Splinters 2026

Welcome to our Daily Rosary Meditation. This is our next episode in our Journey to Divine Mercy Sunday. Let's begin in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let's call to mind all those we've promised to pray for. I believe in God, the Father, Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. Blessed is the fruit of thine womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thine. Blessed art thou among women. Blessed is thine womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, God pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now and never shall be, world without end. Amen. Our first mystery. Jesus gave St. Faustina the mission to tell the world about the infinite mercy of God and to establish Divine Mercy Sunday, the day that is, when the ocean of mercy is available to everyone. But why does Jesus make such a big deal about getting the word out about His mercy? Everyone knows God is merciful. What's the problem out there? Is the problem that people think their sins are just too big to be forgiven? Does everybody go around saying they have sins which are so bad they don't think they can ever be forgiven? I'm sure there are people like this. But is that really the problem for the vast majority of people? I don't think the world is spending all its time racked with guilt over its sin and fearing hell. I mean, if you tell people, God is merciful. He'll forgive you. They'll say, yeah, I'm sure He will. I know He's a loving God, and I'm not that bad of a person anyway. I don't think we're that worried that God won't be merciful. I think deep down we're more worried He will, and that it will hurt, and we would rather avoid it. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth and now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth and now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit thine womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth and now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace thine Lord is with thine, blessed thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine thine the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now in the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now in the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed it is a fruit of thY womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now in the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thY, blessed art thY among women, blessed thY is a fruit thY womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now in thY hour of thY death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, thY Lord is with thY, blessed art thY among women, blessed thY is a fruit thY womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, as now and never shall be, world without end, amen. Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our second mystery. Theresa, maybe you remember this when you were young. You know, when my kids were little, and they'd get splinters in their hands or feet, what should I have done to be merciful to them? Well, I should take the splinters out, right? That would be the merciful thing to do. But did my children want my mercy? Did they come to me saying, Merciful Father, in your great kindness, please take out our splinters? No, they did not. They ran in the other direction. I'd get that tweezers out, and I would come toward them in my mercy to dig that little splinter out, and they would run so fast away, you would think I was coming at them with a chainsaw. Why? Did they like their splinters? No, of course not. The splinters hurt, but they thought it hurt worse to remove the splinters. Now imagine someone whose whole body is covered with splinters. Big ones, small ones, all over, like a human porcupine. That's what our souls look like, because we're covered with vices, disordered attachments, and we can't do anything. We can't even move without feeling those vices, those splinters, and we know they shouldn't be there. And deep down, we also know they make us miserable, but we hide from God because we know if we go to Him, He'll want to take out all the splinters. And that's precisely what we're afraid of. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Forgive us to stare our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art th th th th th th th th th th Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, noun at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, noun at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed it is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, noun at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed it is a fruit of thine womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, noun at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured thys assured Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now and never shall be, world without end, amen. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our third mystery. Instead of going to God our Father in confession and begging Him for mercy, asking Him to remove our vices and sins, our splinters, too often, we hide from Him, and we think to ourselves, I've been living with these splinters so long, well, I'm used to them anyway. Besides God, you'll never be able to get them out of me. And if you did, how could I live? Now why would it be so painful for God to remove our splinters, our vices, our disorder detachments? Because they're like that. They're embedded just like splinters. Our vices are so embedded, they've gotten under our skin so far that they seem to be part of our identity. And we think that if they're removed, we wouldn't be able to live. We would stop being who we are. And it would be like we were dying. So we don't want His mercy. We don't want the vices removed. We've relied on pride and self-reliance and the illusion of control. We've lived a life of ambition, fueled by vanity, envy, seeking worldly success. And we've drawn our identity and sense of worth from these things. Envy has driven us to suppress competition, and when we feel overwhelmed or bored or alone, we turn to coping mechanisms, greed, gluttony, and lust to numb the pain. But if all of that were stripped away, what would be left? How would I live? Who would I be? So as soon as the mercy of God tries to take out a splinter, we scream, Stop! You're killing me. And all the while we can hear the Father's voice, Trust me, you'll feel better without your splinters. But we don't trust the mercy of God, and we beg Him to stop. Leave us alone. Leave us with our splinters. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Forgive us to stay our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest now and at the hour of our death. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest now and at the hour of our death. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest now and at the hour of our death. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earnest now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thine womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is thine womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, and earn us now and at the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now and never shall be, world without end, amen. