St. Faustina and the Devine

St. Faustina and the Devine Mercy It was during the night in a cold Polish farmhouse that Helena, the third child of Marianna and Stanislaus Kowalski was born. Soon after this beautiful child, the future Sister Faustina was born, her mother reportedly smiled a beatific smile that lit up the entire room. (Odell, 15) Sister Faustina was born in the year 1905, Gogowiec in Poland.

She was the third child in a poor Polish family that had ten children to feed, and she was initially baptized Helena in the parish Church of -- winice Warckie. Even when she was but a small child, she was an example to many others, because of her love of prayer, her obedience, her deference, her sense of duty, and most important of all, her love and affection and sympathy for the poor people of her land.

Helena, or Sister Faustina made her first Holy Communion at the age of nine, and she lived this particular moment very profoundly in her awareness of the presence of the Divine Guest within her soul. When she turned sixteen, Helena left her home and her family, in order to work outside and provide monetary support for her large family.

It has often been stated that Sister Faustina felt one of her first and initial stirrings of a religious vocation, when she was at the tender age of seven, and that soon after she completed her schooling, she wanted to enter the Convent, but her parents refused to give their beloved daughter permission to enter. (Mary Faustina Kowalska: 1905-1938) It was on August 1, 1925 that Helena was called during a vision of the Suffering Christ. This changed her life, and she could stay out of the Convent no longer.

She therefore, immediately entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and took the name Sister Mary Faustina. Sister Faustina lived in the Congregation for almost thirteen years, and later on, she also lived in numerous religious houses. She also spent time at Krakow, Pock and Vilnius, where she was willing to and worked as a cook, a gardener and also as a porter.

It must be remembered that Sister Faustina belonged and till today belongs to a group comprised of the some of the most popular and best-known Saints of the Church. It has often been said and believed that it is through Sister Faustina that the Lord Jesus communicates the great message of mercy and love for His people to the world at large. Jesus also supposedly reveals the patterns that make up Christianity, like for example, trust in God, and the innate attitude of mercy towards one's neighbor, through Sister Faustina.

(Mary Faustina Kowalska: 1905-1938) Sister Faustina almost never revealed to others around her, her rich mystical interior life, and she would always perform her assigned duties religiously and zealously. She was a serene, calm, tranquil, and peaceful person, and full of kindness and love for her neighbor. Apparently, according to the literature of the time, Sister Faustina's life was dull and insignificant and even monotonous, and not once did she reveal her inner nature, and the extraordinary communication, communion and the union that she was able to hold with God.

(What is Divine Mercy?) This communion with Jesus Christ reportedly took place in the 1930's, which was when Sister Faustina received a 'message of Mercy' from the Lord, which she had to spread throughout the world.

In short, it is said that Sister Faustina was requested to become the Apostle and the Secretary of the blessed Lord's mercy and love, and remain a real life model of how to be merciful to others around us, and in addition, to serve as an instrument for re-emphasizing God's plan of mercy meant for the entire world in general.

(Apparitions of Jesus, Biography of Saint Faustina) However, all this meant that Sister Faustina would have to live an extremely tough and an exemplary life, by setting a good example for others. This was by no means an easy task, and Sister Faustina had to live her life as an imitation as that of Christ's life, and this would in fact be a great sacrifice, because a life lived for the benefit and betterment of others is no small task, and not an easy one at that.

It was at the Divine Lord's request that Sister Faustina enthusiastically and willingly offered her personal sufferings in union with Him, in order to better atone for the sins of others; even in the routine course of her daily life, the gracious Sister was to become a doer of mercy, bringing happiness and peace and joy to others, and by writing about God's mercy, she was to encourage others to trust in Him and thus prepare the world for His coming again.

Surprisingly, Sister Faustina was a person who was quite completely convinced that she was a truly unworthy individual, and this also meant that she was terrified of writing anything down on paper. Nevertheless, the beloved Sister started to write in a diary in the year 1934, and this too was in keeping with her obedience and devotion to the express wishes of her Spiritual Director, and then of the very Lord Himself.

