the message does not attempt to add or subtract anything from the deposit of faith. Public revelation, on the other hand, is the full deposit of faith handed down through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, under the service and shepherding of the Magisterium (the bishops of the world united around the Holy Father). Everything we need to know for our salvation is contained within this public revelation (cf. John 20:30-31; CCC 66-67; DV 4).
There is a notable number of Catholics in the modern era who live with a high degree of familiarity and practice of modern devotionals—like Divine Mercy—but have a strong disengagement with public sources of revelation, most especially with Sacred Scripture.
Now let me be crystal clear: I am not making a criticism. I sympathize strongly with those who have deep devotions to private sources of revelation. First, the Church confirmed that it was indeed the work of God in the life of his saints. Second, the graces that accompany these devotionals are life-changing. Additionally, and understandably, it’s hard at times to reconcile the merciful Jesus depicted by St. Faustina with the speech or activity of God, especially in the Old Testament. What that can amount to, though, is a distaste for Scripture and a favoritism for private revelation as preferable to public revelation.
If you happen to find yourself in that camp that I just described, don’t worry, you’re not doing anything wrong. Again, I’m not making a criticism. What I am doing is making an invitation to consider how the God who reveals himself in public revelation is the same God who reveals himself through private revelation(s), and when you see the two through the same lens, it becomes mind blowing.
Take, for example, the Gospel passage from Thursday of the Second Week of Easter (April 15):
The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him. (John 3:31-36)
Did you catch it? Remember the inscription that is written below every image of the Divine Mercy? Jesus, I Trust in You.
The same Jesus who spoke to Sister Kowalska in 20th century Poland is the same Jesus who spoke to the rogue Pharisee, Nicodemus, in 1st century Judea. It is the same Jesus who “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Phil 2:6), but took on our human nature, and came—why?—so that he could win back our trust. What an amazing way to think about the gospel.
Seen through this lens, we behold a God who relentlessly pursues us as lost sons and daughters, proving to us that he is a good Father who can be trusted. Too many times, faith is conceived of as our pursuit of God, not the other way around. But when we pay close attention to the work of Christ in the Gospels and in the lives of the saints, it is always Jesus who is the primary actor. No one ever climbed up to heaven to demand an encounter with the Lord (cf. Romans 10:6-7); it is always the Lord who stoops down to his children.
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)
This Easter season—the very season in which we celebrate God’s Divine Mercy—let us examine our hearts, minds, and actions to consider where we have not allowed ourselves to fully trust Jesus. Do I trust him with my future? My finances? Worries? Anxieties? Failures? Successes? Dreams? Or am I worried that if I hand it over to him that he will take it away or make it harder?
Take the leap of faith this Easter and place whatever that one thing is in his hands. Why? Because he has proved to us time and time again that he is trustworthy.
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