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our fourth mystery. So what should we do? What's our resolution? First, between now and Divine Mercy Sunday, set aside some time and sit down with pen and paper, and then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your sins, your splinters, and make an honest examination of conscience. And then go to confession before, during, or up to 20 days after Divine Mercy Sunday. But also realize, in confession, you are forgiven, but those splinters remain. And they can be really embedded. So we must be patient with the remedy and do the work required to be healed. And that work primarily is daily meditation and a resolution with frequent confession, at least once a month. Keep working. Don't quit. And be patient, because the mercy of God is at work. And you are being transformed. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Forgive us to stare daily, bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, and earn us now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. Bless th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning as now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Oh, my Jesus. Forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our fifth mystery is the sixth day of the Novena to Divine Mercy. And we're offering this Novena, especially for our loved ones who are far away from Jesus in the church. Jesus says to us, Today bring to me the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children and immerse them in my mercy. These souls most closely resemble my heart. They strengthened me during my bitter agony. I saw them as earthly angels who would keep vigil at my altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. Only the humble soul is able to receive my grace. And I favor humble souls with my confidence. Most merciful Jesus, you yourself have said, Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart. Receive into the abode of your most compassionate heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet smelling bouquet before the throne of God. God himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in your most compassionate heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy. A truly gentle and humble soul already here on earth, the air of paradise breathes, and in the fragrance of the humble heart, the Creator himself delights. Eternal Father, turn your merciful gaze upon meek and humble souls and upon the souls of little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the most compassionate heart of your son. These souls bear the closest resemblance to your son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg you by the love you bear these souls, and by the delight you take in them, bless the whole world that all souls together may sing out the praises of your mercy for endless ages. Amen. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stay, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earnest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now and never shall be, world without end. Amen. Oh, my Jesus. Forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy. Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl throughout the world seeking the runer of souls. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. So can you appreciate this analogy about the splinters? It's pretty accurate. I do remember. I don't remember specific. I don't remember splinters very much, but I had weekly shots. Sometimes bi-weekly it changed throughout my childhood, but you know, I don't know if I've ever properly thanked you because I was too busy kicking and screaming, but you were so kind to make the hard decisions throughout my childhood over years. There is a decade where it was especially very difficult, and I was getting shots constantly. You had to administer those shots. And I didn't, even though I understood it because I didn't like my arthritis, I was in this mindset that I was like, the ache is better than a needle. But I didn't have the perspective of longevity that you need to protect your joints. You need to take care of your health so that you know, you're still walking at 20. But the decisions you made for me back then that I couldn't have fully been aware of because I was a kid, those are the things that make me capable of living the life I'm living right now. And it's definitely a really good metaphor for how we currently respond to our lives and our suffering and what God is saying, not even just about this life, but just about heaven, just about the state of our soul. Because God's not promising that if you make difficult decisions right now, in 20 years, you're going to feel great. But he is promising that if you make those difficult decisions right now to get your soul in order, there will be eternal health, eternal happiness, eternal. Yeah. Like it's, it's a reward we can't imagine, but you've given me at least a window into that kind of unfathomable exchange. Yeah, there's really two parts. There's the pain that we need to go through to give up our disorder detachment and vices. That's one. But then there's also the, there's so many good people who are suffering chronic illnesses. They've done everything they can. They've prayed, they beg God to take it away. But for some reason, God allows them in that suffering. And we would do anything to get out of the suffering, but he's allowing it. And this side of heaven, we don't understand it. We just want to be rid of it. But on the other side of heaven, when we'll be able to see the benefit, we will thank God for not letting us out of it. It's just so hard now. When you were, when you were four or three or five and I came at you with that needle, you would have chosen the arthritis. Every single time, every single time. And I really tried to, I remember hiding behind the fridge once. But I, you know, you just can't, even now, I think I've talked to people and they're like, oh, you must be good with needles. You've done over 20 years of needles constantly. I still get injections all the time. And I can only explain it this way that it's, I'm not really, I'm just as scared of needles as anyone, if not more, it's this guttural response. The only thing I've learned isn't to really just be okay with the needle and I can just look at it as fine and I don't mind it. All I've learned is how to hold still. I think there's some spiritual worth in that that I remember there was a point where we were looking at different medical options and one was there like, okay, you're going to have to do injections yourself. And I was like, that's just, I can't, my body won't let me. I have never been able to push the button. Yeah. My, my hand just freezes up. But the control I have is to hold still and not punch a nurse. So that's what I do now. Or punch me. Or you. And sometimes that's all we have to offer. Sometimes it's just holding still. Sometimes it's just bearing with it. And that's okay. We don't have to be more heroic than that, especially with chronic illness. And we should ask God to give us, what should I say, the vision, the, the insight, the ability to give us the grace to see from heaven side. Cause it helps even to remember what you would be losing, which in that case wouldn't be mobility or health or a couple of sleepless nights. It's, it's your soul, it's your future. It's being with your loved ones forever. It's being with God. It's, it's heaven. It's something you can't imagine. Yeah. And when we're in heaven, we'll look back and say, I'd go through that pain a million times over. And even right now, if you can understand what you'd actually be losing, if you can really picture what you're fighting for, it makes it a lot easier. It's true. I'd still like to get out of my suffering today. Just hold still. Hold still. And never, never believe a doctor when they say it'll only be a pinch. But that's unrelated. Yeah. Well, thanks for the conversation. Thank you. Let's be apostles of friendship, good conversation, and the rosary. Share this with others.