How I came to know about the Divine Mercy Devotion...with twists and turns...

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Here’s how those two Scripture verses played out in my life with regard to the Divine Mercy Devotion. I share this series of “twist and turn” experiences so that if you are facing “tough times,” you may have hope that inasmuch as God always is faithful to His promises, in the end, if you cooperate with His Grace, things will be more than okay!

Twenty-five years ago, I faced more than an ordinarily tough year—at least for my family--in comparison with all but one other year, ten years prior.

The tough time started at the end of June with a medical diagnosis for our daughter—one that all these years later still plagues her. On the same day that we were waiting for her test results, our family pet of seventeen years unexpectedly died. (If you haven’t had a pet die, this “trauma” seems frivolous; to us, it wasn’t.)

Less than two months later, at the beginning of August, on a torrentially rainy Monday morning (on which I had considered taking a personal day to be with my family, but decided to answer the call to duty, instead), I was in a double head-on crash, first with a pick-up truck; then with a sedan.

As a result of my being home recovering from the accident, my husband discovered EWTN Catholic Television Network, whose programs kept me company during the day, when I was home alone. It was in watching EWTN in the afternoon that I was introduced to the Divine Mercy Chaplet. I would listen to the singing, but had no idea about the Divine Mercy Devotion other than that.

In the Fall, I started “ramping up” my Mass and Rosary devotions. Still, I wasn’t praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, even though I was hearing it on EWTN.

In December, my husband was facing various cardiac tests to determine if he needed a second open heart surgery. Considering he had “code blued” seven years earlier, at the start of the first open heart surgery to correct a congenital valve replacement, the news that he might need a second one was frightening.

In December, too, still trying to cope with the news of our daughter’s problem, still undergoing physical therapy for the car accident I had in August, worrying if my husband would need and could survive another heart surgery, and facing the uncomfortable fear—given the accident I had-- that our son was about to get his driver’s license, I begged Our Lady to watch over him.

In January, exactly six months to the day of our daughter’s diagnosis and the dog’s death, we got a call from a stranger that our son’s car (actually, our daughter’s car), had been totaled by a drunk driver…but…that will be the “story” of forgiveness in another article.

Sometime in the winter, after a particular marking period in which one of our son’s grades was barely passing, I met with a few of his teachers at a back-to-school night. His religion teacher told me that she had seen a marked change in him following the accident; that he had become much more compassionate. The teacher whose class he nearly failed admitted that his grades deserved a failing grade, but that she knew he had been upset about all the medical things going on at home, and that following his own car accident, “because he was a good kid,” she gave him a D-.

In June, our son was preliminarily diagnosed with leukemia. And since we had “lost” two neighborhood children, one to a bicycle accident and the other one to natural causes, I was concerned that he was going to be number three. His high school principal and teachers rallied around us. …Fortunately, the diagnosis was a mis-diagnosis, and so he was able to complete the school year after just a short absence.

In June, in conjunction with the end of the school year, I wrote individual heartfelt notes of thanks; the most heartfelt of all being shared with the teacher who had had spared him a failing grade.

In June, just a couple of days after the school year ended, we learned that the teacher who had graced our son with a passing grade had been critically beaten by her estranged husband. An evening prayer vigil had been organized for her, to be held two days later at the parish church. Of course, my son and I went to the church to attend.

We waited outside the locked church, wondering if we had gotten the time or day confused, when we saw two religious sisters across the street. Inquiring about the service, they gently told us that the teacher had died and that the service had been cancelled. Not wanting to waste a chance to be with the Lord in prayer for the teacher, I asked if they please would unlock the church so that we could pray for the teacher’s eternal rest.

They did, accompanying us inside. When it was time to go, I noticed a table in the vestibule of the church on which there were prayer card holy images of what I thought was the Sacred Heart. Walking over to take a closer look, I started to take one, when I stopped myself, thinking that it wasn’t my parish; therefore, I didn’t have the “right” to take one.

