The Bible is full of great love stories and love songs. Some celebrate human love, like the Song of Songs, and invite us to see there the love God has for us. Others, like today’s alternate reading from the Prophet Zephaniah, celebrates God’s embrace of “Daughter Jerusalem,” who is restored by God’s love.
Maria Faustina Kowalska shared with the world her deep love for Jesus and her mystical experiences. These became popularized by Pope John Paul II, her Polish countryman, in the devotion to God’s “Divine Mercy.” Faustina was born in 1905, in Polish territory that was part of Germany prior to World War I. She joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925, where she lived and served humbly. Her private revelations from the Lord emphasized Christ’s longing to forgive and are summed up in the image associated with the Divine Mercy devotion.
During a visit to the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy near Krakow in 1997, John Paul II testified that the message of divine mercy sustained him during World War II and in his papacy.
May we experience Christ’s love and mercy this Christmas season and beyond.
—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM
