Year of Mercy, “…Time to Heal Wounds”: 8 Ways

On April 11, 2015, Pope Francis stood in front of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica handing out copies of the Year of Mercy “Bull of Indiction” to the priests of the major basilicas of Rome and to Vatican officials. Inside St. Peter’s Basilica, portions of the 9,300-word proclamation were read aloud and then Pope Francis processed into St. Peter’s Basilica to celebrate first vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday, 2015.

In his homily at vespers, the pope said that he proclaimed the Year of Mercy because “It is the favorable time to heal wounds, a time not to be weary of meeting all those who are waiting to see and touch with their hands the signs of the closeness of God, a time to offer everyone the way of forgiveness and reconciliation.”

In a recent media interview the inquirer asked me, “Who needs to be healed?” I responded, “Who doesn’t?” Will we live this favorable time intensely and allow divine mercy to heal wounds?

Sin sickness is a wound that we all share. We can learn to cover it up so that everything appears well from the outside. We know how to get up each day and go to work. We have our daily routines and perform our duties. But in the stillness of the night we ask, “Is this all there is?” Deep inside we hope for more. This is by God’s design. He made us for the more. But what is it? God. Heaven. Eternal Life. Beatitude. We long for these. Our longing for the more is meant to urge us forward to the goal. Too often on the journey we get sidetracked, wounded, forgetful, and attacked from within and without. As the Holy Door has opened, also our hearts must open. Then divine mercy provides for healing, holiness and happiness.

Where to begin?

We can decide to live the Jubilee of Mercy with intentionality, intensity and integrity.The Jubilee offers the promise of extraordinary grace. Using an acronym for the word MERCIFUL, here are eight suggestions meant to be practical but purposeful.

M ercy: manifesting forgiveness
E ucharistic: encountering Incarnate Mercy
R econciliation: healing through Confession
C onfidence: trust
I ntentional: mercy in the present moment
F aithful: spiritual & corporal works of mercy
U nity: mercy in relationships
L ove: self-emptying mercy

1. Mercy: manifesting forgiveness

Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan is featured in my new book (God’s Healing Mercy) as an exemplary “profile in mercy”. He was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for many years. The following quote reveals the healing power of forgiveness.

“It was very hard for my guards to understand when I spoke about loving our enemies, reconciliation and forgiveness. “Do you really love us?” “Yes, I really love you.” “Even when we cause you pain? When you suffer because you’re in prison without trial?” “Look at all the years we’ve been spent together. Of course, I love you!” “And when you get out, will you tell your people to find us and beat us and hurt our families?” “I’ll continue to love you even if you wish to kill me.” “But why?” “Because Jesus taught us to love always; if we don’t, we are no longer worthy to be called Christians.” (God’s Healing Mercy, pg. 78 )

Who is capable of such merciful love and courage? Grace makes us capable of heroic virtuous mercy. Our fallen nature may prefer to cry out “Justice! Vengeance!” But we are capable of loving those who do not love us in return. After all, Christ loved us first when we did not love Him. What prevents us from repeating Christ’s words from the cross when with dying breath He prayed for his persecutors, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do?” Christ gives forgiveness but He cannot force us to accept it. Knowing that we are “receivers” of divine mercy is key to becoming a vessel of mercy for others.

St. Phillip Neri teaches us an important lesson about the poison of unforgiveness: “If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix, and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him, and not only forgave His enemies, but even prayed His Heavenly Father to forgive them also. Let him remember that when he prays the Our Father, every day, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down vengeance on himself.” Who can afford to call down vengeance upon himself?

2. Eucharistic: encountering Incarnate Mercy

Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, “The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host.” We become active participants in the drama of salvation through Eucharistic intimacy. Blessed Mother Teresa wrote, “The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time that you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in heaven, and will help bring about an everlasting peace on earth.”

Some complain that the Mass is boring or that they have no time for Adoration. They rob themselves of the intimacy that is realized by living an intensely Eucharistic life. They long for healing but deprive themselves of the Divine Physician and the medicine of mercy.

