Marie F. Romagnano, MSN, RN, CRC, founded Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy in the wake of 9/11. Here, she calls us to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for those injured and dying as a result of the recent explosion that rocked Beruit, Lebanon.
By Marie Romagnano
Special to The CFP
In the wake of a massive explosion on Tuesday (Aug. 4) in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed more than 100 people and injured thousands, we encourage everyone to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for those who have lost their lives and for the injured and dying in the debris and rubble.
In her Diary, St. Faustina records the powerful promises Jesus made about the Chaplet for those who are dying:
Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer (1777).
At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or, when others say it for a dying person; the pardon is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, divine anger is placated, an unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son (811).
Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death (687).
Oh, what great graces I will grant to souls who say this chaplet; the very depths of My tender mercy are stirred for the sake of those who say the chaplet (848).
St. Faustina tells us about God’s powerful final grace of mercy, which is a source of comfort to families who have lost a loved one suddenly. We look to what she tells us about caring spiritually for the dying, and this gives us great hope. She wrote:
I often attend upon the dying, and through entreaties obtain for them trust in God’s mercy, and I implore God for an abundance of divine grace, which is always victorious. God’s mercy sometimes touches the sinner at the last moment in a wondrous and mysterious way. Outwardly, it seems as if everything were lost, but it is not so. The soul, illumined by a ray of God’s powerful final grace, turns to God in the last moment with such a power of love that, in an instant, it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls [at that stage] no longer react to external things. Oh, how beyond comprehension is God’s mercy! Although a person is at the point of death, the merciful God gives the soul that interior vivid moment, so that if the soul is willing, it has the possibility of returning to God (Diary, 1698).
Realizing that God’s mercy is infinite and incomprehensible, St. Faustina is telling us that God directly intervenes with the soul at the moment of death, giving the soul one last chance for true contrition and salvation, even if no sacramental confession or the anointing of the sick is possible.
Rendering care for our suffering brothers and sisters allows us to remain faithful to Jesus’ command given through St. Faustina in her Diary:
You are to show mercy to [others] always and everywhere. ... I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy … the first by deed, the second by word, the third by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy (742).
The Hour of Great Mercy
For our injured brothers and sisters, we can also remember them in prayer during the Hour of Great Mercy at 3 p.m. daily. Jesus told St. Faustina:
In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion (1320).
In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world — mercy triumphed over justice (1572).
I remind you, My daughter, that as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners, for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul (1572).
Jesus also says:
Call upon my mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. … O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus, as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You! (186-187).
During this national tragedy for the country of Lebanon, let us unite our prayers and implore God’s mercy through the Divine Mercy message and devotion. Let us turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has such tender love for her children, by praying the Rosary. Let us also consider having Masses celebrated for those that have died and those who continue to suffer.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet as well as other prayers for the sick and dying are found in Nursing with the Hands of Jesus (Marian Press), and it is now a free digital flip book.
PHOTO: Smoldering debris is seen in Beirut Aug. 5, 2020, following explosions the previous day. Two massive explosions near the port of the Lebanese capital injured dozens of people and shattered windows in buildings blocks away. (CNS photo/Mohamed Azakir, Reuters)