Mercy or Justice
What is the truth then about God? Is He Mercy or Justice, a merciful Saviour or a just Judge? From the Gospel of Luke, we can get the impression that there is a contradiction between what Jesus is saying to us through Luke, and what He is saying to us through Saint Faustina. (Lk 13, 22-30)The

Image of Mercy
Jesus asked Saint Faustina to have a painting made of a specific vision, with the instruction to inscribe “Jesus, I Trust in You” along the footer of the painting. The Image of Divine Mercy is what Saint Faustina saw that holy evening even though she later wrote in her diary that she was disappointed that the painted image did not capture the true essence and beauty of Jesus.

Looking carefully at the Image of Divine Mercy, we notice that He is the one who is taking the first step to us. He is ready to come into the depths of our darkness, to brighten the path of life with the light that flows from His pierced heart.

His right hand is blessing each of us and desires to bring everyone into His heart. The rays flow two ways, from His heart, and to His heart. The Image encourages everyone to trust in His unfathomable Mercy and not to despair, even in the most difficult circumstances of life.

The Narrow Door
According to the Gospel of Saint Luke, Jesus advised: “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door”. When one hears those words for the first time they seem quite strong words. It would leave you with the impression that salvation depends on human efforts, but that would leave no place for God’s Mercy. Continuing with Luke’s Gospel, we hear about God, who seems to be a serious judge. Jesus describes His Father as the one who is able to say to unjust servants: “I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evil-doers”. (Luke 13:27) Hearing those words, we can feel a shiver pass through us, thinking about judgement day.

Choice is Always Ours
What is the truth then about God? Is He Mercy or Justice? A merciful Saviour or a just judge? The truth is that he is both a Merciful Saviour and a Just Judge, because everyone has the choice as to how they live their life. We can seek Mercy, or we can reject God and refuse Mercy. We can say ‘no’ to God, refusing His offer of Mercy in order to remain in darkness or we can embrace His gift of Mercy. This is the amazing mystery of human freedom and the choice is always ours.