Divine revelations, her own mystic experiences that took place during her communion and union with the Lord, and all her deep and insightful experiences, her prayers, her thoughts, all were faithfully and meticulously recorded in the Diary.

This written diary maintained by Sister Faustina became a printed book with about six hundred pages, and this book, in plain and simple language, repeats and illuminates clearly the gospel story of God's love for His people, and also emphases, above all, the need to trust in His loving action in all the aspects of our lives.

(Apparitions of Jesus, Biography of Saint Faustina) Jesus himself told Sister Faustina to go to an artist and to ask him to paint a picture of Jesus, the way the devoted Sister saw him, standing, wearing a flowing white robe, with one hand reaching towards Heaven, and the other, reaching towards His people. The artist was also requested to paint two rays of light shining from the heart of Jesus: one ray was to be pale, and the other ray, red.

The pale ray was meant to symbolize the water that is used during Baptism, and the red ray was meant to symbolize the blood that had been shed by Jesus Christ during his trials and tribulations.

The artist was then asked to write these words under the painting: "Jesus, I trust in you." The Sister Faustina did get the picture painted according to the specifications that had been revealed to her by none other than Jesus Christ Himself, and gradually, over a period of time, people started to come over to see this wonderful painting. The numbers of people visiting her to see the painting increased daily, and soon enough, these people started to invest a lot of faith in Sister Faustina.

They started to pray the very prayers that Sister Faustina suggested, and it must be noted that most of these prayers were all about the 'Divine Mercy' of Jesus Christ, and the love and the forgiveness of God. Although the other sisters around Sister Faustina did not really enjoy what Sister Faustina was achieving, and they never did extend a friendly hand to her, her popularity grew, and soon enough, people would flock to see Sister Faustina, and none other.

Even though there was widespread disbelief that this devoted sister was actually communicating with Jesus Christ, gradually, there was an increased acceptance of the fact that this was happening, and within the four walls of their own Convent. Gradually, everyone else started to realize the fact that Sister Faustina was not making anything up; she never did try to show off, and never did she display pride that she was the chosen one to communicate with Jesus Christ.

This great person was only trying to share the thoughts that Jesus Christ had shared with her, and although she was only able to succeed to a certain extent, she was indeed able to achieve a part at least, of what she wanted to achieve: that of communicating to the world what Jesus Christ was attempting to convey, through her. (Welborn, 30) It was through Sister Faustina, for example, that Jesus Christ was able to tell his own people that the greatest attribute of God is His mercy.

(Dobbins, 2) The Sister and the 'Apostle of Divine Mercy' as Jesus Christ Himself named her, was for the most part, however, unlettered and unrecognized and also unacknowledged. Sister Faustina died an agonizing and painful death, at the tender young age of thirty-three in the year 1938, because of complications caused by the deadly tuberculosis that she had contracted.

(Odell, 9) These are some of the writings from Sister Faustina's diary: "I, Sister Faustina Kowalska, by the order of God, have visited the Abysses of Hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence...the devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God, What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw.

But I noticed one thing: That most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell." "There are special Tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings related to the manner in which it has sinned." And also "There are caverns and pits of torture where one form of agony differs from another.

I would have died at the very sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of God had not supported me." (Sister Faustina's Vision of Hell) The devoted Sister Faustina also said, "Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin.

I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like...how terribly souls suffer there!" (Sister Faustina's Vision of Hell) It was after Sister Faustina's death when she was thirty three that the others around her started to realize the depth and the intensity of the numerous revelations that Jesus Christ had seen fit to give her, and the manner in which the humble sister followed God's Command to be 'merciful even as your Heavenly Father is merciful', as well as the way in which the Sister followed the adage, that she must act in such a way that all those who touched her would go away with joy and peace in their hearts amazed those around her.

The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received from Jesus Christ is now widely acknowledged, and the messages of peace and joy found in her Diary are being spread throughout the world even today. (Catholic Online, Sister Faustina) It was in the year 1935 that Sister Faustina received a Holy Vision, of an Angel that had been sent by God, with the purpose of chastising a particular city.