The Eucharist is meant to become the “heart” of our life. Christ asks that we show up.  Jesus told St. Faustina: “My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and for poor sinners…for whom I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy. I desire to bestow My graces upon souls, but they do not want to accept them.”

3. Reconciliation: healing through Confession

St. Faustina recorded the Lord’s words, “When you approach the confessional, know this, I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul.”

Christ emptied every drop of His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sin. Do you seeking healing? Let it begin with the words, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”

When I unburden myself in the confessional I lay down the weight of my sin at the feet of the Good Shepherd. With the words of absolution, rivers of mercy flow into my heart and heal my sin-sickness. Confession sets me free for the works of mercy.

St. Isidore of Seville wrote, “Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in confession; in confession there is a chance for mercy.”

4. Confidence: Trust

Christ told St. Faustina, “Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust! Such a soul professes that I am holy and just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness” (Diary 300).

St. Faustina also heard from Jesus, “My child, know that all the greatest obstacles to holiness are discouragement and an exaggerated anxiety. These will deprive you of the ability to practice virtue. All temptations united together ought not disturb your interior peace, not even momentarily. Sensitiveness and discouragement are the fruits of self-love. You should not become discouraged, but strive to make My love reign in the place of your self-love. Have confidence, My child.” (Diary, 1487).

5. Intentional: mercy in the present moment

When Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was imprisoned he created a “rule of life” for himself. He decided not to live his time in prison in a state of waiting. He decided to live in the grace of the present moment, to make the jail his mission field, the prison his cathedral. He would not lose the grace of the present moment because He would meet Jesus there. He did not compartmentalize his faith in prison. He integrated it into his daily life and consequently brought many unbelievers to Jesus.

We can decide (an act of the will) to live the Jubilee Year intentionally in the grace of the present moment. This means releasing the past to God and not worrying about the future because it is in Christ’s hands.

St. Faustina prayed, “O Jesus, I want to live in the present moment, to live as if this were the last day of my life. I want to use every moment scrupulously for the greater glory of God, to use every circumstance for the benefit of my soul. I want to look upon everything, from the point of view that nothing happens without the will of God.”

6. Faithful: spiritual & corporal works of mercy

The corporal works of mercy are: 1) feed the hungry, 2) give drink to the thirsty, 3) clothe the naked, 4) shelter the homeless, 5) visit the sick, 6) ransom the captive, 7) bury the dead.

The spiritual works of mercy are: 1) instruct the ignorant, 2) counsel the doubtful, 3) admonish sinners, 4) bear wrongs patiently, 5) forgive offenses willingly, 6) comfort the afflicted, 7) pray for the living and the dead. In the mentioned bull, Pope Francis speaks of the importance of undertaking these works of mercy.

7. Unity: mercy in relationships

The healing of relationships in marriage, family and the church begins with myconversion of heart so that I radiate God’s merciful love that unifies. Too often unforgiveness tears apart our relationships. Rampant division among the people of God not only displeases Him but it also weakens us. Is our heart and house united or divided? The Holy Spirit is a unifier, healer and restorer. Christ-like mercy is compassionate, not complicit. It requires sacrifice, not compromise, for the sake of a greater love that is priceless, permanent, and perfect. But there is mercy that unifies, is noble, beautiful and dynamic. It does not count the cost. It just loves selflessly and attracts others for the greater works of mercy. Where there is intentional merciful discipleship there is unity.

8. Love: self-emptying mercy

Pope Francis’ Prayer for the Jubilee: Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face, and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money; freed the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; made Peter weep after his betrayal, and assured Paradise to the repentant thief. Let us hear as if to each of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman, “If you knew the gift of God!” You are the visible face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy; let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified. You willed that your ministers would also be clothed with weakness in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error: let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God. Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Author’s note: Excerpts from God’s Healing Mercy are included in this article. It is available from Sophia Institute Press. 

