Childlike Divine Mercy and a Big Fish

 

St. Pius X Chapel at the Josephinum. The image of the Divine Mercy is adjacent to a confessional behind the wall. This has been my go-to spot for every 3:00 time of prayer.

        St. Therese of Lisieux, a powerful yet unexpected doctor of the Church, explained her trouble of avoiding sin and living in the will of God in this way:

    "All is well when one seeks nothing but the Divine Will; that is why the little flower obeys Jesus by trying to please those who hold His place on earth. You know that I have always wanted to be a Saint; but compared with real Saints, I know perfectly well that I am no more like them than a grain of sand trodden beneath the feet of passersby is like a mountain with its summit lost in the clouds... I must find an elevator to take me straight up to Jesus, because I am too little to climb the steep stairway of perfection... Your arms, My Jesus, are the elevator which will take me up to Heaven. There is no need for me to grow up; on the contrary, I must stay little, and become more and more so." -St. Therese of Lisieux, Story of a Soul.

    When reading this quote without the context of the rest of St. Therese's life, you may think of her as the saint she is often known as today, following her "little way" so as to live in the will of God perfectly. So, if you have not read the Story of a Soul before (which I highly encourage you to consider), you will not fully understand the importance of this realization in the journey of St. Therese.

    St. Therese of Lisieux was a bit of a brat. Growing up as the youngest child in a middle-class family meant that her melancholic personality formed her to become an emotional, impatient child, with weak self-control. St. Therese explains how it was only the truly miraculous grace of God that made her overcome these vices. As you read the Story of a Soul, a large part of the beauty of the writing comes from St. Therese's realization of how the mercy of God formed her throughout her entire life, weaving together graces and experiences to create a saint in a young woman who did not deserve any of it. With joy and humility, St. Therese exults the divine mercy that brought her, moment by moment, from childishness to childlikeness. Experiencing the mercy of God was not a one time event for St. Therese, but a lifelong transformation through times of greater trust in the plan of the Lord.

    It is for this reason that the phrase, "Jesus, I Trust in You" is inscribed on every image of the Divine Mercy. Jesus told St. Faustina,

    “The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is — trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive.” -Diary of St. Faustina

    We receive the mercy of God through childlike trust. Look again on the analogy that St. Therese uses of a child attempting to climb the stairs. The child tries over and over to get even on the first step, but is too small to scale what seems to be a great height. Is the solution for the child to "grow up," climbing the stairs through the sweat of her brow, with repeated attempts of muscle? No! The child will not only fail to ascend the steps, but will fall and hurt herself. But if the child calls for her father, she will be carried in His strong, safe arms, and go where she needs to go. This is a great act of trust, for the father can climb the stairs as quickly or as slowly as he likes, and it is not up to the child which staircase she wishes to use. If the child is too big or too squirmy, there will be problems along the way! However, if the child dares to trust more and more in the Father's good will and love for her, she will be brought to heaven mercifully and joyfully.

    Lets now turn from the story of one soul to the story of another, less successful one. Jonah was a bit of a brat. Though he was given the gift of the Holy Spirit in prophecy, a rarity in the days of the Old
Testament (today, all who are baptized have this gift!), he did not trust, and he ran from the call of the Lord. God taught Jonah humility in the belly of a big fish (or a whale), and Jonah was given a second chance to proclaim the mercy of the Lord to the people of Nin'eveh. Jonah accepted Divine Mercy!

    And, against all odds, the people of Nin'eveh immediately and drastically returned to the mercy of the Lord after only one day. All of creation responded to the call for repentance with complete trust in the Lord; Men and beasts covered their heads with ashes and fasted from food and from water, hoping that maybe, just maybe, God would have mercy. As all of creation- humans, animals, plants (the plant was appointed to cover the head of Jonah), the winds and the sun (to later beat down upon Jonah)- turned and with complete, childlike trust gave themselves over to Divine Mercy, God had endless, inexhaustible mercy on them all.

    Yet there was one who refused this mercy, even after he was given a second try and a great success from God: Jonah. Jonah was too focused on himself and wanted only his will, and like children who have grown and lost their innocence, was sore that his idea of justice did not happen. It's not fair!

    "I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy, and that you repent of evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take my life from me, I beg you, for it is better for me to die than to live." -Jonah 4:2-3

    This is why Jesus says to the scribes and Pharisees, men given great gifts to be children of God, the chosen ones of God's people:

    "The men of Nin'eveh will arise at the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." -Matthew 12:41

    This is childlike trust in the Divine Mercy of God: learning to be little children who know that they are undeserving of mercy, yet humbly begging for it at every moment in our love for the Father. Little children fall and break things often, yet in their humility and contrition they trust in the tender, merciful love of their parents. This is why we must say to the source of all Divine Mercy: Jesus, I Trust in You.

    Let us pray a prayer I learned from a holy priest:

    O Mother, Queen of Divine Mercy and Queen of Peace, You delivered into the world your Son, Emmanuel, "God with us" and Prince of Peace. We pray that you might deliver Him anew into our hearts and into the world, that His joy might be in us and that our joy might be full. Help us to turn to your Son with trust in His Divine Mercy. May we come to know your great maternal love for us, so as to cry tears of joy to cleanse our hearts and transform the world.

    Amen.