"I know very, very well the depths of God's mercy and forgiveness of God. He forgave me for a very bad sin when I didn't think forgiveness was possible. Now I want to turn away from mistakes of the past and learn more about how I can extend mercy in my life going forward, to all that I meet. That's why I came. To prepare myself for what only God knows."
"Divine Mercy is my life. My life is dedicated to glorify the Lord. I remember Him at 3 o'clock every day. I ring a bell. We have to convince people through our actions. You can't persuade people through words. You persuade them through your actions. I only work for the Lord. So I am here to be inspired and to learn more about ways to do God's work."
"I had no desire to have a relationship with God. I used to be caught up in worldly things. Looking back, it was through seeing other people following the Holy Spirit that first inspired me. I just had the tiny bit of openness to God. Since then, those tiny little yeses have changed my life. People could have looked at me, especially my freshman year, and said, 'Oh, she goes out to the bars every night' and disregarded me, but we can't judge people like that. We have to reach people we don't think will want to lead holy lives. We may see certain people and think 'Oh, they're so caught up in the world,' but we cannot be afraid to reach out to them. I'm so grateful for God's free gift of mercy through those apostles He put in my life. For us as apostles, we can't be a cork to put a stop to that mercy or prevent that mercy. If we feel the Lord asking us to invite someone to something, even if it sounds silly, even if we think, 'Oh, this person would never want to pray the Rosary with me,' we would sin by refusing to do that. It's so important if we feel the Lord is asking us to invite someone into something, we follow through with that. And if we are humiliated, praise God! It's good for us."
"What brings me here is that I want to gain the knowledge to help the young people. Learning how to convey mercy to the young people. They can gain knowledge from a book. But most important is that they gain knowledge within their heart. When they really gain a relationship with the Lord, that's when their brokenness, that's when their loneliness and identity, can be filled. The youth are our future, and I'm invested in them, and I love them, and I'm the mother of four, myself."
"In the healthcare debate today, both sides are wrong. They're not addressing the real problems. The problems in healthcare today center around sinful behavior. We are aborting innocents. We are promoting dysfunctional families. We are encouraging young people to have sex outside of marriage. We are not serving the underserved. And we are gouging the people who can pay for healthcare.
"And while Washington argues about policy, and while we have the red states and blue states, the Democrats and Republicans, the real issue, the real crisis, is that we're being seduced to move God's mercy out of healthcare. And the answer to the healthcare crisis is to bring God's mercy back into healthcare, and to do it in an integrated, organic way. You do it by practicing excellent medicine, by serving the underserved, and by following the teachings of the faith. Why? Because God's mercy is manifested in the 10 Commandments. In John 15, the Lord says our joy will be complete when we follow His Commandments. Don't put idols before Him. Don't put money before faith. Do not kill. Do not commit abortions.
"It's God's mercy, through the Commandments and the teachings of the Church, that tell us who we are and how to live a life of joy and abundance. And what are we doing in healthcare? We are trying to move Christ out of it. That's why we need this message of The Divine Mercy. That's why living the Divine Mercy message and being an ambassador of Divine Mercy is so crucial.
"The thing is, young people are still going into medicine because they want to help people. They care about a person who is sick and who is poor. There is still that kernel of hope in their hearts, that desire to serve another in trouble. We have to give them opportunities to do so. In the end, I don't see any real help coming from the government or from a political solution, or from the medical profession. It will come from the ground up, from the grassroots."
"Jesus wants to pour out His mercy. It hurts Him when His mercy is rejected. He'll take our sins. When I learned this, it cut me to the core. When you talk to teens and young adults, tell them that Jesus thirsts to pour out His mercy. When we go and give Him all our sins and we trust, this changes lives. I was thinking that my sins were so much bigger than His mercy, and that's not true. I'm here to be an apostle of Divine Mercy."
"If teens and young adults experience the love of Christ, The Divine Mercy, they're going to seek and find it. They're going to want more."
"Divine Mercy changed my life in 1986. I heard about Divine Mercy and was really drawn to it and made a pilgrimage to Stockbridge, Mass., in 1987. That lead me into my post-abortion healing, through the Diary of St. Faustina.
"The whole message of mercy is what my soul needed to hear to be able to step out into faith and process the grief of an abortion experience I had when I was 15 years old. The words that the Lord gave to St. Faustina were such a consolation to me — that even though our sins be as scarlet, He will make them whiter than snow. In other words, there was no one who could fall outside the mercy of God, even those who have committed the worst sin possible.
"This lead to me discerning a call to go public with my testimony. I began a post-abortion ministry with Fr. Vince Heffernan. We've been offering post-abortion ministry since 1991, and our thrust is the message of mercy, to be instruments of The Divine Mercy around Canada.