The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy Begins

HOLY DOOR - ROME

As the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy begins, the Catholic Pulse web site has published an article by Kathryn Jean Lopez titled, "Go to the Mother of Mercy: Beginning the Jubilee of Mercy". In it Kathryn gives us several excerpts from Kathleen Beckman's newest book for the Holy Year of Mercy called, "God's Healing Mercy". Pope Francis invites us all to see the face of Mercy in Jesus Christ, but also the Mother of Mercy, as Pope Francis refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This article can be a start for you and Kathleen's book can be a way to enter into this Jubilee Year of Mercy with the passion that comes from hearing the Merciful Words of God. You can read the article on Catholic Pulse by clicking >here.
May God guide you and bless you as you enter into your year of mercy.

Mary & The Advent of God's Healing Mercy

Mary is also the one who obtained mercy, in a particular and exceptional way, as no other person has. At the same time, still in an exceptional way, she made possible with the sacrifice of her heart her own sharing in revealing God’s mercy.
— John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia

Struggling humanity waited with hope for centuries. Then the merciful Triune God made an astonishing and utterly unpredictable move. In the fullness of time, the Savior was sent from heaven to earth to heal humanity of sin, evil, and death. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father said yes to the plan first. He became Incarnate Mercy because humanity desperately needed a Savior to heal the infection of original sin transmitted from our first parents, Adam and Eve.

Also, the yes of another person would be required. Mary’s yes to God would forever change the course of human history. Absent original sin she was chosen to be the New Eve. Humanity needed a new Eve because the original woman of the Garden of Eden said no to God instead of yes. Saying no to God is never a good idea. The consequences are real and serious.

Mary’s yes to God is rooted in her humble, docile heart intimately attuned to God’s word. When Mary pronounced her complete yes to God’s mysterious plan for redemption, she elevated every human yes to God. With her cooperation God made her the Mother of Incarnate Mercy. Born of a dual yes, the Church is the hospital of divine mercy. God made Mary a maternal vessel of mercy for ailing mankind.

Mother of Mercy

No one has experienced, to the same degree as the Mother of the crucified One, the mystery of the cross, the overwhelming encounter of divine transcendent justice with love: that “kiss” given by mercy to justice. No one has received into his heart, as much as Mary did, that mystery, that truly divine dimension of the redemption effected on Calvary by means of the death of the Son, together with the sacrifice of her maternal heart, together with her definitive “fiat.”

Mary, then, is the one who has the deepest knowledge of the mystery of God’s mercy. She knows its price, she knows how great it is. In this sense, we call her the Mother of mercy: our Lady of mercy, or Mother of divine mercy; in each one of these titles there is a deep theological meaning, for they express the special preparation of her soul, of her whole personality, so that she was able to perceive, through the complex events, first of Israel, then of every individual and of the whole of humanity, that mercy of which “from generation to generation” people become sharers according to the eternal design of the most Holy Trinity.

-Pope John Paul II, Dives in Misercordia, 9.

Mary Opens the Door for Healing Mercy

This article is adapted from a chapter in God’s Healing Mercy, available from Sophia Institute Press.

God sent forth his Son, but to prepare a body for him, he wanted the free co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of His Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, “a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death, so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life (cf.LG, 61).

Without Mary’s cooperation with grace, we would not have Jesus, The Divine Mercy. Could we consider Mary’s Immaculate Heart to be the threshold of the first holy door of mercy? Perhaps the most extravagant gift of the Incarnation can be considered the truly extraordinary Jubilee—a time of joy, of remission of sins and universal pardon for those who are sorry and welcome the Savior?

Mary not only gives us Jesus, but she also helps us to listen with our hearts, hear His voice, and receive His love. Mary helps us to rediscover God’s healing mercy.

• Mary’s faith helps to heal our unbelief.
• Mary’s humility helps to heal our pride.
• Mary’s receptivity helps to heal our resistance.
• Mary’s hope helps to heal our discouragement.
• Mary’s love helps to heal our brokenness.
• Mary’s mercy is medicine for our wounds.
• Mary’s courage helps us to slay our Goliaths (cf. 1 Sam. 17).

Mary exemplifies merciful discipleship when she ponders Mercy Incarnate, attunes her heart to the Father’s will, and abides in docility with the Holy Spirit. Who better than Mary can help us to receive the healing medicine of divine mercy?

