Papal documents usually have profound insights for us, not only for the times that they are written, but as a teaching tool that lasts for centuries and sometimes into millenniums. In his encyclical letter Saved by Hope (Spe Salvi) Pope Benedict XVI elaborates on the hope for eternal life and he reminds us that hope ultimately depends on our trusting in God's love for us, for without trust there can be no true hope, nor true peace for mankind.

What will Benedict see when he arrives here? Will he see signs of hope in Christ? I can’t help but think that images of Jesus, The Divine Mercy would be the very best signs for our successor of Peter to see everywhere that he goes. Just think about it… everywhere he would see these beautiful images of Jesus, with His hand raised in blessing with rays of light emanating from His heart and with these words of hope: "Jesus, I trust in You!"

There is a tremendous need in our country, right now, for everyone to see signs of hope. Only in Christ can we truly find it. Jesus has promised to remain with us and it is very important for us to see and to feel His presence around us at all times. He is present in the Eucharist, in His word, and in us when we walk in His light, but He is also present in His images, and especially in the Divine Mercy image that He gave us specially for our times.

How many of us are aware that Pope Benedict, just shortly before he became pope had recommended the re-introduction of icons and images into our Churches as a means of bringing hope to an ailing and scandalized Church? Have we responded to this urgent call? Will he find our churches full of the warmth and comfort that beautiful sacred art can bring to our sanctuaries? Will he find our faith alive in all the planned liturgies?

Pope Benedict XVI, at the turn of the millennium, in one of his best known books, "The Spirit of the Liturgy" wrote extensively on the need for sacred art in every Catholic Church. He wrote of the misunderstanding of Vatican II and how the removal and destruction of images, in his own words, "left behind a void, the wretchedness of which we are now experiencing in a truly acute way".

He spoke of the "crisis of art" today being "a symptom of the crisis of man’s very existence". We don’t have to go too far to see the "sense-less" art that is prevalent today. Modern sacred art with its unrealistic and odd-shaped corpuses and statues does nothing to bring to mind anything of the sacred at all if it is not truly life-like. Our churches need to be adorned with sacred art that lifts our souls to a view of our heavenly home, where we can hope to be where the great saints abide with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Pope explained, "The complete absence of images is incompatible with faith in the Incarnation of God. God has acted in history and entered into our ‘sensible’ world, so that it may become transparent to him. Images of beauty, in which the mystery of the invisible God becomes visible, are an ‘essential’ part of Christian worship". Take note here that the Pope said "images of beauty" and not modern or abstract art that is meaningless.

What is most remarkable in the twenty plus pages that the he dedicated to sacred art in this book is the prevalence of the description of an image that could only be the Divine Mercy image itself. He not only noted that it was wrong to remove the images and icons, in the first place, but he went on to explain what the most perfect image would have to be like and only the Divine Mercy image could possibly meet all of his particular criteria.

I would challenge you to pick-up a copy of this book and fasten your seat belt. As you read Part Three, Art and Liturgy, The Question of Images, keep in mind all the details of the Divine Mercy image. His thorough explanation of the essentials of sacred art that is ordered to divine worship could only apply to an image that has all the aspects of the Divine Mercy image that Jesus asked to be painted and venerated throughout the world.

His brilliant and methodical explanation of sacred art is truly a masterpiece that everyone should read. Re-reading only takes you deeper into the intellect, which this Pope has, probably second to none, concerning liturgical worship and the understanding of sacred art throughout the ages. The more you read, the more you will come to understand the importance and significance of having the Divine Mercy image in every Catholic parish.

Not only is the Divine Mercy image most appropriate for Divine Mercy Sunday, as our Lord Jesus stated, but it is also most appropriate for everyday liturgy. On Mercy Sunday itself, we already know that all of the readings, starting from the Opening Prayer, directs us to focus our attention on the saving Blood, the washing away of sins in Water, a new birth in the Spirit, the institution of confession, and the importance of trusting in Jesus.

The Pope said that "On liturgical feasts the deeds of God in the past are made present. The feasts are a participation in God’s action in time, and the images themselves, as remembrance in visible form, are involved in the liturgical re-presentation." He spoke of the images as being a "path of hope, into which the images draw us, giving us the assurance of the world to come, of the final coming of Christ". Assurance gives us hope.

The Divine Mercy image is truly a "path of hope" instituted by God Himself, which will lead us safely to the "final coming of Christ". He gave us this image specifically to give us hope and to give us a constant re-assurance that Jesus will lead us safely home to His coming. The words "Jesus, I trust in You" have been a great comfort to souls, especially in the parishes that have permanently installed the images in their liturgical settings.

