GOD, MERCIFUL FATHER… WE ENTRUST TO YOU THE DESTINY OF THE WORLD…
25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENTRUSTMENT OF THE WORLD TO DIVINE MERCY BY SAINT JOHN PAUL II IN KRAKOW - ŁAGIEWNIKI 2002-2027
1. WHAT IS MERCY? – August 2026
We are beginning our reflections on mercy. Twelve reflections, which we will receive from August 2026 to July 2027, and are intended to help us prepare for the 25th anniversary of the Entrustment of the world to Divine Mercy, which St. John Paul II, the Pope of Mercy, made on August 17, 2002, in the Basilica of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki.
The proposed reflections are based on the Bible, the teachings of the Church, the words of recent popes, and the apostles of Divine Mercy – St. Sister Faustina Kowalska, St. John Paul II, and Blessed Father Michael Sopoćko. They aim to bring us closer to the mystery of mercy in an accessible, yet relatively reliable way. And above all, they desire to ignite God's spark within us so that we ourselves may become the flame of God's mercy - "witnesses of God's mercy," to which the Holy Father John Paul II called us in Łagiewniki on the memorable August 17, 2002:
"How greatly today’s world needs God’s mercy! In every continent, from the depth of human suffering, a cry for mercy seems to rise up. Where hatred and the thirst for revenge dominate, where war brings suffering and death to the innocent, there the grace of mercy is needed in order to settle human minds and hearts and to bring about peace. Wherever respect for life and human dignity are lacking, there is need of God’s merciful love, in whose light we see the inexpressible value of every human being. Mercy is needed in order to ensure that every injustice in the world will come to an end in the splendour of truth.
Today, therefore, in this Shine, I wish solemnly to entrust the world to Divine Mercy. I do so with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful love, proclaimed here through Saint Faustina, may be made known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope. May this message radiate from this place to our beloved homeland and throughout the world. May the binding promise of the Lord Jesus be fulfilled: from here there must go forth "the spark which will prepare the world for his final coming" (cf. Diary, 1732).
This spark needs to be lighted by the grace of God. This fire of mercy needs to be passed on to the world. In the mercy of God, the world will find peace and mankind will find happiness! I entrust this task to you, dear Brothers and Sisters, to the Church in Kraków and Poland, and to all the votaries of Divine Mercy who will come here from Poland and from throughout the world. May you be witnesses to mercy!"
At the very beginning, looking at man's reaction to his misery (both material and social poverty, but also that which may be sin and evil), let us ask ourselves what mercy is not?
POVERTY
One can react to poverty in various ways. One can pretend that poverty does not exist. The Holy Scripture says of people who react this way: "Whoever closes his ears to the cry of the poor will himself cry out in vain" (Proverbs 21:13). Ignoring the poor is not mercy.
One can treat poor people as inferior. St. James calls such behaviour a crime (James 2:9), and describes the situation this way: "If a man comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor man also comes in with soiled clothing, and you look at the richly clothed man and say, 'Sit in the place of honour,' and to the poor man you say, 'Stand over there, or sit at my footstool,' do you not make distinctions among yourselves and become perverse judges?" (James 2:2-4). Humiliating the poor is not mercy.
The poor can also be deceived and exploited. The biblical prophets, especially the prophet Amos, write much about this: "They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals; they trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth, and they drive the needy into the wilderness" (Amos 2:6-7). Oppression of the poor is not mercy either.
Mercy toward human poverty is described in the Bible, among other words:
* "According to the commandment, come to the aid of the poor, and according to their need, do not send them away empty-handed" (Sirach 29:9);
* "Blessed is he whose eyes are merciful, because he shares his bread with the poor" (Proverbs 22:9);
* "I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me" (Mt 25:35-36).
Mercy is therefore a response to human poverty that alleviates it by giving to the needy what the poor lacked.
EVIL AND SIN
Evil can be responded to with even greater evil. In the Book of Genesis, one of Cain's descendants says: " I have killed a man for wounding me, a boy for bruising me!" (Genesis 4:23). Such an attitude is not mercy. Such an attitude is revenge.
