We're on a Mission!

Welcome to the first entry of this blog! Through a running commentary, we hope to keep everyone updated about the efforts of the Medical Missionaries of Divine Mercy (MMDM) and the Diocese of Lexington to develop a program that continues the healing ministry of Jesus in a very special place - the mountains and hollers of Eastern Kentucky.

Our ultimate goal is to promote better health in body, mind and spirit for those in need in this part of Appalachia, one of the poorest regions in the United States. To achieve this, we will bring together volunteers from the MMDM organization of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston and volunteers from the Diocese of Lexington for a week-long "Medical Mission" in Spring, 2011.

A fact-finding team from the MMDM's visited the Diocese during the week of April 6 - 9. We traveled to several different health care sites and parishes in the eastern part of the Diocese to learn about the needs of the region and how a mission team might help out. We'll look at some of our early findings in upcoming blog entries.

The Medical Missionaries of Divine Mercy is a lay organization based in Sugarland, TX, that takes its inspiration from the devotion based on the revelation about Divine Mercy received by Sister Mary Faustina in 1931. The image on this page depicts Sister Faustina's vision, in which Jesus raises a hand in blessing and with the other hand indicates two rays issuing from the depths of His Sacred Heart. Sister Faustina noted in her diary: "The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls.... We are not only to receive the mercy of God, but to use it by being merciful to others through our actions, our words, and our prayers; in other words, we are to practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works (Acts) of Mercy."

In 2000, Pope John Paul II designated the Second Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. It was very fitting that the MMDM team was able to visit the Diocese of Lexington during the week leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday!