On Friday, April 11, Mr. Jim Miller talked about the message of Divine Mercy at the eighth annual Spirit of Care Conference at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center. He discussed the visions and messages St. Faustina Kowalska received from Jesus Christ in the 1930s. He re-iterated that the mercy of God is available to everyone and the importance that we spread this message to others.
He recalled Blessed Mother Teresa talking about the lack of love in many families. Once, during a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Faustina, she asked Our Lady three times how she should pray to God. Each time the Queen of Heaven and Earth replied, “In all humility.”
This makes sense since only humility leads to genuine love, and only genuine love leads to mercy and concern for our neighbor.
Recently, Kolbe Villa, a 10-year-old boy in the fifth grade from the Cathedral of the Risen Christ School in Lincoln, decided to conduct a food drive in his neighborhood for our St. Francis Food Pantry. He was able to obtain 25 sacks from a local grocery store and went around the neighborhood, knocking on doors. It is a testimony to his neighbors that he received only one “no!” His dad said it was a great way to connect with those in the neighborhood.
I was fortunate and privileged to have been here when he and his father dropped off the food at our pantry. I wish you could have seen the smile on Kolbe’s face when he found out that he collected 243 pounds of food for the poor!
Just a few days later, I was able to see the DVD concerning the Charity and Stewardship Appeal in which Kolbe’s parents Michael and Emily are one of the two host couples. I was edified to listen to Emily’s testimony. I would like to thank Kolbe, his mother Emily and his father Michael for their humility, love and mercy.
For those who view this DVD, you will hear Emily say how she teaches her children to always be mindful of the littlest ones in the family. Knowing this, thinking of the poor, naked, thirsty and hungry is only logical.
Oh, the humble obedience of Jesus on the Cross! Oh the love and mercy He exhibited on that Good Friday! Oh the victory over sin and death won by His resurrection from the dead! As we celebrate Easter, let us beg our Risen Lord to help us imitate his humility, love and mercy so we too can be instruments of Divine Mercy!
