Merciful Refuge
Author: Abbey Foard
April 11, 2021
“O Blood and Water, which
gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in
you!”
– Chaplet of Divine Mercy
A week after Easter in 2018, Andrew and I
were ministering in Vilnius, Lithuania--home to the original painting inspired
by an obscure Polish nun, Maria Faustina Kowalska (now St. Faustina). She met Jesus in that flow--a vision of the
blood and water surging from His side. Jesus’ words gripped her:
“Let all mankind recognize My
unfathomable mercy…let them profit from the Blood and Water which gushed forth
for them” (
Diary 848).
Andrew and I were present during Divine Mercy Sunday, a Feast
Day which always bookends Easter Sunday; it represents the fruit of Jesus’
Resurrection in great drafts of mercy aimed at the whole world! What began as a
messy flow of blood and water becomes through Holy Spirit the transformation of
every tribe and tongue.
That Sunday in Vilnius I remember feeling
particularly gripped with my need for mercy. I confessed to Andrew the pull of
codependency--ways I try to get needs met by positioning myself in dependent
relationships with others. I saw afresh that my hunger for connection and
communion is vulnerable to going sideways!
But it also revealed roots of a deeper
struggle--my challenge to find a rich community in a church home in Kansas
City. I value the Church, and have always longed for a solid, holy refuge. Jesus
had saved me through His Church! I knew rich community through my Lutheran
foundations and in beautiful charismatic church communities. But in Kansas
City, there seemed to be a gap for me. I couldn’t fully “land” and my
frustration (and confusion!) was mounting.
Saints like Faustina became friends for me. I
had been drawn to mystics in the historic Church. Now I was beginning to see
the value of their Catholic Tradition. They knew Jesus in the midst of
liturgical prayers, the Eucharist, His community.
Having been blessed by my Catholic brothers
and sisters all over the world, I began to enjoy the daily readings. I felt
grounded. Inspired that millions of people through the globe were reading the
same, I sensed the Holy Spirit in and through these unifying traditions. I
began to crave the Eucharist, hungering to “touch” Jesus afresh today. Not only
through the Holy Spirit or His members, but Himself--His body and blood given
for me.
Mercy surprised me. I wasn’t expecting Jesus’
invitation to bring my charismatic/ evangelical self into the Catholic Church. Yet
her solid foundation has grounded me. And I feel free to offer my gift there!
My road to Catholicism in no way negates the
ecumenism of Living Waters. We come from a variety of spiritual communities,
but we encounter the same blood and water flow. We delight in our corporate
immersion. Divine Mercy unites every Christian!
On this “Divine Mercy” Sunday, for the sake
of His suffering and merciful surge, let us cry out for what He desires to
give:
“mercy on us and on the whole world!”
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