Jesus gave St. Margaret Mary messages about the great love that is in his Sacred Heart. Then, centuries later, he gave another Saint messages about the mercy that flows from his Sacred Heart.

 

Jesus appeared to a Polish nun named Sr. Faustina (later, St. Faustina) between 1931 and 1938. He appeared to her wearing a white robe. His right hand was raised as if giving a blessing, and his left hand touched his heart. Two large rays shone from the center of his chest. One was red and the other a pale blue, almost white.

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Jesus told her to have someone paint an image of him exactly how she saw him in that vision. He told her to have the words, “Jesus I trust in You,” written at the bottom of the painting.

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Then Jesus explained to her, “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory. I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world.”  (St. Faustina’s Diary, 47, 48, 327)

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“The two rays denote blood and water. The pale ray stands for the water, which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the blood, which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the cross. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.”  (Diary 299)

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Jesus revealed that the image of Divine Mercy is a protective image, and I believe that the houses that display this image (especially on or over the doors) will be protected during the tribulations to come. Remember, the red ray coming from his heart denotes the blood of the Lamb.

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In order to understand the importance of this, we have to look back at the Old Testament.

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The Passover

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At the beginning of Exodus, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, so God sent Moses to Egypt to demand that Pharaoh let his people go. But Pharaoh wouldn’t release them. As a sign of his displeasure, God sent a plague or punishment to Egypt every time Pharaoh said no. After the ninth one, God warned Moses that the tenth would be so catastrophic Pharaoh would finally agree to release the Israelites.

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To prepare for this horrific event, God told the Israelites to slaughter a lamb at twilight and put its blood over the doorposts and lintels of their houses. Then God said to roast the lamb and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. He said to eat quickly with sandals on their feet and staff in hand.

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The Lord said that at midnight he would go through Egypt and strike down every firstborn human and animal. But he said he would “pass over” and not harm anyone in the houses that had blood over the doorposts.

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And that’s precisely what God did.

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Pharaoh woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of loud cries. There was not a house in Egypt that did not have someone dead in it (except the houses of the Israelites). Even Pharaoh’s own firstborn, who sat on the throne, was struck dead. So he summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and commanded them and the Israelites to leave Egypt immediately.

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Because the Lord had already warned the Israelites previously, they were ready to escape—with full bellies and sandals on. They grabbed the rest of their unleavened dough and set out for the wilderness.

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Along the journey, they made unleavened cakes with the leftover Passover dough. When that ran out, the Lord rained down manna from heaven every morning. The Lord provided for their needs for more than 40 years, until they reached the promised land.

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Every year then, the Israelites celebrated the Passover with unleavened bread to commemorate the night the Lord set them free from their slavery in Egypt. It was this Passover meal that Jesus celebrated with the apostles in the upper room that we now call the Last Supper.

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As St. Luke recorded, “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.’ They asked him, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for it?’”

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Then, Jesus and his twelve apostles sat down in the upper room and ate the Passover meal together. Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, “he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” (Luke 22:19-20)

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Jesus actually gave himself to the disciples in a new Passover meal. He became unleavened bread and shed his own Blood as the Lamb of God. Therefore because the image of Divine Mercy denotes the Blood of the Lamb, when it is placed on the doors of believers it ensures the wrath of God will "pass over" the home just like it did in Exodus. 

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This is why Jesus told St. Faustina, “You will prepare the world for My final coming.” (Diary #429) 

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