Mary implores us to pray with the heart and listen to her Son so He can bless, enlighten, heal, and strengthen us for the arduous journey to the Father’s House. Mary is always a merciful mother. Her communion with divine mercy compels her to help us. We are comforted that the Prodigal Son’s father welcomed him back home with open arms. We are consoled when the Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep to search for the one lost lamb. What of Mary? Perhaps our merciful Mother extends a unique spiritual umbilical cord by which we are connected to receive maternal medicine.

Through the Holy Door into the Healing Hospital

Soon the universal Church will witness the opening of the Holy Doors in four Patriarchal Churches in Rome, a sign signaling the opening of the floodgates of Divine Mercy. The Vicar of Christ called for a year of the Lord’s favor. He invites us to live this time with intensity. God, through His Church, grants extraordinary occasions of divine favor as seen in Scripture and Tradition. The Jubilee of Mercy is an opportunity for plenary indulgences for the forgiveness of sin. Who can fathom the corporate sum of humanity’s sin? It is painful enough to consider my own sins and the resulting wounds. Every authentic examination of conscience is a reality check. We need God’s mercy!

Luke’s Gospel tells the story of the healing of the paralytic man whose friends lowered him through the roof of the house where Jesus was preaching.

“But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When He saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” When the Pharisees protested Christ answered, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the one who was paralyzed—“I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.” Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home glorifying God” (Luke 5:17-39).

Mary’s compassion functions for us as did the friends compassion for the paralytic man in need of God’s healing mercy. If we allow, Mary will carry us over the threshold of the Holy Door and accompany us into the hospital of the Church. She will untie the bandages we tightly wrapped around our wounds so they can be exposed for healing medicine. Into the crimson ocean of mercy we go to be washed, healed and recreated.

On one Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), Sister Faustina Kowalska wrote in her diary:

I will spend this Advent in accordance with the directions of the Mother of God: in meekness and humility. I am reliving these moments with Our Lady. With great longing, I am waiting for the Lord’s coming. Great are my desires. I desire that all humankind come to know the Lord. I would like to prepare all nations for the coming of the Word Incarnate. O Jesus, make the fount of Your mercy gush forth more abundantly for humankind is seriously ill and thus we have more need than ever for Your compassion. You are the bottomless sea of mercy for us sinners; and the greater the misery, the more right we have to Your mercy. You are a fount which makes all creatures happy by Your infinite mercy. (792-793).

Beloved Mother of Mercy, graciously lead us across the threshold of the holy door of the Jubilee Year that we may personally encounter God’s healing mercy.

Editor’s note: This is largely an excerpt from the newly released book, God’s Healing Mercy available from Sophia Institute Press.

Death, Combat and Prayer Power

Walking into a room to visit an eighty six year old priest friend who was convalescing after open-heart surgery five months ago, I asked, “Father, what are you doing?” He replied, “I’m talking to the Lord” as he focused on a large, life-like crucifix hanging on the wall next to his bed. “May I ask what you and the Lord are talking about?” “Sure, I am asking Jesus why He left me here since I nearly died several times but I’m still here!” I asked, “Did Jesus tell you anything about that?” Father replied, “He said I’m not finished yet. There is more that He asks of me— more prayer, more sacrifice, more love.”

Prayer and sacrifice is Father’s daily life now as his kidneys failed after surgery so he is hooked up to a dialysis machine three times a week. Even in his weakened physical state, he arises at 4:45 AM for dialysis appointments. He hasn’t tasted food for five months since the surgery. He’s given liquid nutrition by gastric tube. After surgery this priest spent two and a half months hospitalized in cardiac intensive care. He was very close to death; a few times he flat-lined. Once the hospital called his family to come quickly since they believed that Father would not be revived.

Spiritual Combat

Father, a priest of fifty-five years, shared that during the post-operative convalescent time he experienced great combat over his soul. “The devil is terrible with his onslaughts! He tempts me, “See, priest, your God is mean and he wants you to suffer more. Suffer, suffer, suffer—that crucifix is just suffering. He has forgotten you! He doesn’t care. You are all alone now. You are mine. There is no heaven. I’ll take you now.” Father reported that he was aware of many good angels in battle against the evil ones. He suffered much in this spiritual combat.