One of the sisters saw me hesitate. “No, no, dear,” she said. “You go right ahead and take one. That’s what they’re there for.”

And so we left the church with heavy heart for the compassionate teacher who had died; as we walked away, I gratefully clutched on to the prayer card. Before driving away, I took a closer look at the card, surprised that it wasn’t a portrayal of the Sacred Heart, after all; it was Jesus, portrayed as the Divine Mercy Image. I read on the card the Lord’s words that He desired that the Chaplet be prayed each day at the 3:00 p.m. hour. That was all I needed to read. That was the start of my learning about and practicing the Divine Mercy Devotion.

Starting from the Fall, after the car accident, I had been meeting with a religious sister for spiritual counsel. When I told her about the teacher and the Divine Mercy Devotion, and how I was feeling called to pray the Chaplet, she suggested I meet with another woman in the parish who had reached out to her to start a parish-wide Divine Mercy Devotion.

In July, the parishioner and I talked about the Divine Mercy Devotion, and she invited me to accompany her to a Divine Mercy bookstore about an hour’s drive away so that we could get materials to share with other interested parishioners.

At the bookstore, I explained to the owner the story about the teacher and how her death led me to the Divine Mercy Image. The owner half-smiled, as would one who has just heard another example of God’s Goodness. “I know that teacher’s sister,” she said. “That teacher was in this store,” she said. “Her sister brought her here to get a Divine Mercy Image just a few days before her death.”

Goosebumps were my reaction. Asking if I please could have the sister’s address, I shared how much I wanted to extend my sympathies to the teacher’s family.

Agreeing to be the intermediary, the bookstore owner worked it out so that the teacher’s sister allowed me to phone her. I started the condolence call by saying, “You don’t know me. But my son had your sister in school and I….”

The teacher’s sister stopped me. “I know exactly who you are,” she said. “We found the note you wrote to my sister, and your kind words about her gave my mother and the rest of the family great consolation.”

Then, in response to my sharing the Divine Mercy connection, the sister said that her involvement with the Divine Mercy Devotion had an interesting story, also—one she thought was put into motion for her sister, as much as for herself.

A friend had been asking the teacher’s sister to accompany her on a pilgrimage; the sister repeatedly had been declining. Finally, she gave in and went to the bookstore to purchase a Bible to take on the trip. Once home, she noticed that inside the Bible was a Divine Mercy Devotion card, which was her first introduction to the Devotion, which she did not then start practicing. (The bookstore owner had put the card in the Bible, as was her custom.)

Upon arriving at the pilgrimage destination, the group’s first stop was into the church, where surprisingly (?), the Divine Mercy Chaplet was being prayed. At that point, the sister said that she began to think that perhaps she should begin praying the Chaplet—which she did.

In confirmation of what the bookstore owner had said, the teacher’s sister had brought her to the bookstore just a few days before her death. The sister had made sure, she told me, that the Divine Mercy Image that the teacher had purchased was with her in the hospital. Her sister was certain that the teacher had regained consciousness long enough to be comforted by the Divine Mercy Image, at which she peacefully had smiled before she died.

Jesus, I trust in You.

Although I admit that the first number of times I prayed the Chaplet I wondered if it really was “Catholic,” given that I wasn’t accustomed to talking about the Blood of Jesus, the Chaplet has been a great source of comfort to me. In other articles, I certainly can share about firsthand experiences in the seeing the promises of the Chaplet brought to fruition. But for now, I would like to praise God for bringing so much good out of what seemed to be the worst possible things when they first happened.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Whatever you are going through, follow the Church’s teachings, seek Sacramental Grace(s), and trust Jesus. If you have a Divine Mercy experience to share, please use the “Comment” field, or please write an article of your own.

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, let us give glory and honor to our Merciful Blessed Trinity!

p.s. Quite understandably, as part of a memorial service in the teacher’s honor, the high school was gifted with a Divine Mercy Image. …If you do not yet know about the Divine Mercy Devotion, or if you would like to learn more, please visit the Divine Mercy Shrine website . God bless you!