The Church has been eagerly awaiting Jesus’ final coming ever since he ascended into Heaven nearly 2,000 years ago. Each successive generation of Christians has believed that Jesus would come again during their life time.
No human truly knows when Jesus will come again, as he told his apostles that nobody, not even the angels, knows when that will happen:
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
Matthew 24:36
The spark before Jesus’ final coming
However, sometimes private revelations appear to give hints as to when Jesus will come again, though none has gone so far as to predict the day or hour.
The Divine Mercy devotion is one example, as St. Faustina’s Diary contains words from Jesus that seem to point to the end times.
St. John Paul II quotes from her Diary in a homily he gave in 2002 when visiting the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Poland:
Today, therefore, in this Shine, I wish solemnly to entrust the world to Divine Mercy. I do so with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful love, proclaimed here through Saint Faustina, may be made known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope. May this message radiate from this place to our beloved homeland and throughout the world. May the binding promise of the Lord Jesus be fulfilled: from here there must go forth “the spark which will prepare the world for his final coming” (cf. Diary, 1732).
St. John Paul II is quoting the following passage from her Diary, that refers to a “spark” coming from Poland:
I bear a special love for Poland, and if she will be obedient to My will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming
Diary, 1732
St. John Paul II believed that it was the Divine Mercy devotion that was the spark coming from Poland.
He continues this reflection in his homily and hoped to see the devition spread throughout the world:
This spark needs to be lighted by the grace of God. This fire of mercy needs to be passed on to the world. In the mercy of God the world will find peace and mankind will find happiness! I entrust this task to you, dear Brothers and Sisters, to the Church in Kraków and Poland, and to all the votaries of Divine Mercy who will come here from Poland and from throughout the world. May you be witnesses to mercy!
It’s important to note that all of this is personal reflection and nothing has the weight of divine revelation.
Only time will tell whether or not the Divine Mercy devotion is the spark that the world needs.
And today we celebrate...