Benedict wrote "The icon is intended to draw us onto an inner path, the eastward path, toward the Christ who is to return. Its dynamism is identical with the dynamism of the liturgy as a whole… In the liturgy the curtain between heaven and earth is torn open, and we are taken up into a liturgy that spans the whole cosmos." The Divine Mercy image portrays Christ coming to us from heaven and opening up that curtain and bestowing upon us His inexhaustible grace and mercy that comes from His most Sacred Heart.

It is interesting to note that Pope Benedict said that the images "have a reference to the sacraments, and above all, to Baptism and the Eucharist, and, in pointing to the sacraments, they are contained within them… they are essentially connected with what happens in the liturgy." This goes hand in hand with what Jesus told us about His image.

God’s Providence in establishing Divine Mercy Sunday and the veneration of the Divine Mercy image is becoming more and more evident every time we search the scriptures, the early church fathers, or like in this case, the writings of our Spirit-filled Pope Benedict.

Jesus told us that the two rays in the Divine Mercy image denote the Blood and Water that gushed forth from His Heart when He was pierced on the Cross. The Blood portrays the Eucharist, which is the life of souls, and the Water portrays, among other sacraments, Baptism that makes souls righteous. Jesus also indicated that we would receive graces from these images, and He said this more than once as exhibited in the following words:

The Pope explained "the center of the icon of Christ is the Paschal Mystery: Christ is presented as the Crucified, the risen Lord, the One who will come again and who here and now hiddenly reigns over all. Every image of Christ must contain all these three essential aspects of the mystery of Christ and, in this sense, must be an image of Easter".

The Divine Mercy image is the image of the risen Christ on that first Easter on the evening of the Resurrection, miraculously appearing there in the Upper Room and bestowing on the Apostles the power of the Holy Spirit to forgive sins. His hand is raised in blessing, he shows them His wounds, and Jesus is looking for their trust in Him. They had lost hope, were saddened and confused, but He came to them and gave them peace.

Recall that St. Thomas, the doubter, was not there on that first Easter Sunday, but was actually there on the "Second Sunday of Easter", the very first Divine Mercy Sunday. It was no accident that Thomas was not there on that first Easter, it was divine providence. Now we can see why Jesus insisted that the Divine Mercy image, with the words "Jesus, I trust in You" be in view and venerated in our churches on the Second Sunday of Easter. That whole scenario with Thomas was designed to get us to trust in Jesus without seeing.

The Divine Mercy image portrays, not only the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, but as Pope John Paul II indicated, it also portrays, in the clear light rays, representing the water, the giving of the Holy Spirit, which is present in all the other sacraments. It could only be this image, that by divine providence, Pope Benedict was referring to. This book will become an endless treasure for the Church until Jesus returns at His Second Coming.

It is very clear that our Holy Father wrote this book with the intention of pouring out his heart to all of us, so that we might bring life and hope back into the liturgy. His many years as one of the Church’s foremost theologians and as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has earned him everyone’s respect. It would be of immense benefit for everyone to quickly read this book, including all of our bishops and priests.

His message of hope, which has become his hallmark, was very prevalent in this work, which was written just five years before his election to the papacy. He often mentioned the word "hope" and associated it with the Coming of Christ. Indeed, this is our hope, and this image of the Divine Mercy was designed by our God, to bring us precisely this hope, and trust, as we grow ever closer to that long-awaited Second Coming of Christ.

The Divine Mercy image most perfectly fits every single fundamental principal and identifying element that our Pope has so painstakingly described. Only by reading this masterful work will we come to understand the depth of the Pope’s insight and into the urgent need to re-invigorate our churches with sacred art that is ordered to the liturgy, of which no other image could represent so precisely as the Divine Mercy image itself.

Is it any wonder, why his predecessor, Pope John Paul II worked so hard to make us all understand how important Divine Mercy is? There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit was working through our Church and the Vicar of Christ to bring about this path of hope. The World Congress on Divine Mercy was yet another sign from heaven to give us hope and that now is the time for mercy. Let us take advantage now while there is time for hope.

Let us give our Pope a real warm welcome as he brings us the message of "Christ, our Hope" to America. Let us hold up to him images of Jesus, The Divine Mercy. Let us hold them up along his paths wherever he goes, in our streets, and in our churches so that he may see that we are united with him in seeking this hope that can only come from Christ!

Let us show him that the Catholic Church is truly alive and well here in America!