Each week Julie Nelson and Lisa Schmidt explore the depth, breadth, and strength of the Catholic Church through a feminine lens on their radio show Catholic Women Now. The show, produced by Iowa Catholic Radio, is heard in the Des Moines area on 1150AM, 88.5 & 94.5 FM. Listeners outside this area can stream online via ChristianNetCast or through the Tune-In Radio app.
Show times: Tuesday at 2:30pm, Friday at 9:00pm, Saturday at 8:30 and 11:30am and Sunday at 6:00pm — all times Central. Tune in; tell a friend!
Here’s a recap of this week’s show.
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Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!
We had a special in-studio guest with us this week: Eileen Valdez. Eileen is a member of Christ the King Catholic Church and is Director of Human Resources for the Diocese of Des Moines. She is wife to Tony who is in the diaconate formation program. During a Christian Experience Renewal (CEW) retreat several years ago, Eileen was introduced to the Divine Mercy devotion and was quite drawn to the message. She now helps lead the annual Divine Mercy Des Moines celebration.
What is Divine Mercy? Simply, Divine Mercy IS Jesus. Oookay that’s a wrap, cue our theme song, end of show … wait, don’t touch that dial! There is more.
In 1931, Jesus appeared to a humble, simple Polish nun, St. Faustina Kowalska. His countenance was noticeable with two rays of light, one red and one white, streaming from His heart. The red ray symbolizing the blood He shed for our salvation and the white for the water of Baptism. Jesus instructed St. Faustina to have this image painted with the words written “Jesus, I trust in you” beneath His image so the world would know the devotion to Jesus, the Divine Mercy.
Jesus appeared many times to St. Faustina with the message of His Divine Mercy. St. Faustina, obedient to Jesus and with encouragement from her spiritual director, wrote this message in a diary for all the world to learn about the great mercy of Christ. And the message?
Simple as A, B, C
- Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to come to Him in prayer
- Be Merciful. God wants us to be filled with His mercy and be merciful with others in our lives.
- Completely trust in Jesus. The graces of His mercy rely on our complete trust in Jesus.
And did you know there is a Sunday set aside for Divine Mercy? Divine Mercy Sunday is the second Sunday of Easter, or the Sunday following Easter Sunday. Blessed John Paul II highlighted this day with the canonization of St. Faustina in 2000.
We may know of God’s mercy, but how can we experience and tap into this wellspring of grace? Two ways.
- By praying The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. It is traditionally prayed daily at 3:00pm, the hour of great mercy when Christ died. Iowa Catholic Radio prays the Divine Mercy chaplet daily at 3:00pm on air. It also prayed as a novena beginning on Good Friday and concluding on Divine Mercy Sunday.
- Making a Confession, the sacrament of mercy and forgiveness.
Those in the Des Moines area are invited to the Divine Mercy celebration this weekend. More info here. And for those of you with kids, check out this creative, interactive activity to involve your kids with the novena.
Thanks again for tuning in to Catholic Women Now on Iowa Catholic Radio … now go do the impossible things with God!