Divine Mercy and Father’s Day
How is it possible to give something I do not own to someone else? That is frequently the first thought that comes to my mind when I pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. After all, I come to God owning nothing. Everything I have is due to His generosity. How, exactly, can I rationalize the idea that I presume to give Him the most precious Gift that He has given me?
Look to Our Heavenly Family
By looking at our place in the heavenly family, we are able to form a step-by-step explanation of this mysterious gift-giving. In the same way, we look to the Holy Trinity, God the Father, and the Blessed Mother, we depend on familial connection. Our prayer to God the Father comes to us by the instruction of Jesus Himself. The Blessed Mother, our Mother, intercedes for us to the One True and Ever-living God. We, as adopted children, depend on this family association to honor God and to ask for His Mercy.
Look to Our Human Family
In our childhood days, with our parents, things were quite similar. It was up to Mother to encourage us to honor our earthly father in a special way on his special day. Although a child has no money of her own, her mother guides her to show love and devotion to her father on Father’s Day. This is often accomplished by going “shopping” with Mother. While the child picks out the gift, she is most likely influenced and the gift is paid for by her mother. Yet when the day comes, she proudly presents her token of love and honor to her father. It does not matter if it is yet another tie or shirt, Father is sure to smile lovingly and shower his child with thanks.
This example of collaboration is the beginning of a lifelong commitment to honoring our fathers on Father’s Day. When we are finally old enough to sponsor our own gift, the early gifts are not negated nor do they diminish in our father’s eyes. Only the sincerity of giving is considered.
Of course, the same scenario happens on Mother’s Day. Hopefully, the father reciprocates the lesson and helps his children show their love and honor for their mother. These early lessons, of love and giving, are a foundation that helps us to form a lifelong commitment to giving.
Divine Mercy
Returning to the topic of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we begin to form a correlation. Although the Gift was purchased by the Sacrificial Salvation of Jesus Christ, we honor God Our Father by presenting back to Him the most valuable Gift that we have.
Eternal Father, we offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
By this prayer, we are asking God the Father to have Mercy on us because of what Jesus came to earth to resolve, once and for all.
For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
In working the concept out in this way, we see that familial ties, both earthly and heavenly, are a wonderful blessing. The similarities also become clearer. With this loving, devoted connection, we are able to maintain family ties that are in this world but geared toward our eternal life.
