Years ago I was given a vision of Niagara Falls as a symbol of Jesus’ Divine Mercy. The vision started up in the hill country of Western New York, in the creeks and streams. My eyes were drawn along the gathering waters, through small towns, past industrial sights, the waters working their way to Lake Erie. I sensed that the water represented the events of our lives, but most importantly, our sins. Where Erie flows into the Niagara River, the waters got rough. The speed increased; the waters dashed against the rocks. Eventually all of these trickles and flows lead to the Mighty Falls. Each individual drop goes over, unheard in the deafening collective roar.
The flow continues down the Gorge, carved out by millennia
of movement. Through whirls and swirls,
a calmer, deep green area is met, near where Stella Niagara Monastery and Our
Lady of Fatima Shrine are. It’s as if
Blessed Mother turns us around, after all that chaos and hurt, to finally look
and see. She says, “Find your sins. Look for the drops of your sins in my Son’s
Mercy.” Of course, we cannot find them.
When we throw ourselves into His Mercy, our sins are forgiven, they are
gone, forever. When blood and water
gushed forth from His Sacred Heart, a Niagara Falls of Mercy began. It continues to flow, needed more than ever
in our time. We look at the Falls from
the Gorge and we see the power, the majesty, but not the individual drops. Blessed Mother always turns us towards her
Son and His Mercy. In the deep green
calm, she smiles and turns us to His Love.
Niagara Falls has always been a sacred place. As such it attracts all kinds of people and all kinds of spirits. What should be a holy, inspiring place is surrounded by gambling and prostitution and your garden variety of human degradation. But, to St. Faustina, Jesus said that the greatest sinners have more right to His Mercy. Jesus also said that one day He will return and separate the sheep from the goats. What is the island that separates the two main cataracts of Niagara? Yup, Goat Island. One can imagine a flock of goats scrambling up onto the island just seconds before going over to their demise. Pray for the goats in your life. Pray that they scramble up before they are dashed against the rocks.
In St. Faustina’s vision she was shown the now very familiar
image of Our Lord with one red and one white ray coming forth from Jesus’
Sacred Heart. “Oh blood and water, which
gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus, I Trust in You!” The morning after I had this vision, I opened
the “Buffalo News” to the picture page, and there, half a page large, was a
photo of the Falls, one lit up red, the other white. It was in honor of our fallen soldiers for
Memorial Day, but it was a confirmation for me.
A confirmation of Jesus’ Love and Mercy.
So what does this have to do with Nick Wallenda? Well, I must admit, when I first heard of Mr.
Wallenda’s desire to cross the Falls on a wire, in the long tradition of his
family (some 16 whom have died in this unusual profession, if I’m not
mistaken), I thought it was foolish and irresponsible. He is a husband and father; how could he even
consider this? Throughout his weeks of
preparation I noted his Christian t-shirts, his ever present cross necklace and
most of all his gentlemanly manners.
Then he submitted to the harness and I really wondered what he was
about. Still not really being my “thing”
I didn’t pay too much attention, until the big day. Then I started thinking about how the whole
world was going to be focusing their attention on Niagara Falls, or as I think
of it, Mercy Falls. And so I
watched. Nick Wallenda, diligently
prepared and humbly smiling, got up and walked.
Then it happened! He started
praising Jesus and giving thanks to his Heavenly Father. The whole world was watching and He was
giving Jesus praise. How powerful! Various newscasters and even his father tried
to get him to stop, but Mr. Wallenda kept giving God praise. Awesome.
What is noteworthy is that when the mist was thickest, the swirling
winds heaviest, that is the moment when he was praying the Holy Name and giving
praise the most. “I will praise You in
the storm!”
Afterwards, when asked by Canadian Customs officials what
the purpose of his visit was, Mr. Wallenda said, “To inspire people worldwide!” Indeed he did. We Christians especially should be mindful of
his lesson to Praise Jesus in the midst of the storms. Praise is a powerful weapon and should be
wielded liberally!
Although Nick Wallenda is not a Catholic and probably did
not know it, the date he walked was June 15th, which this year was
the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. As Catholics we are taught that we can make “reparation”
to Jesus’ Heart by our good works. This
means that when Jesus’ Heart is wounded by the sins of the world, we can
comfort Him! One very real, but almost
disregarded way in which Our Lord’s Sacred Heart is wounded is by using His
Sacred Name in ugly ways. It’s against
the 2nd Commandment, and no, that did not change when “everybody”
started doing it. HOW BEAUTIFUL that, on
the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Nick Wallenda, made worldwide reparation for
this particular sin, by praising and speaking Jesus Holy Name with love and
reverence.
Nick Wallenda showed himself to be a complete gentleman, and
a good steward of the gifts and talents God gave him. God bless him and his beautiful family. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus always be their
grateful abode.
