A Child’s Divine Mercy
Mixed Media (mostly coloured pencil) on Pastelmat
© 2021 Adelaine Nohara

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people; but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
~Matthew 19:13-14
There is no more important lesson to teach a child than the truth of Divine Mercy. The message of Divine Mercy is none other than the heart of the Gospel: That God loves the world immeasurably, and provided for the salvation of every human soul through the sacrifice of His Beloved Son upon the Cross.
Every child needs to understand that Jesus was held to the Cross not by nails but by love – and love for them personally, as an individual: one of the precious sons or daughters for whom He became man and shed His Most Precious Blood. In this lies the meaning of every human life, the eternal value of every human soul, and the truest identity of every human heart. Only in Christ can the human person find himself, so there is no greater service an adult can render a child than to lead that little one into the arms of the Saviour.
Our Saviour came to lead us out of sin. He does this by stooping down to embrace us in our miseries and weakness, healing the wounds of our misdeeds with the medicine of His Body and Blood, such that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).
In the story of Divine Mercy, the reality of sin and the reality of mercy are two sides of the same coin. Sadly, for many Christians one side of this coin is poorly understood or forgotten altogether. Some Christians focus excessively on the evil of sin, promoting an image of God as a severe judge, terrible in His Justice. In contrast, many Christians today focus on the mercy of Christ, but they lose sight of the truth that sin offends God and obstructs our salvation. In order to understand the Heart of Christ – a Heart that is Mercy and Love itself – we must comprehend that sin is a great evil that must be undone, but the mercy of Christ is greater than our sinfulness: our sins are but a drop in the ocean of God’s Mercy.
If we draw close to Christ and plunge our hearts into these Living Waters, He will consume us utterly, drowning our sins in His goodness. May every child be taught to draw near to the Heart of Jesus, that Divine Mercy may be theirs.