When she saw the vision, the young sister felt great fear, and started to pray for mercy and forgiveness, but as it turned out, her prayers were actually powerless, because they could not prevent Jesus Christ from communicating with her. It was during this Holy Vision of the Divine Mercy that Sister Faustina saw the Holy Trinity, and son afterwards, felt the power and presence of Jesus Christ and His grace within her.

At the same time, she felt herself praying, albeit within herself, for mercy; she offered her body and her soul to atone for the various sins of those around her, and asked for mercy for herself and for the entire world too. (Divine Mercy, Mercy Prayers) Sister Faustina continued to pray in this manner, and soon enough, the Angel became completely helpless, and felt that the punishment to be meted out could not in fact be carried out, as referred to in her Diary, 474 and 475.

The very next day, she was about to enter the Chapel, and it was at this time that she heard the same interior voice that she had hear the previous day, and this voice was instructing Sister Faustina to recite the prayer generally referred to as the 'Chaplet'. Sister Faustina obeyed, and she started to recite the Chaplet almost continuously, from then onward, and most especially when she was in the presence of the dying.

Soon thereafter, Sister Faustina had other revelations, in which Jesus Christ exhorted this pure individual to recite the Chaplet not only for herself, but also for the entire world. (Divine Mercy, Mercy Prayers) However, it must be remembered that Sister Faustina started to have visions and revelations much before 1935, and as a matter of fact, it was in the year 1931 that she had a stunning vision of Jesus Christ in her cell in her convent at Poland.

In this vision, Jesus Christ reportedly gave Sister Faustina a series of instructions about the Chaplet, as mentioned earlier, and also about the other Revelations and Devotions that would successfully be able to invoke the Divine Mercy of God and conversion for sinners. (Katherine, 63) In Sister Faustina's own words, she describes the vision that came to her, in 1931, in her diary. "In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment.

One hand was raised in blessing; the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy.

After a while Jesus said to me, "paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the Inscription: Jesus, I trust in You." (Apparitions of Jesus and Mary: Devotion to the Divine Mercy) As mentioned earlier, the two rays pouring forth form Jesus Christ's heart were to be colored red and pale, and while the red ray would represent Our Lord's blood, the pale ray would represent the water, which would make souls self-righteous.

Jesus Christ also told this simple and devout lady that these to rays would issue from the very depths of his agonized soul, and would show his tender mercy, at a time when his heart had in fact been gravely pierced with a lance on the Cross, during the process of Crucifixion.

He also stated that "Fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter," of the two rays "for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him." (Apparitions of Jesus and Mary: Devotion to the Divine Mercy) In order to further demonstrate the fact that all was indeed forgiven, Jesus Christ told Sister Faustina that a solemn 'Feast of the Divine Mercy' must be celebrated thenceforth throughout the entire Church.

During these celebrations, he told Sister Faustina; he wanted this image that he had created for her during her vision, to be solemnly blessed, on the very First Sunday after Easter. This would also mean that from then onwards, Sunday would remain the Feast of Mercy. It would be on this important day that the floodgates of mercy would be opened up in the heart of Jesus Christ.

Whoever chose to go for Confessional or for Holy Communion on that particular Sunday would receive complete forgiveness and mercy from sin and punishment. He also stated that man would not be able to enjoy complete peace, until and unless to His Mercy.

(Apparitions of Jesus and Mary: Devotion to the Divine Mercy) Jesus Christ also promised Sister Faustina that the soul that would venerate this image of him with two rays pouring forth from his heart would not perish, and that he would be able to pledge victory over enemies, and most especially at the hour of their death, if the image were to be cherished and venerated.

What Jesus Christ was actually offering to his beloved people was a sort of vessel, which they were to make full use of, and utilize to gain graces at the fountain of mercy. The vessel in this case was the image inscribed with the signature as described to Sister Faustina, 'Jesus, I trust in you'. Jesus Christ thereafter revealed to Sister Faustina that he wanted this image of him venerated, first in the Chapel, and then throughout the world.

