The image of Jesus King of the Divine Mercy shows our Lord pointing to His Heart where rays of light shine forth. Pope Benedict, in Spe Salvi, his encyclical on Christian hope speaks of the transformative power of this rays of light or fire of love:
Some recent theologians are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation “as through fire”. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God (SS no. 47).
May the flame of love and mercy from the heart of Jesus, King of Mercy truly transform us as it did St Thomas, from a doubter to a believer.
Painting by Bernardo Strozzi; Oil on canvas, 89 x 98.2 cm
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