(click here to read chapter one)
Father Jerry kept flipping pages until he found what he was looking for. He removed the paper clip and handed me the picture. "Do you have this picture of Jesus yet?" I looked at the picture and shook my head no. "This is called the Divine Mercy image. I'd like you to have it. I remember you said you weren't really into praying, but do you see the inscription at the bottom. 'Jesus I trust in you'. It's very simple and it's a life changer. Pray this prayer every day, put all your trust in Jesus, trust in His Mercy and then let Jesus take it from there."
I looked at the image as Father Jerry spoke. "What are these rays coming from Jesus' Heart?"
The heart of Jesus is a fountain of mercy. When Jesus died on the cross, His heart was pierced by the lance of a Roman soldier and His Blood and Water gushed forth. Jesus asked St. Faustina to have this image painted. According to the Diary of St. Faustina, Jesus told her "the pale ray stands for the water that makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls."
"Father Jerry, I appreciate you giving me this picture, but it sounds like it means a lot to you and maybe you should keep it in your prayer book. I'm really not very good at praying."
"How do you know your not good at praying? Did God tell you that?"
"No, God doesn't tell me anything. I don't think He even hears me."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because I never get what I pray for."
"Eric, prayer isn't about God doing what we ask. Prayer is the way we grow closer to God so we can do what He asks. Do me a favor. Just take this picture and put it in your room. If you have a chance to say 'Jesus, I trust in you', that would be great. If your not ready for that yet, then just hold on to it. You may be inspired to say it some time down the road."
I didn't want to offend Father Jerry. I could tell this Divine Mercy picture was important to him. I did my best to smile and then said, "Okay, I can do that."
Father Jerry smiled back as if he knew some secret and then said, "Well I better get that prescription for Charles before the pharmacy closes. Thanks again for locating my book for me. I'm so glad I didn't lose it."
My mom walked Father Jerry to the front door and then waved once he got in his car. She came back into the living room and said, "Well that was an interesting afternoon!"
"I know, right? See, he didn't even care that I read his book."
Mom rolled her eyes and said, "You got lucky on that one. He really is a nice man. I like the picture."
"You want it?"
"No, he gave it to you. I think you should put it in your room and think about it, just like Father Jerry suggested."
"Ya... I guess I could do that. So...what were you thinking for dinner?"
As Mom made dinner, I headed towards my room with the Divine Mercy Image. I placed it on my dresser and was about to walk away when surprisingly, I changed my mind. I looked at the image of Jesus and I said, "Jesus, I trust in You."
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