The message of Divine Appeal as revealed to Sr. Anna Ali and contained in this book is a message of God's Mercy and Love. We are called anew to reparation and atonement for our sins so that we can be reconciled with God. They are also messages of urgent warning asking us to act in haste for Divine Mercy is followed by Divine Justice.
This call is not new. Similar warnings and calls to repentance can be found through out the Bible from the old to the new testament. However, this does not mean that we should take this call lightly, but that we should take it most seriously and act urgently. As we read in the second letter of Paul to Timothy, we can identify that we are living in the last days. And as such, the message of Divine Appeal is for us and our time. Many people today are indeed deceived by materialism and all kinds of sin in the form of personal freedoms and pleasures.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Reading through the text of the Divine Appeal messages, you will find warnings of Divine Justice. Again, these are not new as similar warnings are to be found in the Bible. In Romans we see the following warning:
Romans 2:5
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgement will be revealed.
We should not be frightened by the warnings. Rather they should move us to act in haste in responding to this call to repentance. We know that God is Mercy and Love and this is also reflected in the Divine Appeal messages. God does not just issue threats, He offers us His Mercy simply at our response to His call to repent of our sins. Just as He says in Jeremiah 18 and as can be seen in Psalm 86.
Jeremiah 18:7-8
Sometimes I announce that I shall uproot, break down and destroy a certain nation or kingdom, but should the nation I have threatened abandon its wickedness, I then change my mind about the disaster which I had intended to inflict on it.
Psalm 86:5
Lord, you are kind and forgiving, rich in faithful love for all who call upon you.
It is clear then that if we trust in the Mercy of God, and repent our sins, we can mitigate the punishment our sins deserve.
In these Divine Appeal messages, we are clearly provided with the means to repent and atone for our sins. They take us to the basics and pillars of our Catholic faith. We are asked to pray with sincerity of heart, to have frequent and sincere Confessions of our sins, to celebrate and participate in Holy Mass attentively, to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist worthily, to pray the Rosary daily, to meditate on the Way of the Cross, and to adore Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist in reparation for our sins. Again, this is not new, the Catholic Church has echoed this message all through the centuries from its founding and continues to do so today.
The call is to each and every one of us to act. It is personal; everyone must repent and atone for their sins. God is Mercy and Love and therefore let us approach Him with confidence and sincerity of heart.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us, then, have no fear in approaching the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace when we are in need of help.
May Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist show you His Mercy and Love as you read this book.
Bishop Cornelius arap Korir
Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, Kenya.