I asked if he was able to pray or how did he respond to the demonic attacks? Father shared, “I gathered all the strength of my will and made acts of faith in Jesus Christ. I prayed repeatedly, “Jesus, I trust in You” and often I just repeated the name of Jesus. I reminded myself of the articles of faith professed in the Creed and I repeated, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, etc.” He persevered in spiritual combat that is real: “I think the evil spirits perceived I was near death, in a weak condition and they attacked—beastly cowards!” His vast priestly experience of helping people near death somewhat prepared him for the reality of the devil’s violence.

This very ill priest exercised faith, hope and love even when he felt he was losing the battle. Weeks turned into months of struggle. Presently he is in a state of peaceful surrender, a strong intercessor for the Church still. His priestly ministry continues in the gift of self-sacrifice and the offering of suffering for the conversion of souls. He tells me, “I want to embrace humanity and offer it back to the Eternal Father in union with Christ on the Cross. So many souls to save!” This, from a very tough Navy man who was surprised by God when, while in the Navy as a young man, he read, “Seven Story Mountain” by Thomas Merton. Something happened in his heart. Upon discharge from the Navy he was headed to Notre Dame University. After reading the book he felt an inspiration to visit a Trappist Monastery on his way to Notre Dame. In accordance with God’s will (forsaking his best made plan) he entered the Trappist Monastery where he remained for seventeen years before Christ called him to diocesan priesthood in the diocese near his family.

Father has had to surrender his independence because of physical infirmities but he priestly soul radiates the love of the pierced heart of Jesus even more powerfully these days. I look forward to my visits with Father as he hears my confession weekly—a profound gift!

Prayer Power

Since I’ve journeyed with this sick priest for the past five months (along with many other people in our diocese who cherish his priesthood), I’ve been thinking of the simplicity and power of the prayer that Father offered during intense spiritual combat. There is a good lesson here.

Where does the power of prayer come from? The power of Christian prayer derives from a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ. It is the action of God and of man springing forth from the Holy Spirit (cf. CCC 2564). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays.

Peter Kreeft helps us to understand the power of prayer in his catechesis on “Jesus” The shortest, simplest, and most powerful prayer in the world:

The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power,” says St. Paul (1 Cor. 4:20). The reason this prayer is so powerful is that the name of Jesus is not just a set of letters or sounds. It is not a passive word but a creative word, like the word by which God created the universe. (He “is” the Word by which God created the universe!) Every time we receive Christ in the Eucharist, we are instructed by the liturgy to pray, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, “but only say the word” and my soul shall be healed.” All our energy and effort is not strong enough to heal our own souls, but God’s word of power is. That word is so powerful that by it God made the universe out of nothing, and by it he is doing the even greater deed of making saints out of sinners. That word is Jesus Christ.” (Peter Kreeft, Prayer for Beginners, Ignatius Press).

Also, the prayer that Jesus taught St. Faustina, “Jesus, I trust in You” is a simple but powerful prayer that releases faith in the face of fear. This prayer testifies to the primacy of trust over fear. Christ has given us a weapon against fear in times of spiritual combat with the profound words, “Jesus, I trust in You”. We could consider this part of the spiritual armor that St. Paul refers to in Ephesians Six, “…take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16). If ever there was a perfect expression of our faith, “Jesus, I trust in You” is one. Personally, whenever I experience the fiery darts of the evil one tempting me to discouragement, doubt, division, diversion and fear, etc., the prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You” or the name of “Jesus” never fails to divert the darts of the devil away from me. It may take some time, but the more I repeat those prayers, the more my will engages with faith against demonic temptations or vexations.

During this month of November, when the universal Church focuses on saints (All Saints Day) and the souls of the faithful departed (All Souls Day), it is good to remember that our universal vocation is to become a saint (holy) and thereby prepare ourselves for the final spiritual combat over our soul.

