Divine Mercy

I wouldn't have known if my good friend, Mary, hadn't told me that today is the Feast of Divine Mercy.  (Hitherto I'd known it as Low Sunday, which seems a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy both of mood and attendance in church. Much better having a feast to reflect on the heart of the Holy Week story.)  I'd downloaded an app which I looked at before this morning's service, since we'd got to church early so that Jane could set up crèche. In the Litany for today there's this lovely line, "Divine Mercy, astonishment for Angels, incomprehensible by Saints - I trust in You". We see God's mercy personified in our Lord Jesus himself. It reminds me of the lines in Charles Wesley's And can it be:
"Tis mystery all: the Immortal dies! Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the first-born seraph tries to sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all. Let earth adore, let angel minds enquire no more." Sadly that verse isn't on my favourite version, by Lou Fellingham and Phatfish, though the new Archbishop had it near the end of his service (Justin Welby's inaugural service, 25+min in).

At the end of the Litany comes this prayer, "Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen."

I'm chuffed to bits that my original hope for this blog, that others would contribute their own insights, has begun to happen with comments like those of Leafyschroder and others that have been sent direct to me - of which more tomorrow or soon!