"There's a section in the Diary where St. Faustina writes of suffering for the children who died in abortion; that really spoke to me about the truth of what abortion really is. Around me, society was negating the grief, negating the moral wrongness of abortion. Reading those words in the Diary of St. Faustina's co-redemptive suffering for the post-abortive women and the children really sealed it for me. It made me want to proclaim this message of mercy to others and enter into the pain of healing as redemptive suffering, that going through the journey of healing would not only help save my own soul, but I would be participating in a greater picture of the salvation of souls. My life would not make sense today if not for the message of The Divine Mercy."
"I spent half my life offending God. In the second half of my life, Divine Mercy is my ministry in reparation."
"One idea that changed my life and changed my attitude toward evangelization came from Pope John Paul II's encyclical, "The Gospel of Life," which deals with abortion, euthanasia, life issues. But part of that encyclical that is completely astonishing for me is that it deals with much more than those life issues. He gives his strategy for winning the huge cultural battle that we find ourselves in — the culture of life and the culture of death. He gives a key to victory in that battle. The key is a change in attitude. People are not objects for use, manipulation, and pleasure, and sin. If you want to build a culture of life, the first starting point is fostering in yourself and others an attitude of seeing in others an attitude of awe and wonder and amazement at their dignity and that this will lead to love. He urges that people develop a 'contemplative outlook.' This outlook has everything to do with evangelization, according to him. ... When we see the image of God in others and the image of Christ in others, we're already evangelizing. When evangelizing, wade past the things we'd be tempted to judge others by. Wade past personality traits that bug us, and find Christ in that person. When a person sees delight in your face in seeing Christ in them, it does something to them. They somehow discover Christ. It awakens something in them. This is something we all can do."
"I came today because I believe very strongly in The Divine Mercy. I have stacks of Divine Mercy prayercards. Every month when I send my bills out, I put one in the envelope. That's how I think I get my bills paid. Every bill that goes out has a card in it. Every letter that goes out has a card in it, because I figure someone might need it. We need to be spiritually fed. We all need it."
"We cannot just think of mercy. We cannot just talk about mercy. We have to put it into practice."
"I'm the president of Niagara Heritage of Hope and Service. We bought property from a former Catholic Church, and we spread Divine Mercy through retreats, conferences, and presentations. I'm here because I'm learning to get more and gain more so we can bring it back and continue to spread Divine Mercy. We have more than 1 million people who come to Niagara Falls each year, and what a great opportunity we have to spread the message. My mother was very inspired by Pope John Paul II and believed in the message of The Divine Mercy and prayed the chaplet every day. She did it quietly, and you wouldn't know it. One of the things she said before she died was, 'What's going to happen with you?' She knew I devoted so much of myself to her. Through her, I took up the message of Divine Mercy. I know how important it is to spread."
"I came here for armament. I felt called to Divine Mercy in a whole bunch of ways. I really came to learn how I can bring this to my parish and how to start a Divine Mercy cenacle."
"In the Diary of St. Faustina and in the writings of a number of saints, we have the promises of God. This is what Noah banked on, what Abraham banked on. This is what all the great people of God banked on. Promises."
The 700-plus pilgrims that took part in Church history on Nov. 14-15 in Washington, D.C., came from both proximate and distant parts of the three nations comprising North America. Pilgrims from the nation's capital only had to ride the Metro train to attend the North American congress on Mercy (NACOM). Others had a longer journey.
For example, consider the group of 15 who trekked 1,515.78 miles from Cedar Park, Tex., in just under 24 hours: 23 hours and 50 minutes, to be exact (figures from Mapquest). It was no easy task, especially since the nascent Divine Mercy devotion at St. Margaret Mary Church there is still in its infancy stage.
"We are learning about Divine Mercy, like little babies," said Hilaria Rodriguez, one of the 15 pilgrims who traveled by bus to attend NACOM. She said that her parish responded to the call when they decided, on their own initiative, to form a Hispanic ministry focused on the mercy of God.
"We first learned about Divine Mercy about a year ago," said Marianna Vega. "It was in English, but we started translating the message into Spanish. At first, there were only eight of us. Now, we have grown to 12.
Fernando Rodriguez, Hilaria's husband, said the group has been performing outreach in the Cedar Park community, "not just in our parish but through the area."
Their primary ministry has been to visit terminally ill people, to help in whatever way they can, with meals, running errands, and prayer. "We take this message outside of the walls of the church," Fernando said. "We don't stay in church, because that's not where we find the sick. It has been both difficult, with many obstacles, but also easy, in the sense that God has provided for us each step of the way."
"We visit the sick, we pray with them, we teach them, and sometimes, we simply make ourselves present," said Ninfa Ledezma Flores. "Sometimes, you know, you don't need words. I think that holding someone's hand who is very sick can be more powerful than words. We try to see Jesus in everyone."