Soon the Church will cross the threshold of the holy door to enter the Jubilee Year of Mercy. We can anticipate a great adventure with Jesus, The Divine Mercy! Christ journeys with us on the path of merciful love toward holiness and healing. Spiritual combat may have its “hour” but Christ’s victory wins the day (a day that becomes eternal). His victory is the cause of our joy and perseverance to the end. Like the eighty six year old priest at the start of this reflection, we release the power of prayer. Father reminded me that Jesus told St. Faustina, “Fight like a knight!”

See www.foundationforpriests.org for more about prayer power, spiritual combat and priesthood.

Editor’s note: this reflection contains an excerpt from Kathleen’s new book, God’s Healing Mercy now available from Sophia Institute Press.

Healing the Family: Rosary Reflections

Healing the Family: Rosary Reflections
Kathleen Beckman (published on www.catholicexchange.com)

The merciful face of God is turned toward our greatest needs for healing and holiness. Family life is a holy privilege that requires the work of prayer and sacrifice, the dedication to self-emptying love for the good of the other. Marriage and family is worth every effort! Truly, God does the greater part.

The Holy Rosary is a prayer of healing, intercession, and deliverance. It is a weapon of prayer because it contains the Gospel mysteries, the dynamic revelation of the victorious Lamb of God who saves and loves us. May these reflections bring blessing and healing to those who pray them.

The First Mystery

The Creation of the Family

Reading from the book of Genesis (Gen 2,7,21-24; 1, 27-28)

Reflection

John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 28.

With the creation of man and woman in His own image and likeness, God crowns and brings to perfection the work of His hands: He calls them to a special sharing in His love and in His power as Creator and Father, through their free and responsible cooperation in transmitting the gift of human life: God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.’ Thus the fundamental task of the family is to serve life, to actualize in history the original blessing of the Creator, that of transmitting by procreation the divine image from person to person.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we pray that all persons of good will might come to know the gift and beauty of marriage according to the divine plan. Grant married couples to welcome the undeserved gift of children. We pray for the domestic church to become a sign in the world for the defense of marriage and human life. Transform our homes into houses of prayer please. Incline your heart to the cries that arise from families in need of spiritual and temporal help. Please look with favor upon our family. Only you can heal our wounds so that we are set free to love as you ask. We turn to you who are the divine physician to dispense the healing medicine of divine mercy. We pray for the grace to love and forgive one another as you have loved and forgiven us.

The Second Mystery

Marriage as an indissoluble union

Reading from the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 19, 3-9)

Reflection

Pope John Paul II, Letter to Families, II.

Love causes man to find fulfillment through the sincere gift of self. To love means to give and to receive something which can be neither bought nor sold, but only given freely and mutually. By its very nature the gift of the person must be lasting and irrevocable. The indissolubility of marriage flows in the first place from the very essence of that gift: the gift of one person to another person. This reciprocal giving of self reveals the spousal nature of love. In their marital consent the bride and the groom call each other by name, “I…take you…as my wife (as my husband) and I promise to be true to you…for all the days of my life.”

Prayer

Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, we pray that our society protects and promotes the indissolubility of marriage according your plan for humanity. On behalf of all marriages and families, we plead for the grace of fidelity to our sacramental covenant. May we trust in the plentitude of your always-sufficient amazing grace! If, due to our human weakness or sins, our family has been hurt by the breakdown of a marriage, grant us the abundant grace needed for healing, hope and holiness. Please strengthen the faith, hope and love of couples and families. Hold us closely in the love of your Sacred Heart wherein you make all things new. Reveal to families the unfailing power of a covenant of love.

The Third Mystery

Forgiveness in Marriage

Reading from the Gospel of John (Jn 8, 3-11).

Reflection

Pope John Paul II, Letter to Families, 11.

Do not be afraid of the risks! God’s strength is always far more powerful than you difficulties! Immeasurable greater than the evil at work in the world is the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which the Fathers of the Church rightly called a “second Baptism”. Much more influential than the corruption present in the world is the divine power of the Sacrament of Confirmation, which brings Baptism to its maturity. And incomparable greater than all is the power of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is truly a wondrous sacrament. In it Christ has given us himself as food and drink, as a source of saving power. He has left himself to us that we might have life and have it in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10).

