by Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endures forever.” (Ps 117:1).
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Divine Mercy. Have you read: Divine Mercy In My Soul – a compilation of Sister Faustina Kowalska’s diaries in which she recorded revelations she received about God’s mercy? Pope John Paul II canonised her on April 30, 2000.
Many of us say the Divine Mercy Chaplet or have in our homes a picture of Our Lord as He appeared to St Faustina, with rays emanating from his pierced heart. The following are quotations taken from her diaries:
“I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and throughout the world.” (Diary 47)
“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.” (Diary 327)
“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 very depths of My tender mercy when My agonised heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who dwells in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.” (Diary 299)
“By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works.” (Diary 742)
Yes, we must engage in corporal and spiritual works of mercy if we are to follow in the footsteps of the risen Lord. It is not enough to learn in our Catechism (2447) that the Corporal works of mercy are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit those in prison, and bury the dead (And see: Mt 25:35-42), we must put this knowledge into practice.
We must also put into practice the Spiritual works of mercy: correcting, instructing, counselling/advising, consoling/comforting, forgiving, bearing wrongs patiently, and praying for the living and the dead.
As people of the Beatitudes, we are called to practise mercy: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7). But are we a merciful people in T&T? I am hoping to meet with the Hon Minister of Social Development to urge him to take action to build appropriate Youth Custody Centres both in Trinidad and in Tobago. You may have read the Express Editorial (March 27) which focussed on the case of the 14-year-old girl in San Fernando who has been remanded into custody at the Women’s Prison in Arouca on a charge of “being uncontrollable”. As the Editorial states, this is “yet another one of those illustrations of the weaknesses in the country’s apparatus for the protection of children. At 14 years old this child is a minor under the laws of T&T, and ought not to be ordered to be held in detention at any penal institution meant for adults.”
This case raises a number of issues e.g. the rights of the child, the need for the Children’s Authority to come on stream fully, the need for parent empowerment programmes, and the need for purpose-built Youth Custody facilities which will provide safe, secure, healthy and humane environments for youths in custody.
What has come to light as CCSJ seeks to take up this issue with the “powers that be” is that there may be as many as 40 young women who sleep in a dormitory during the night at the Women’s Prison but who mingle with adult female prisoners during the day. We will seek to verify this information. And although there is the Youth Training Centre for male youths in custody in Trinidad, are our male youths who are in custody in Tobago placed with adult male prisoners?
God’s mercy knows no bounds. He will guide us to do what is right for our people; he will renew our hearts and minds – if we trust in Him and seek to do His will.
