Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, the great apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, related the following as a real life example of how God desires souls to regard Him.

A certain lady, attending a spiritual retreat, prepared herself to make a general confession (a confession of all past sins throughout one’s life). This woman had, in fact, already made numerous general confessions, but her terror of God was so great, that she never allowed herself any peace to believe that she was truly forgiven.

Throughout the retreat, instead of meditating or praying, the unfortunate penitent spent the entire time anxiously examining her conscience. Ignoring, in this way, all the rich graces and spiritual benefits around her, her only focus was to write down every sin she could remember. Above all else, she wanted to be sure there was nothing lacking in her confession. She felt it was her one safety. Once she made her confession, God could not be mad at her, at least in the brief time before she fell again to sin.

At last the day came. Filled with dread, she entered the confessional. She read the lengthy list of sins, repeating ones she feared she forgot, over-explaining all the details of her faults, for fear of missing something important. When she eventually thought she had finished, she heard a gentle voice speak to her very sadly,

"You have forgotten something very important."

"I thought I must have!" the frantic woman replied. She was about to read her list all over again. But the voice spoke out once more.

"Your sin is not in your notes. And it offends Me much more than all that you have said. Accuse yourself of lack of trust!"

That voice stirred her soul to its depths. She was so deeply affected that she wanted to know if it was really her confessor speaking to her. She went around to look where the priest would be seated.

She saw no one… Jesus Himself had spoken to her!

When she realized what had happened, the woman was astonished. To think that the God she feared, as if He were a tyrant, would be so pained by her lack of trust…even more than by all her other sins!

Up until now, her fear of hell was so strong she’d forgotten that her Divine Judge was also her Divine Savior. The sacrifice of His Life on the Cross was an everlasting proof of His Love for souls; a Love that longs to convert the hardened heart and forgive the repentant sinner.

To abuse that Love, with ingratitude, arrogance and presumption, is an offense against Divine Justice. But to doubt that Love, with terror, distrust and despair, is an offense against Divine Mercy.

And that woman discovered what Jesus wants the rest of us to always remember… that for those repentant of their sins, His Sacred Heart is always their refuge. To doubt His Mercy is to doubt His Love.

Imagine then, the joy to His Heart, when He receives the humble, earnest trust of a contrite sinner. It will be a consolation and joy to Him to take such souls and… "if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)