Theology of the Image of Merciful Jesus – part I
a) Function
The image of Merciful Jesus, constituting a visual summary and presentation of the entire Devotion to the Divine Mercy, is primarily a call to trust in God's Mercy. The signature of the painting, Jesus, I trust in You, reveals a source of consolation and relief, hope and peace for all the suffering and tormented. Trust, being man's response to God's Mercy, opens people's hearts to receive the gifts of this Mercy and causes His action in us. It is trust which guarantees the trusting person not only eternal salvation, but also other graces, both salvific and temporal. Trust itself is already Devotion. Without trust, we cannot take advantage of its fruits, no external act of the Devotion will give the graces promised by Jesus unless it is an expression of trust and is performed with it. Hence, the veneration of the Image of Divine Mercy, even if it is the most spectacular, if it is not an external expression of trust, will in no way guarantee the graces that Jesus attached to the veneration of this image.
The Image fulfills a double role in the Devotion. The first was defined in the revelation in the first half of 1934, in which Jesus called the image a vessel by which people can draw graces from the sources of Mercy. “I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: “Jesus, I trust in You.” (Diary 327) The image is at the same time, as it was expressed in the revelation of December 1935, a tool - “By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so, let every soul have access to it” (Diary 570) - with which Jesus himself grants graces. In the revelation of October 1936, Jesus described the image as a sign reminding people of the demand to perform mercy. Worshiping Divine Mercy through His image, without simultaneously performing works of mercy, would have more to do with idolatrous worship than with true Christianity. Four times in His revelations, Jesus added the categorical demand to practice mercy. He gave three ways of showing mercy towards others: the first is the act, the second is the word, and the third is prayer. By requiring the practice of mercy towards others, Jesus wanted to make the Devotion a kind of Christian life and to avoid the danger of a transformation into a superficial devotion. Sister Faustina noted the words of Jesus: “I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first- by deed, the second – by word, the third – by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy. Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of My mercy through the solemn celebration of the Feast and through the veneration of the image which is painted. By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works.” (Diary 742)
Jesus' words about the image, which is to remind the demands of my mercy, because even the strongest faith will not help anything without works, were taken from the Letter of St. James: " What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (cf. Jas 2:14). Thus, the image embedded on the foundation of the Devotion, indicates the obligation to perform mercy, and on the other hand, it reminds us of the trust in God's Mercy, a visible sign of which is the image's signature: Jesus, I trust in You. For this image, Jesus demanded public worship. The revelations do not specify exactly what it is to consist of, hence it can be understood quite broadly. It was certainly Jesus' will that the image be blessed on the Feast of Mercy. On this day, God's Mercy should be glorified by honoring this image.
b) The biblical context
The theological analysis of the content of the image of Divine Mercy was conducted by Fr Michael Sopoćko, who explained the meaning of the image based on the texts of the Holy Bible and the Liturgy. He pointed to the inseparable connection of the image with the liturgy of the Second Sunday of Easter, also known as the White Sunday. On this day, invariably since the Council of Trent, a passage from the Gospel of St. John is being read, describing the coming of the Risen Jesus on the day of his victory over death to the Upper Room (cf. Jn 20:19-37). Christ, greeting the apostles, showed them His hands and side, and then spoke the words that we associate with the institution of the sacrament of penance.
For this evangelical event overlaps in the image of the Divine Mercy’s second event also taken from the Gospel of St. John - opening the side of Jesus with a spear (cf. Jn 19:31-37). At that time, blood from the Heart and water from the pericardium flowed from the Savior's side, confirming Jesus' death. According to this text, the blood and water that flowed from the Savior's Heart have a symbolic meaning - mean the river that gives life, the source of life, foretold by Christ for all who will believe in Him. (cf. Jn 7:38)
In the revelation of the first half of 1934, Jesus explained the meaning of the rays in a figurative sense, so they should be interpreted in accordance with the principles of metaphorical language. By saying that " These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him"(Diary 299), Jesus affirmed that the value of the Redemption through saving death protects us from God's wrath, that is, reconciling us with God.
In revealing the Devotion, Jesus often spoke about the insides of His Mercy. Describing Blood and Water in a metaphorical way, he indicated not only where, but also when it came from. It happened when His Heart was pierced on the cross. It falls from the above that the insides of Mercy should be understood as the human Heart of Jesus.
The Image of Divine Mercy combines two great salvific events - the passion on the cross, illustrated both by the rays of mercy and by the wounds on Jesus' body; and, secondly, Jesus’ appearances in the Upper Room on the day of the Resurrection, expresses in a very convincing way the central mystery of our faith - the Paschal Mystery.
The image plays a special role in the devotion. Also, it is the key to understanding other forms of the Devotion, and at the same time constitutes their synthesis, since on White Sunday, in the liturgy of which the image is so firmly embedded, the Novena to Divine Mercy should end, which should have started on Good Friday, and the chaplet and prayer at the hour of the death of Jesus, refer to the saving passion in order to implore God's Mercy through it. This relationship with the Passion of the Lord was the subject of revelations several times, in which rays of mercy came out from the side of Jesus, nailed on the cross.
We will continue Tomorrow.
fr. george