Fears and Tears

Jesus, I trust in You, five words on a painting; spoken by the Lord to a young, Polish nun to have inscribed on an image. It is an image which the Lord described in great detail, what He desired to be depicted, and He commissioned her to have it painted by an artist. Jesus, I trust in You, words that were important then, and are important now; words that point to peace among fear, in a time of darkness and suffering, where World War II would soon break out upon the earth, trust and mercy are given to mankind, by these five words.

The image has Jesus in the center with darkness all around Him, blood and water flowing out from His most sacred heart, with one hand extended in a blessing and the other on His heart, where the light of love is bright and shines forth rays of white and red down upon us, His beloved.

Jesus called upon this young nun to write of His great love and mercy, to be His secretary for the Divine Mercy. After much struggle and doubt, and under the guidance of her spiritual director, she wrote in her diary, pages and pages of entries given to her from Jesus. She would later be canonized St. Faustina by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 1990, with the Feast of Divine Mercy to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.

Humanity must let itself be touched and pervaded by the Spirit given to it by the risen Christ. It is the Spirit who heals the wounds of the heart, pulls downs barriers that separate us from God and divide us from one another, and at the same time, restores the joy of the Father’s love, and of fraternal unity. Love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable. Pope John Paul II address on April 30, 1990

This year, as I sat in Church, gazing at the Divine Mercy Image, that was moved in front of the altar for the weekend, bitter tears stung my eyes and I wept. It was a burning and painful feeling and I couldn’t see for a moment, my vision was blurred and I had to close my eyes. My thoughts and fears seemed to run wild in my mind, and as the tears flowed, I poured out my feelings to the Lord silently. It was my prayer to the Lord, from my heart to His, He listened to me, He looked at me, and He answered me, not with words, but with peace in my heart.

The fear has returned to me again this week, and I say these beautiful five words, Jesus, I trust in You; I remember your five wounds, and I say, Jesus, I trust in You; I recite the five decades of the chaplet of Divine Mercy, and I say, Jesus, I trust in You.

Let all my desires, even the holiest, noblest and most beautiful, always take the last place, and Your Holy Will the very first. St. Faustina