This is seen in children, who often strike back with a harder blow. This is seen in adults, when a single sentence spoken in anger can get someone fired or kept silent for years. Evil can also be responded to with the same evil. The Old Testament speaks of a law known throughout the ancient world: " Anyone who inflicts an injury on his neighbour shall receive the same in return. Limb for limb, eye for eye, tooth for tooth! The same injury that a man gives another shall be inflicted on him in return." (Leviticus 24:19-20). Such a response to evil is not mercy.
Sometimes it's called justice. It sometimes manifests itself in not speaking to those who don't speak to us and in teasing those who tease us.
Evil can also be responded to by fleeing to God. So-called imprecatory prayers are common in the Psalms. We read, among others, these words: "Desolate Daughter Babylon, you shall be destroyed, blessed the one who pays you back what you have done us! Blessed the one who seizes your children and smashes them against the rock" (Ps 137:8-9). The author of Psalm 137 may have witnessed with his own eyes how the Babylonians destroyed his land, burned temples, mutilated pregnant women, and even killed little children. The author prays to God, not to Babylon, and calls not on his countrymen, but on his God. He pours out all his anger, wrath, and pain before God, and he leaves it to Him to react to the evil done. Such an attitude is not yet mercy.
Such an attitude is abandoning justice to God. This attitude is rather rare today, as backbiting has taken up almost the entire space in imprecatory psalms. Evil can also be responded to with good. Jesus said: "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:27-28). St. Paul put it this way: "Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good" (Romans 12:21). Man is evil because he lacks goodness. Therefore, he must be given goodness. Man sins because he lacks love. Therefore, he must be given love.
Mercy is a reaction to evil that gives the sinner what he lacks most, that is, love and goodness. And how to do this, the Lord Jesus himself told us, speaking to St. Sister Faustina: "You are always and everywhere to show mercy unto your neighbours; you may not withdraw, excuse or absolve yourself from this. I am giving you three ways of performing mercy to your neighbours: first, by deed; second, by word; and third, by prayer; these three levels cover the full scope of mercy, and it is unshakeable evidence that soul loves Me. This is how the soul praises and honours My mercy" (Diary, N. 742).
SO WHAT IS MERCY?
If we look at the etymology of the Latin language, the sequence "miseri cor dare" translates as "to give heart to the unfortunate" or "to give a merciful heart." Mercy, therefore, is the best response to human misery in its broadest sense. It is the best medicine God has devised. For it is neither an escape from the poor nor their destruction, but rather gives the other what they most lacked, what was the cause of poverty, evil, and sin.
In her Diary, Sister Faustina wrote that "God's love is the flower, and mercy is the fruit" (Diary N. 949).
On June 7, 1997, during his first visit to Łagiewniki, Pope John Paul II gave a beautiful definition of mercy, saying that:
"There is nothing that man needs more than Divine Mercy — that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights of the holiness of God."
Help me, O Lord, to make my eyes merciful, so that I should never be suspicious or judge by outward appearances, so that I should see what is beautiful in the souls of my neighbours and come to their assistance.
Help me, [O Lord] to make my hearing merciful, so that I should be attentive to the neighbours ‘needs, so that my ears should not be indifferent to the distress and cries of my neighbours.
Help me, O Lord, to make my tongue merciful, so that I should never speak badly of my neighbours, but for each have a word of comfort and forgiveness.
Help me, O Lord, to make my hands merciful and full of good deeds, so that I should do only what is good unto my neighbours, and for myself take the hardest, most toilsome chores
Help me, O Lord to make my feet merciful, so that I should always hurry to help my neighbours, overcoming my own tiredness and fatigue. My true repose is in the service my neighbours.
Help me, O Lord, to make my heart merciful, so that I should identify with all the sufferings of my neighbours. I shall never deny my heart to anyone. I shall be honest even with those I know will take advantage on my goodness, and I shall lock myself up in the Most Merciful Heart of Jesus. I shall remain silent about my own sufferings. May Your mercy rest in me, O my Lord. " (Diary, No. 163)