Beyond Sunday / April 11, 2023

Surrendering to Divine Mercy

With Divine Mercy Sunday in mind, Rakhi and Nicole discuss the invitation Jesus gives us to receive his infinite mercy. They talk about how oftentimes receiving this mercy can be difficult, when we struggle to surrender our hearts to him fully, especially those aspects of life that are most burdensome or that we are most tempted to control. They offer encouragement to listeners to seek a disposition of surrender through prayer and to introduce this to their children.

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by OSV Catholic Bookstore, publisher of An Adoration Treasury for Young Catholics. Help your little ones spend meaningful time before Jesus in the Eucharist with this book featuring a multitude of prayers, hymns, meditations, and ways to pray before the Eucharist, accompanied by beautiful illustrations. Use code “52SUN” for 20% off your purchase of this Eucharistic resource.

Show Notes

(00:55) Rakhi and Nicole open up the episode discussing Divine Mercy Sunday and how they bring the celebration into their homes with fun recipes.

(03:33) They offer a brief history of Divine Mercy Sunday and highlight its origins in St. Faustina’s revelations. They talk about their desires for mercy and how difficult it can be, at times, to trust in Jesus.

(07:20) They talk about the temptation to control every aspect of life — especially when it comes to parenting — to uphold a “put together” outward image and how Jesus doesn’t want to encounter us in a polished image, but in our authentic selves.

(11:43) They talk about how it can be tempting to project our human experiences onto our relationships with God, which can make it difficult to trust him. They highlight how we have to allow our inward selves to be transformed in order to surrender to true trust. They then highlight how our outward movements will come from our internal reality, which is why we need to bring our innermost selves to Jesus.

(14:45) They talk about areas they’ve seen this play out in their own lives and even in their children. They then guide listeners through an imaginative exercise in which they can bring the weight they’ve been carrying in their lives and give it over to Jesus. They emphasize that this act of surrender requires the Holy Spirit, that it’s not something we can do on our own.

(20:54) They describe how when we name our fears and surrender things to Jesus, little by little, what we were once afraid of can be brought to the light and transformed.

(23:40) They share a prayer of surrender by Servant of God Dolindo Ruotolo that is the center of the Surrender Novena. They encourage listeners to pray this novena, seeking deliverance from worry, spiritual attack, fears, etc. They talk about how Jesus comes to us in a posture of giving, that he wants to pour out mercy, but that in order to receive this mercy, we have to be open to receiving this gift.

(26:26) They encourage listeners to seek a disposition of surrender through the Surrender Novena and by bringing the heavy parts of life to Jesus, and entrusting them to him. They also encourage them to invite their children into this practice of surrender, as well.

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by OSV Catholic Bookstore, publisher of An Adoration Treasury for Young Catholics. Help your little ones spend meaningful time before Jesus in the Eucharist with this book featuring a multitude of prayers, hymns, meditations, and ways to pray before the Eucharist, accompanied by beautiful illustrations. Use code “52SUN” for 20% off your purchase of this Eucharistic resource.