Christians must be people of hope. The Apostle Paul writes: “For in hope we were saved” (Rom 8:24). The ground of hope is faith. Pope Benedict XVI expresses this perfectly in his encyclical Spe salvi, when he states that “anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life” (cf. Eph 2:12) (Spe salvi, 27).
The true believer, then, trusts God in all things. The blood of Christ poured out for us is our guarantee of salvation and the forgiveness of sins. Saint Faustina states in her Diary: “Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equaled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place her hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven and earth may change, but God’s mercy will never be exhausted” (Diary, 72). This conviction rests on the very words of the Merciful Jesus: “Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy toward tormented souls. Souls that appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he appeals to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice” (Diary, 1146).
Since we have been created in the image of God, sanctified by the sacrament of baptism, and enlightened by the Gospel, we must to trust in God and sustain our prayers in that trust. This is what Our Lord asks of St. Faustina: “Your duty will be to trust completely in My goodness, and My duty will be to give you all you need. I am making Myself dependent upon your trust: if your trust is great, then My generosity will be without limit” (Diary, 548).
If we but trust in God, we will not be disappointed. Prayer, which God assures us will always be heard, will secure for us the forgiveness of sins if it is joined with true remorse and a desire to seek a sacramental confession: “Today the Lord said to me: ‘My daughter, My pleasure and delight, nothing will stop me from granting you graces. Your misery does not hinder my mercy. My daughter, write that the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy; [urge] all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all. On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls – no one have I excluded!’” (Diary, 1182).
Let us then trust in the Lord and pray together with St. Faustina: “O Jesus, eternal Truth, strengthen my feeble forces; You can do all things, Lord. I know that without You all my efforts are in vain. O Jesus, do not hide from me, for I cannot live without You. Listen to the cry of my soul, Your mercy has not been exhausted, Lord, so have pity on my misery. Your mercy surpasses the understanding of all Angels and people put together; and so, although it seems to me that You do not hear me, I put my trust in the ocean of Your mercy, and I know that my hope will not be deceived” (Diary, 67).