Fernando said that the Divine Mercy group ministers to anyone, with no distinctions made, including religious: "They may have faith or have no faith. If they want us, we are there."
He said the group, each wearing the special "mercy shirts" they had custom made for their journey, decided to attend NACOM because "we have so much to learn. We are finding out so much, here, from the speakers and the witnesses, from fellow pilgrims, and from the literature we have collected. We aim to take this back to our parish and enter into the next phase of our mission. What that might be, we don't know. But as has been said by many of the speakers today, that is fine. We don't have to know. God knows. I think that's what it means to trust."
For a group of self-described "babies" in living a life of mercy through action, these 15 pilgrims from Cedar Park, Tex., demonstrate a grasp of God's mercy that would put many theologians to shame.
Out of mouths of babes, it is said.
Daniel: "We were at a music festival, and we met a woman who gave us St. Faustina's Diary. Even since then, we've had a devotion to St. Faustina and we pray the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy, and there have just been a lot of graces that have come to us as a result of praying the chaplet. For both Elizabeth and me, we have gained a better understanding of how God works."
Elizabeth: "It was important for us to bring our children to the Congress so that they would know the beauty and splendor of the Church from an early age."
Daniel: "Especially for people my age, I hope this Congress captures their imagination and inspires them."
"The thing people need to realize is that Satan is an idiot. If we keep him at bay long enough, eventually he self-destructs."
"The antidote to today's misery is God's mercy."
"Divine Mercy is the last hope of salvation. And here in Washington, D.C., in the most powerful country in the world, having a Mercy Congress here is powerful. Everything happens first in America, and so if we embrace Divine Mercy here, it will happen soon all over the world."
"Something that we've seen in our travels that can be very effective is a billboard program. Get the image of The Divine Mercy right up there next to the highway and let Him do the work. We've heard miraculous stories as a result."
"We need more people evangelizing. We need more people to understand they can evangelize. They don't know they're capable of it. Even I was afraid to do it, but I did. I didn't think I was capable of it, but I am."
"Each individual soul is important to God. We sisters are very blessed to be loving one soul at a time back to Christ.
"In Section 309 of St. Faustina's Diary, she writes:
Before heaven and earth, before all the choirs of Angels, before the Most Holy Virgin Mary, before all the Powers of heaven, I declare to the One Triune God that today, in union with Jesus Christ, Redeemer of souls, I make a voluntary offering of myself for the conversion of sinners, especially for those souls who have lost hope in God's mercy. This offering consists in my accepting, with total subjection to God's will, all the sufferings, fears and terrors with which sinners are filled. In return, I give them all the consolations which my soul receives from my communion with God. In a word, I offer everything for them: Holy Masses, Holy Communions, penances, mortifications, prayers. I do not fear the blows, blows of divine justice, because I am united with Jesus. O my God, in this way I want to make amends to You for the souls that do not trust in Your goodness. I hope against all hope in the ocean of Your mercy. My Lord and my God, my portion-my portion forever, I do not base this act of oblation on my own strength, but on the strength that flows from the merits of Jesus Christ. I will daily repeat this act of self-oblation by pronouncing the following prayer which You yourself have taught me, Jesus:
O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You!
"That passage is very important to us."
A Happening that Has Never Happened Before
By Dan Valenti
Two young women sat in prayer in a pew along the left side of the cavernous Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Nothing remarkable in that. How many times has that happened in the 50 years of the basilica's existence? It has been done countless times.
Of course, it has never been done before.
At least, it hasn't been done in such a way as occurred on Nov. 14. Theresa Mowberry, a recently degreed graduate student, and her friend Colleen Giszcak, who works at Catholic University of America, were attending the first-ever North American Congress on Mercy (NACOM).
Jumping on a Freebie
The women decided to take part in Church history only the night before, when they were given free passes from someone attending a Eucharistic Festival of Praise.
"We were given the chance as young adults to attend," Colleen said. "We talked about it and felt it was too important to miss."
Theresa explained that they are self-described "Catholic missionaries," part of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), a fellowship of young adults.
FOCUS is a national collegiate outreach that meets college students where they are and invites them to examine the meaning and purpose of their lives. Through large group outreach, Bible studies, and one-on-one mentoring, FOCUS missionaries are equipped to introduce college students to the Person of Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith, empowering them to share His love with the world.
Asked near the end of the day what they had learned or received from attending NACOM, Colleen summed it up with the word "renewal." She said the testimonies from the speakers, and in conversations with fellow pilgrims, she sensed a renewed energy that typically isn't associated with Catholicism.
Antidote to Disillusionment
"This was exciting to learn how these people [witnesses and speakers] were engaged in concrete actions [in their communities] to show God's love to other," she said. Colleen added that the experience made her committed to find ways in which she can extend her work as a missionary. This is critical, she said, "because there's so much disillusionment in young people today."
