“God’s mercy is creative. There are times when all seems lost and beyond hope and then God surprises us through an unexpected turn of events and something new is brought to life”—this is the wisdom of Mother Agnes Mary of the Sisters of Life as printed in their magazine, Imprint. Here we are reminded of the truth that God makes all things new. As this Jubilee Year of Mercy draws to a close in a few weeks, we can be extremely grateful for the many extraordinary occasions of undeserved grace.
God’s mercy is creative whenever we forgive, repent, reconcile, convert, and heal. These are just some of the ways that divine mercy has manifested over the months of the Jubilee. I’ve had the joy of traveling internationally to lead many “God’s Healing Mercy” retreats wherein divine mercy manifested in deep inner healing, reconciliations, conversions, and physical healings. When the Vicar of Christ declared a Jubilee of Mercy, we entered a year of extraordinary favor.
In the Jubilee Year, God didn’t erase the great human problems that confront us presently. He did reveal that He is with us always. The battle is the Lord’s, and like David we face Goliaths of opposition, persecution, threats, and the mystery of human suffering and pain. But we don’t face these perplexing issues alone. We know that our Creator God who is Love has everything in the palm of His Almighty Hand. It sounds simplistic perhaps, but the gravitas of truth is simple in that God has ordered everything according to His divine will. There is a divine plan in our midst. God’s working—He’s faithful to His part. What are we to do? Believe. Adore. Hope. Love. Watch. Pray. Work. Fast. Sacrifice. Kiss our cross. Be merciful disciples. Be faithful and trust, trust, trust. Christ is our undefeatable Deliverer.
As Mother Agnes reminds us, “there are times when all seems lost and beyond hope and then God surprises us”—how much we relate to this true statement. The beauty of being a spiritual child is that we are assured of the care of Our Father in Heaven. The Most Holy Trinity is worthy to be trusted; worthy to be worshiped with confidence; worthy of our surrender. Divine providence always amazes.
Mary, Mother of Trust
The saints of divine mercy, Sr. Faustina and St. John Paul II, and others remind us that by trust and confidence God’s heart of mercy is moved. To grow in trust, we can look at the Virgin Mary at the wedding feast of Cana. Mary saw a problematic situation for the family at Cana. She simply turned to her Son Jesus and said, “They have no more wine” and what happened? Her maternal faith and trust moved Christ to act and He performed His first miracle. Expectant faith acts in confidence. We know that Mother Mary was not anxious at Cana; worried that Jesus would not do anything to fix the problem. She moved in expectant faith, anticipating a miracle. Jesus certainly provided in an extravagant way! Trust is the way of love. Maternal Marian mercy is the way of confidence.
Need to Be Delivered
Sometimes our journey of healing and deliverance is similar to the Israelites passage from slavery. God worked the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea and then they waited in the desert for forty years. God was with them, providing the manna. But there was grumbling, and some even desired to return to what they knew well—slavery. Healing and deliverance is a process wherein the renewal of the mind is necessary because makes us a new creation. What gets in the way too often are the chains of seven deadly sins: pride, envy, avarice, lust, gluttony, anger, and sloth.
In the remainder of the Jubilee of Mercy, let us pray for one another to be delivered from everything that gets in the way of trust in God. We need to be delivered from many small and big obstacles to faith and confidence. Oh, how the evil spirits want to make us feel hopeless, loveless, alone, rejected, powerless in a world that seems to be spinning out of control. It is way out of our control. But we know the Lord orchestrates everything according to His wisdom. Patient endurance, steadfast faith, persistent prayer carries us.
In the Sisters of Life magazine, I was blessed to find the Litany of Trust penned by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. I recognized that it is an anointed prayer that would bless everyone. I’m grateful to the editor of the magazine, Sr. Mary Elizabeth, who kindly gave permission to reprint the litany here.
Litany of Trust
From the belief that I have to earn Your love … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that I am unlovable … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the false security that I have what it takes … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that trusting You will leave me more destitute … Deliver me, Jesus.
From all suspicion of Your words and promises … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the rebellion against childlike dependency on You … Deliver me, Jesus.
From refusals and reluctances in accepting Your will … Deliver me, Jesus.
From anxiety about the future … Deliver me, Jesus.
From resentment or excessive preoccupation with the past … Deliver me, Jesus.
From restless self-seeking in the present moment … Deliver me, Jesus.
From disbelief in Your love and presence … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being asked to give more than I have … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that my life has no meaning or worth … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of what love demands … Deliver me, Jesus.
From discouragement … Deliver me, Jesus.
That You are continually holding me sustaining me, loving me … Jesus, I trust in you.
That Your love goes deeper than my sins and failings, and transforms me …Jesus, I trust in you.
That not knowing what tomorrow brings is an invitation to lean on You … Jesus, I trust in you.
That you are with me in my suffering … Jesus, I trust in you.
That my suffering, united to Your own, will bear fruit in this life and the next …Jesus, I trust in you.
That You will not leave me orphan, that You are present in Your Church
…Jesus, I trust in you.
That Your plan is better than anything else … Jesus, I trust in you.
That You always hear me, and in Your goodness always respond to me …Jesus, I trust in you.
That You give me the grace to accept forgiveness and to forgive others …Jesus, I trust in you.
That You give me all the strength I need for what is asked …Jesus, I trust in you.
That my life is a gift … Jesus, I trust in you.
That You will teach me to trust You … Jesus, I trust in you.
That You are my Lord and my God … Jesus, I trust in you.
That I am Your beloved one … Jesus, I trust in you.
Editor’s note: Learn more about the good work of the Sisters of Life: www.sistersoflife.org.
More about healing and deliverance: God’s Healing Mercy book and Foundation of Prayer for Priests: www.foundationforpriests.org.
