Scottish Catholic Observer

POPE Francis asks us to take the Church out to the people as they no longer are ­coming to Mass. The Friends of Divine Mercy Scotland is doing just that! A seed planted during the Paisley diocesan synod in 2016 will bloom this summer. From Monday July 31 to Saturday August 5 the Mercy Bus will be in ­different towns each day.

We will have priests hearing ­confessions on the top deck of the Mercy Bus and have divine mercy ­literature and pro-life information available. Cakes and cups of tea and coffee will be offered to passers-by.

No hard sell, just engaging people to speak about the Lord if they want, offer a mercy prayer with candle and ­miraculous medal, along the same lines as the Nightfever evenings, in which Catholics invite passers-by into ­candlelit churches.

You might be reading this saying to yourself, ‘So what, you have a bus,’ but I would say to you what Pope Francis said to his Church: “Go out to the ­people and take the Church to them.”

That is what the Friends of Divine Mercy Scotland are now doing with a simple message: God loves you and is waiting for you.

No sin is too great to be forgiven; as long as you are truly sorry, the mercy of the Lord is ­waiting for you. St Paul said: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ” (Romans 6:23).

“Come back to me with all your heart and I will give you rest,” the Lord says. St Mark the Ascetic said: “The sign of sincere love is to forgive wrongs done to us. It was with such love that the Lord loved the world.”

What better way to evangelise and help people come back to the Lord than to give them the opportunity to go to Confession or speak to a priest or someone from Friends of Divine Mercy Scotland.

The Lord is waiting to pour out his mercy on you. All you have to do, is be truly sorry and take that first step to come home. God’s mercy is immediate but it takes us longer to forgive ­ourselves. You cannot have love ­without forgiveness and there is no ­forgiveness without mercy.

Today, so many people are angry and upset, but mostly they are angry with themselves for ­making the wrong choices in life and they wonder ‘how did I get here?’ Well, we can all change. I am not saying it is easy, but it is worth it! When you give your life to the Lord there is no guarantee life will be a bed of roses, but what there is, is the guarantee of his love and you will never be alone again.

All it takes for evil to win is for good people to do nothing. Be bold and strong and go out and help others.

We can all volunteer to help a ­neighbour, join a group or just listen to a friend—and then doing the Lord’s will becomes easier each day and Satan in his many forms will not get near you.

The Lord wants his people to be ­joyful and to take his love to others. We are the face of Christ, we are his hands and his feet. If we do nothing, the Lord’s work cannot get done.

So many people think they don’t need the Lord, but we all need our ­Saviour. When you hand your life over to him the peace and joy overwhelms you, but you have to work at it, every day. Nothing worth having comes easy, but this is the greatest journey of our lives. We should be looking forward to going home, when our time comes.

We hope you can make the important step and come onto the Mercy Bus and speak to us. The Lord is inviting you back home into the family of God.

If you are not sure what to do, just talk with one of our priests and they will help you get back on the right road. Remember, the Lord is waiting to offer you his mercy of forgiveness; all you have to do is receive it with a ­penitent heart.

The saying goes: “You wait ages for a bus and then two come along at the same time.”

The Mercy Bus is the one you’ve been waiting on, so climb aboard!