Catholic Articles Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ

It was a Good Friday, about 20 years ago, which fell on the 13th of the month. I was far away from home, working in Roxas City and 13 of us decided to go to Virgin Beach for a picnic. It did not sit right with me because deep in my heart I knew that I should have been in Church but I was young and carefree and pushed the uneasy feeling out of my heart and out of my mind. We were all very excited and happy; we worked 24/7 and a holiday at the beach was something we all looked forward to.

We piled into the back of a pick-up truck and off we went. About 100 meters down the road we had a flat tyre and made our way to a nearby workshop. We sorted that out in a hurry. However, we had two more flat tyres further down the road. Again we made our way to the next closest workshop and also had that fixed, continuing on our trip feeling optimistic and happy. Nothing was going to deter us. But still...deep down in my heart I kept feeling uneasy because I was not in Church on this Good Friday, knowing full well that my whole family and everyone in my hometown was at Mass and that is exactly where I would have been if I was at home. I managed to shrug these feelings off and joined in the infectious excitement around me.

Closer to our destination we reached a steep hill. The road was very narrow, and there was a deadly drop on both sides of this rough and bumpy route. As we were reaching the top of the hill, the brakes suddenly stopped working. The truck began to slide backwards at a rapid speed. Panic took over and all of us started screaming frantically! I held tightly to the Rosary in my pocket and started praying the Divine Mercy. In my desperation I asked our Lord to show me a miracle and save us. By chance all 13 of us had a Rosary in our pockets. As we prayed the truck began to slide farther down. Suddenly it stopped with an enormous jolt.

We scuffled out of the truck and to my amazement I saw that just a single rear tyre had lodged itself against a tiny tree trunk that had a diameter of only 3 inches. How that fragile, little trunk managed to stop the truck with 13 adults piled in is still beyond my comprehension. If that little stump of a tree was not there we would have headed straight into a deep ravine that was one meter away and I am very sure that I would have died at the age of 22, along with all my friends.

My faith in God and the Divine Mercy was lukewarm before the accident but this is the unforgettable experience that I will remember for the rest of my life...my miracle...the call to a deeper faith and relationship with my God.

My hand phone has had a 3pm alarm for a long long time now, and when the alarm sounds at the Hour of Great Mercy, no matter where I am or what I am doing, I will remember to pause for a minute or two for prayer.

I know that it was the Divine Mercy prayer that helped us that day and the Hand of God that saved us all.....so now and for always.....