Chaplet of Divine Mercy and What Keeps Gen Z From Church

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
This hour of The Drew Mariani Show is made possible in part by the Knights of Columbus. Visit kfc.org/relevant.

**Drew Mariani** (0:17)
Well, thank you for praying with me. Let's pray. You know, I got a phone call last night. I'll share something. Well, I got it, actually, it was a text yesterday from a contributor to this radio program. And if you're listening, I want you to know I've been praying heavily for your brother. I was shocked when I saw my cell phone and a message I got from a person who's shared the mic with me many times on the air here. And she told me that her youngest brother, Paul, committed suicide, took his life by suicide.
And she's devastated, because she says this doesn't happen in her family. And he ran into difficulty, and there was financial problems, there was car problems, and life gets in the way. And I was just been so devastated, but I've been praying really almost nonstop for her. I've been lifting her up, and especially the soul of her loved one. I mean, someone takes their own life. There's a pain that's left behind, that's beyond words.
I just think of the families that are shattered, friends are left questioning, could I have done more? And then there's always that silence wondering, where's God? Why did this happen? What happens to the person's soul? Is there still hope for them? And this prayer is just so beautiful, because the church speaks with both honesty and with profound compassion on this matter, right? Because suicide is a grave tragedy. I do not want to diminish it at all. It's not the will of God. God's the author of life. He gives it, he takes it.
And yet our church's teaching, the catechism, it reminds us of something that's essential, that we should never despair of the eternal salvation of those who may have taken their own lives. And maybe your loved one has done that. Maybe your loved one's even died by tragedy or accident. You said, man, they weren't where they should be with God, Drew, I'm worried about their soul. And I'm not going to diminish it, but God's merciful. And I just think of, especially those who just decided to end their life, mental illness, deep depression, overwhelming despair. There's a lot of factors that diminish a person's responsibility. And more importantly, God's mercy is greater than any human limitation. So, our Lord revealed to St. Faustina when he came as a divine mercy. He says, you know, he's the God who runs towards the lost, the broken, the desperate, right? There's no soul beyond the reach of God's mercy. No soul. And I don't care how far your loved one seemed away from God or how tragic the situation is, God knows and loves that person intimately. And he can offer them the grace of repentance, even in that final moment, even though it doesn't look apparent, even though it looks tragic, even though it looks like all is lost, not so with God, right? And of course, we have the church. We're gonna do this right now as a body of Christ. We're gonna pray for those who've died by suicide. That's what I want to offer the chaplet for, for this person.
Anyone who's lost loved ones. And I want to entrust them completely to the infinite and the compassionate heart of Christ. I'm not gonna judge. I'm just gonna intercede and I'm just gonna hope. Okay, well, we'll do that for all those left behind. I'm gonna pray for the spouses and the parents and the siblings and the children and the friends of those who also now mourn and now suffer this type of loss. So I'm gonna keep the name anonymous, of course, but thank you for praying and I'll pray for your loved one as well. One final note before we start.
Maybe it's God's providence at work here right now, because maybe you are feeling that way. You're struggling with despair. Maybe you're thinking about maybe doing something ending your life. I'm gonna give you three digits. I want you to write these down. I want you to put it on your hand, put it in your cell phone. Now you can text or you can call 988 if you ever feel that way, okay? That's a suicide and crisis hotline. And I just want to say to you, God has a purpose for your life and your story's not done yet, right? It's still unfolding and his mercy's real and it's there for you. There's always a brighter day, always. I'm praying with my colleague here, Nick, as well. Nick, it's great to have you on the air with us. Thank you for being here. Anything you want to start us off with, as well? I know you have a lot of intentions that have come into them.