Review: ‘Mercy’s Gaze’: 100 Readings from Scripture and the Diary of St Faustina edited by Vinny Flynn

Book cover for Mercy's Gaze: 100 Readings from Scripture and the Diary of St Faustina edited by Vinny Flynn

“Mercy’s Gaze” is a volume containing readings from scripture and the diary of St. Faustina, published in 2013. The volume was edited by the best-selling author Vinny Flynn. It is intended to inspire prayerful reflection. It is helpful, particularly during the Lenten season, to reflect on the spiritual writings of a saint.

Flynn selected parallel passages from scripture and the Diary of St. Faustina, using his expertise, that develop key themes around the concept of mercy and encourage the reader to gaze on Jesus. This is useful for 100 days of prayer and reflection and is quite helpful for Lent. Do you think reading a book like this would be helpful to you during Lent?

“Mercy’s Gaze” Summary

Divine Mercy. Painting in Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Vilnius, Eugeniusz Kazimirowski
Image of “Divine Mercy.” Painting in Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Vilnius – Eugeniusz Kazimirowski

These readings from scripture and the Diary of St. Faustina were compiled by best-selling author Vinny Flynn. The book is unique as a collection of both diary passages and scripture verses intended to inspire prayerful reflection. This will be helpful during Lent. Artfully done, the editor selected passages from scripture and the Diary of St. Faustina that operate in parallel and develop key mercy themes.

The reader is encouraged to gaze on Jesus. These readings are for 100 days of prayer and reflection. The book begins with a foreword and introduction guiding readers to prayerful thought and pondering that will encourage spiritual transformation as they gaze on Jesus. Like in the “Divine Mercy” painting, which is often hung in churches and portrays Jesus, touching his heart, with rays of red and white shooting out of it.

As a benefit, readers will see how the teachings of the scriptures and St. Faustina’s Diary are in harmony. This should increase their understanding and lead them to a deeper understanding of how the message of God’s merciful love is at the very heart of the Gospel, hence there is a strong tie to the Bible.

Themes of “Mercy’s Gaze” include: The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion, The Eucharist and Thanksgiving, Confession and Forgiveness, The Will of God, Redemptive Suffering, The Call to Sinners, Mercy, My Hope, and several others. The book helpfully includes pages for writing your own reflections, a full color reproduction of the Divine Mercy Image, and an appendix of prayers.

Why You Should Read This Book

A person with a beard holding their hands in a prayer position, displaying a small cross tattoo and a black ring, conveying a contemplative mood.,
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

One of the important ways to increase your prayer life during the penitential season of Lent is to read scripture. An easy way to do this and learn about a saint is to read this book. It is most likely that those who are practicing Christians will enjoy this book. The strength of this book is that scripture and the diary of the saint are included in a fresh and new way. However, if you are looking for an analysis of scripture, you will not find it here.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • This book is about scripture and the Diary of St. Faustina.
  • Those two things are organized around themes that are helpfully discerned by an expert and best-selling author, Vinny Flynn.
  • The book is likely getting an extra bump in popularity during this Lenten season. People should read this book if they are interested in enhancing their prayer life during this special season.

Parting Shots

“Mercy’s Gaze” is helpful for Christians who are looking to enhance their life during Lent. It is particularly helpful that the book is expertly organised around key themes by an expert editor. This is a book that would likely be recommended to you by your parish priest. It is recommended to you here as well.

Author

  • Kevin Sweeney

    Kevin Sweeney is a published author. He is the author of 7 books. He has written an autobiography, a book on stroke recovery, one on presidential politics, and four on sports. Kevin has a Ph.D. in political science; he has published 12 scholarly articles. He lives in Purcellville, VA, with his 3 sons and wife, Kelly. They were married in 2000.

    You can get his books here:
    https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/bookshelf

    You can get his books here:
    https://amazon.com/author/drkevinjsweeney

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