Theresa developed the point, saying that God's mercy, "as we learned today, is really the only answer" for a world that has increasingly gone astray. Asked which talks impressed her the most, she responded with excitement, "All of them! I have been wowed by all the speakers. Their message offers hope. That's what we need the most: hope. I want to help people hear about this hope."
These young women typify a story repeated many times over on the two days of NCAOM. What has happened countless times, seemingly, has in a strict sense not happened at all, and that changes everything.
"Confession is a spiritual diaper change. In this life, you are going to spiritually soil yourself again and again. Most times who cleans up the kid? Only the Church has the diapers."
"I was asked by Br. Leonard [Konopka, MIC] to come to the Congress and sing. And I said, 'Br. Leonard, I'll be there. This one's on me!'
"We've had many miracles in our family through prayers to The Divine Mercy, including cancer cured twice.
"Coming here, for me, is a celebration of the many gifts I've received through The Divine Mercy."
"I lost a son to suicide.
"Believe me, it is one hard thing to deal with. But I had a vision of my son with Jesus, The Divine Mercy. It happened just after his death in 2003. I was sitting on the edge on my bed getting dressed, putting on my shoes, and I had a vision of Jesus looking as He does in the image of The Divine Mercy, except for one key detail. Instead of having one hand raised in blessing and the other revealing the rays of blood and water, Jesus had His arms open.
"He was embracing my son. In the vision, my son said, 'Dad, I'm OK! I'm OK!' He was smiling.
"In prayer, later on, I heard the Lord tell me why His arms were open, and He told me in my heart, 'I was accepting your son in My arms.'"
"I thought all this was a figment of my imagination. I wasn't seeking it or asking for it. And it came out of the clear blue.
"Then, on the day of my son's funeral, as we entered the church, we saw that right above his head in the casket was an image of The Divine Mercy. I couldn't believe it. I said to my wife, 'Look, look!' There was some verification."
"My son was 38 years old."
"As a Nurse for Divine Mercy, you are always aware that you are the spiritual link to Christ, you are His merciful presence at the bedside of the patient. By prayer and by using our hands and our hearts, the Nurses for Divine Mercy bring God's grace of healing and consolation to their patients.
"Saint Faustina prayed for the sick and dying. She obtained the powerful grace of mercy for her 'spiritual patients' in their final moments of life by praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy that Jesus gave to her. Jesus attached certain promises to the chaplet, and when He promises something, I know I'm sure going to listen and put the prayers into action."
"Each day, I ask God: 'OK, what do You want me to do today?' That is how I hear His voice, by asking."
"This Congress prepares us for our final moment in life. We pray to St. Joseph for a happy death, which some people argue is the greatest gift you can get. This Congress prepares us for that final moment, and of course for a happy resurrection, too.
"All good things start small. This Congress may be a small beginning. Accepting Divine Mercy in our hearts, like Mary did, may seem a small act, but it has huge consequences.
"Divine Mercy is not just another devotion; it is the essense of God. Divine Mercy commits us to the poor, the homeless, the indigent. And when we become the merciful presence of Christ in the lives of others, it has a ripple effect.
"This Congress will have a ripple effect, too. It will be immeasurable."
"When you get involved in this work [of spreading God's mercy], be prepared. The evil one will go after you. That's a sign you're on the right path."
"I like to hear real stories of mercy. What are ordinary people actually doing that will move the hearts of people to act themselves, because there's so much need out there. For example, I was moved to tears by the testimony of Kellie Ross, about the mother who lost her son to suicide. Kellie Ross took care of the funeral, because the mother didn't have the money. Just the compassion she had for people, the poor people, the people who are in most need. She loves them so much."
In a witness he gave on the Marians' bus pilgrimage from Stockbridge, Mass., to the Mercy Congress, he said:
"From the moment I was born, I wasn't able to speak or walk. I had convulsions. My parents would take me to Children's Hospital every week for three-and-a-half years.
"Then, my mother made a nine-day novena to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. By that time, I still couldn't walk or talk. On the ninth day, she went to Mass. When she came home, she did a whole load of laundry and took me out back in the carriage and was hanging the clothes on the line. While her back was turned to me, I got up, got out of the carriage, and for the first time in my life I walked. My mother turned around and just about collapsed, seeing me there walking for the first time.
"That night my father and my brothers came home and just about broke down they were so happy.
"A short time after — less than a year — my speech came. The doctors couldn't believe it. I praise the Lord.
"This happened 63 years ago. And one more thing: My mother's novena ended on All Soul's Day. In 1987, my mother died. It was on Nov. 2, All Soul's Day. I know she's in heaven."
"When people tell me that God has disappeared on them, I smile and congratulate them. They think I'm nuts and wonder why I am so happy. I tell them that the feeling of abandonment by God is His way of purifying us. When we feel that, we can be sure He has never been closer to us."