Divine Mercy

If you've never been to the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge, MA it is well worth seeing. I was blessed with the opportunity of visiting the national shrine more than once when my uncle's family lived in the area. It is a very peaceful place, one conducive to prayer and rest with perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The church itself is designed with detailed woodwork and stained glass windows, the grounds are beautiful MA countryside where you can find life-size stations of the cross, and there are even candle grottos and a gift shop. It is a wonderful place of pilgrimage, particularly for the feast of Divine Mercy today.

What I like about the Divine Mercy devotion is the emphasis on trust in God. We can all find reasons for worrying about something in our lives that are not going quite the way we would like, but today's feast reminds us that God is in control and we can rely completely on His providence. 

St. Faustina said: “Great love can change small things into great ones, and it is only love which lends value to our actions. And the purer our love becomes, the less there will be within us for the flames of suffering to feed upon, and the suffering will cease to be a suffering for us; it will become a delight! By the grace of God, I have received such a disposition of heart that I am never so happy as when I suffer for Jesus, whom I love with every beat of my heart.”