In fact, there is a story that, after the original image had been painted, at the request of Sister Faustina's confessor, it had been hung in the corridor, rather than in the Church, and Jesus Christ appeared in a vision to the simple lady and told her that she was to tell the confessor that the image must be put on view in the Church, and not within the small enclosure of the convent that it was in at that particular time.

(Veneration of the Sacred Image) The reason given was that Jesus Christ would be granting many graces to his devotees, through this image of himself, and therefore, the more number of people had access to it, and saw it, the more graces that he would be able to offer them.

It must be noted that numerous versions of this image have been painted through the years, but the fact still remains that the Lord felt that the painting as such was not important in itself; and when Sister Faustina was given the task of commissioning a painter to paint the image of Jesus Christ as it was revealed to her, she reportedly wept, saying that no one would be able to "paint You as beautiful as You are." (Veneration of the Sacred Image) In answer, Jesus Christ told her that the beauty of the image lay not in the color, or in the brushwork, or in the design, or in anything else, but in his own grace.

Jesus Christ also said, "My gaze from this image is like my gaze from the Cross." (Veneration of the Sacred Image) Therefore, this can be taken to mean that no matter how the image has been painted, and who has painted it, one can indeed remain assured that the image in itself would serve as a vehicle, if it were to be revered with innate trust in His unbounded mercy.

(Veneration of the Sacred Image) The image that emerged as a result of the revelations of Our Lord to the simple and devoted Sister Faustina has become extremely popular through the years, and at the end of the twentieth century, this was the image, that of Christ as a vessel of Divine Mercy, that would leave a long lasting impression on those who viewed it.

As a matter of fact, it is stated that it is this image that plays a very important role in people's lives, because it is in essence a complete and exact representation of the life and the trials of Jesus Christ on earth. The image bears the wounds that Christ ha to bear during his Crucifixion; and from the left side of his chest, from his heart, emerge two rays of light, signifying water and blood.

This image, as in Sister Faustina's vision, has always appeared in a modern and contemporary format. The image was, as one must remember, created during the 1930's, and this was most probably the vision that a God fearing and devout nun would have of Christ the Savior. Its ancestry can perhaps be found in the Sacred Heart pictures of the early decades of the 20th century.

(Devine Mercy Image) After Sister Faustina's vision, in the year 1934, and after she decided to get the image painted, the good nun decided to commission the Polish painter Eugene Kazimierowski in Vilnius, Lithuania, to paint the image for her. In the year 9135, the painting was completed and then venerated, for the very first time. Two years later, the picture was placed in the Church of St. Michael's in the same city.

This is perhaps the main reason that this original, or 'Vilnius-type' of image is the prototype for the numerous images on the same theme that started to appear in later years. Today, the painting of the Divine Mercy is venerated in the church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius. Some individuals do believe that the Polish Adolf Hyla painted another variant of the theme, called 'Hyla'. This image was placed in the 1891 monastery Church. This was in fact the image that was extremely popular with John Paul II.

Today the near life size painting is to be found in the new sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Cracow, Poland, Sanktuarium Bo-ego Mi-osierdzia, and Krakow-Lagiewniki. It was consecrated in the year 2002, and this is also the place where Sister Faustina herself lies buried. (Devine Mercy Image) Sister Faustina and her journey towards salvation and peace have been well documented. How did this unassuming young lady manage to carry out such an important task, and thereby spread Jesus Christ's message of mercy to the people of the world.

These revelations were in fact made by Our Lord to be shared with everyone, and Sister Faustina was the chosen individual who received the message that Jesus Christ wanted to impart to his disciples. The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion was actually banned for a period of twenty years by the Church, but the timelessness of the message managed to find favor with the Church yet again, and the message continues to spread even to this day, perhaps mostly due to the support and favor of John Paul II.

It is stated that when Sister Faustina.