Exhibit A

John 20:19-23

Phrases that spoke to me today:
• peace be with you
• he showed them his hands and his side
• whose sins you forgive are forgiven them

Applying the Word to My Life:
Faustina Kowalska was alone in her room when Jesus appeared to her. He stood before her in a white garment, one hand raised in blessing and the other touching His chest. From His heart came two rays, one pale and one red. Faustina didn't simply see a beautiful image of Jesus. She saw the risen Christ bearing the wounds of His love, and He asked her to have the image painted with the words: Jesus, I trust in You.

Those words sound simple until we need them. The apostles in today's reading knew what fear felt like. They were behind locked doors because they were afraid of what might happen next. Then Jesus came and stood among them. He said, "Peace be with you," and showed them His hands and His side. He was showing them more than proof that He was alive. He was showing them how deeply He loved them. Those wounds said: this is how far I was willing to go for you.

I've spent enough time living in fear to know how easily it turns into control. If money feels uncertain, make more money. If reputation feels fragile, become more likable. If everyone else seems to be doing something, do it too, even when it's not really who you are. If the future feels dangerous, plan harder and tighten your grip. For a long time, I thought fear was a control problem. If I could just become competent enough, prepared enough, successful enough, maybe I could finally make myself safe.

Then I came across a translation of 1 John 4:18 that read, "perfect love casts out all fear." That changed the question for me. When I was afraid, the deeper problem wasn't that I lacked control. It was that I'd forgotten how much I was loved.

So I started going back to the evidence. I thought about the ways God has shown His love in Scripture, in Christ, in the Cross, and in all the gifts we're given every day. I thought about how much I love my own children and how deeply I want their good. Then I asked myself: if my imperfect love for them is this strong, what does it mean to be loved by God?

That's where trust finally began to answer fear. Jesus doesn't answer our fear by promising that nothing painful will ever happen. He answers it by showing us how much He loves us.

That's what Faustina was sent to remind the world. The words beneath the image aren't sentimental. They're the answer of someone looking at the wounds of Christ and deciding those wounds are enough evidence: Jesus, I trust in You.

My Response for Today:
Today, when fear rises, I'll remember one way God has shown me His love.

ABOUT ST. FAUSTINA KOWALSKA
Name: St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (Helena Kowalska)
Lived: August 25, 1905 – October 5, 1938, Poland
Feast Day: October 5
Patron of: the Divine Mercy devotion
Title: Apostle of Divine Mercy
Selected Writings: Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul — her own record of the revelations behind the image and devotion
Read more: Franciscan Media · Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy