February 25, 2012

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today we have gathered to celebrate Holy Mass in the land where we soon expect to see a Shrine dedicated to the Divine Mercy. A beautiful place of worship that would spring up, as a sign of hope in the heart of our city. A work that will be possible, with the help of God and the generosity of many, to proclaim, in the midst of a weary world in need of hope, always a cheerful message of a Holy God, Holy Mighty. One, Holy Immortal One, Creator of heaven and earth, and at the same time, gentle, patient and merciful to his children. A message of love and truth, as a shower of blessings eagerly awaited by so many of our brothers and sisters, who are now burdened by the weight of difficult family and economic situations that challenge their faith and hope.

This will be an oasis amid the bustling city and just steps from one of its busiest streets where the faithful can stop along the way and worship with faith and confidence which alone can give us, in the midst of darkness and disappointments, the radiant light of mercy flowing from his heart, and as a constant river of grace that will spring up on our city, its people, and the world.

In Miami, the Apostolate of the Divine Mercy, and the propagation of the message revealed to St. Faustina, have been attracting the faithful who, like “living stones” has built a community of love. As the Apostle Peter reminds us in his first letter: “Christ is the living stone, rejected by men but precious and chosen by God. When you approach the Lord, you are the living stones with which the community will build a spiritual house “(1 Peter 2, 4).

Dear brothers and sisters, this has been the most difficult task but at the same time the most important of all building a community and being one Church, built upon the foundation of the apostles (Ephesians 2: 20). With true “living stones” upholding the mission of the Divine Mercy, it will not be too difficult to accomplish the construction of the much needed and desired temple. A house that will serve as shelter and relief for all who seek in faith that kind and merciful face that one day Jesus revealed to Sister Faustina.

In this first Sunday of Lent, the word of God is in full harmony with the sentiments that inspires us today. In Psalm 24 we prayed, “Remember, Lord, your tenderness and mercy are eternal. Remember me with mercy, by your goodness, Lord. “The whole history of salvation is the story of the merciful love of God who comes to meet all human to heal their wounds and forgive their miseries. In the first reading from the Book of Genesis, we see that the Lord established a covenant of love with Noah and all mankind, which no human misery can destroy.

Jesus experienced the power of divine mercy when, in his humanity, he was tempted in the desert for 40 days, He is not abandoned but with the help of the Spirit he overcomes the temptations and is strengthened in this trial, as he begins his mission of salvation.

This announcement should resonate forever in our hearts, especially during this Lenten season: “Repent and believe in the Good News.” For He have come into the world to remind us the need to “turn to God;” a merciful God who is much closer than we sometimes imagine.

The temptations of Jesus are also our temptations: to live only for ourselves, seeking our own glory rather than the glory of God, abandon the worship of one God to worship other powers of this world. In the end, there is only one temptation: to forget God, find ourselves or follow other masters. Jesus overcame the temptations with the power of the Spirit. We can also win with His grace. But even if we yield to the temptation and fall because of our human frailty, even when we may feel crushed by the weight of our human misery, even when we are unfaithful to God and we do not measure up to what he expects from us … the Good News is that the love of God toward us is unconditional and always stronger than our weakness, that God’s faithfulness to his covenant with us is unwavering.

That’s the message the Lord gave Sister Faustina Kowalska: that the merciful love of God is bigger and stronger than all sin and all misery. This message is graphically expressed in the famous image of the Christ of Divine Mercy: the risen Jesus with two rays of light streaming from his heart, a white one representing the waters of baptism and a red one representing His blood. And at the bottom of the picture the inscription: “Jesus I trust in You.”

The temple that will soon be built in this place will be a standing invitation to all, to trust in the merciful love of God manifested in Jesus Christ. By the waters of baptism we belong to him forever. By His precious blood shed on the cross we have been redeemed. There is nothing to fear. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. There is nothing that cannot be transformed by His grace.

God, grant us that we may soon see and visit this temple, and that with all our brothers and sisters, we may pray in faith and trust for your sorrowful Passion …, by your glorious resurrection have mercy on us and on the whole world … To you God of goodness and mercy be the glory forever and ever … Amen.

Approximately 600 people attended our annual Conference on Saturday 7 May at the Sun Life Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins. This is the first time we celebrate our conference in this venue whose interior air conditioned halls are comfortably equipped for these occasions.
As in previous years, the Apostolate offered very well prepared lectures on the Devotion to Divine Mercy and His message, both in English and Spanish. Simultaneous translation was provided for more than 170 attendees, through modern transmission and reception equipment.

The wide publicity of the event made it possible for many to arrive from places as far away as countries from Spain and Argentina, the states of Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Georgia, and the cities of Tampa, Lake Worth, Naples and Key West in Florida. The rest of the participants reside in the counties of Broward and Miami-Dade. To facilitate the attendance of the latter, two buses, the company’s Pegasus, were located in the Parish of St. Agatha in Miami-Dade and St. Gregory, in Broward, which transported the attendees to the stadium in the morning and returned them to the parishes in the afternoon.
The content of the lectures given was based on the columns on which rests the spirituality of St. Faustina and the message of Divine Mercy as she received it from Jesus – her devotion to the Holy Eucharist, her devotion to the Blessed Virgin, her trust in God that leads her to full compliance with His will and her mercy towards others through works of mercy motivated by her love of the merciful Jesus. They also featured the new forms of devotion to Divine Mercy – the Image, the Chaplets, the Feast, the Hour of 3, and spreading the message.