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we are very imperfect creatures but your mercy endures forever. You did not condemn the woman caught in adultery but you asked her to sin no more. Divine mercy converted her heart and life. In forgiving sinners, you shed light upon the love which the Father shows to those who fail, in order that they may have another opportunity to find hope in you. We pray for those who feel betrayed and hurt in their marriage so that they might receive your healing in order for them to be able to forgive. We also pray for those who have hurt their children and extended relatives so they might repent, and be able to ask forgiveness from those they have hurt. Grant that marriages and families abide in merciful love; and be aware of the open arms of the Father who welcomes back the Prodigal child.

The Fourth Mystery

Mary: Mother and Queen of the Family

Reading from the Gospel of John (Jn 19: 25-17)

Reflection

John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 61.

Authentic devotion to Mary, which finds expression in sincere love and generous imitation of the Blessed Virgin’s interior spiritual attitude, constitutes a special instrument of nourishing loving communion in the family and for developing conjugal and family spirituality. For she who is the Mother of Christ and of the Church is in a special way the Mother of Christian families, of domestic Churches.

Prayer

Lord Jesus please help us to accept Mary as the mother and queen of our families. Help us to follow her devotion to the family at Nazareth. We entrust to her protection all families. Through Mary’s intercession, we ask that, in your mercy, you draw back to the fold the relatives that have separated themselves from you. Through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we implore the grace for authentic self-emptying love to fill the domestic church. We plead that Mary walk and work in and with all marriages and families to do what she did for the family at Cana; that is, intercede to her Son Jesus for the miracles that we need. As Mary went with haste to her cousin Elizabeth (Lk 1: 39-56), please send her to families who are in great need of her maternal presence and aid.

The Fifth Mystery

The Eucharist and the Family

Reading from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 26, 26-28)

Reflection

John Paul II, Letter to Families, 18.

Did not Jesus institute the Eucharist in a family like setting during the Last Supper? When you meet for meals and are together in harmony, Christ is close to you. And he is Emmanuel, God with us, in an even greater way whenever you approach the table of the Eucharist. It can happen, as it did at Emmaus, that he is recognized only in “in the breaking of the bread” (cf. Lk 24:35). It may well be that he can enter and eat with us (cf. Rev 3:20). The Last Supper and the words he spoke contain all the power and wisdom of the sacrifice of the Cross. No other power and wisdom exist by which we can be saved and through which we help to save others. There is no other power and not other wisdom by which you, parents, can educate both your children and yourselves. The educational power of the Eucharist has been proven down the generations and centuries.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we pray that our families may be strengthened through the Eucharist. We ask that the Eucharist will truly be the power of love for every family. We implore you to transfigure us to become as life-giving bread for one another, that we may joyfully and faithfully lay down our lives for the greater good of the family. By the power of your Body and Blood, grant that our body and soul are filled with your Holy Spirit, His gifts and grace. Grant us the joy of loving and serving one another in humility. As often as we receive you in the Eucharist, grant that we reaffirm our commitment to live our vocation as family and thereby increase your presence on earth.

Family Entrustment to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

St. Joseph you are “a just man,” a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to your care. May you always guard, protect and enlighten all families.

Mary, Mother of the Church, also be the “Mother of the Church of the Home” and through your motherly aid, may each Christian family become a “little Church” in which the mystery of Jesus Christ is mirrored and given new life.

Mary, Handmaid of the Lord, be an example to our families of humble and generous acceptance of the will of God.

Mary, Sorrowful Mother at the foot of the Cross, comfort the sufferings and dry the tears of those in distress because of the difficulties of their families.

Lord Jesus, the King of Mercy, and King of Families, be present in every Christian home as you were at Cana, bestowing miracles of grace, joy, peace and strength upon every family.

Permission is granted for not for profit re-printing as long is credit is given to author Kathleen Beckman and acknowledgement to www.catholicexchange.com who published this piece on 16 September 2015.

Do We Believe?

Pope Francis: "Do we really believe that Jesus can heal us and bring us back from the dead?". Healing in a word is resurrection; new life; an interior conversion wherein we are a new creation. We long and desperately need to encounter the living, joyful, truthful, loving face of the Father of Mercy, healer and lover of humanity.