What does this mean in the face of what Exodus says?

[Malachi_18]

I just found this on ewtn.com. An article on the Feast of Divine Mercy.

"…These papal acts represent the highest endorsement that the Church can give to a private revelation, an act of papal infallibility proclaiming the certain sanctity of the mystic, and the granting of a universal feast, as requested by Our Lord to St. Faustina.

Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said:

Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)

I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. (Diary 341)"

What does the first commandment say about images? And the Holy Roman Catholic Church wants us to believe that Jesus Himself is requesting that we honor an image?

Exodus 20:1-4
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
(KJV)

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

To your concern I say: context, context, context! What is the context of Exodus 20:1-4?
In order to understand any passage of Scripture one must understand the context in which it appears. The first part of the Decalogue is concerned with giving God His due. He must come before all else.

With regard to images, there are to be no graven images—to be worshiped. We know this because later on in Exodus we read about the tabernacle and its furnishings: “For the two ends of this throne of mercy you are to make two golden cherubs; you are to make them of beaten gold.” (Ex 25:18b) “The cherubs are to have their wings spread upwards so that they over shadow the throne of mercy’ ‘You must place the throne of mercy on the top of the ark.” ( Ex 25: 20-21a) Here the Lord is commanding that two graven images of cherubs be made and actually placed in the Holy of Holies! They are acceptable because, far from drawing people away from the worship of God, they are to be used in fact to draw people to worship Him.

The image used in the Divine Mercy devotion is the image of Christ showing His divine mercy—very much in keeping with the above. The image is inviting people to worship the one God—not to turn away from Him!

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.