I want priests to preach My great mercy to sinful souls (Diary 49-50). That is how Sister Faustinas hospital ministry for the dying started. Her soul was being purified in the crucible of spiritual battle. She never showed the slightest doubts as to the authenticity of her mission nor fear of death, she was absolutely engrossed in the leading light of her entire life the devotion to Divine Mercy.. I didnt understand any of the things my confessor said to me. Sister Faustina Kowalska is one of the Church's most popular and widely known saints and the greatest mystics in the history of . That day was to be the refuge for all souls, especially the poor sinners. Her father had already taught her to read, but at school she had the opportunity to learn more. Not only did she notice them, but she would also think of ways to help them. I did not feel any consolation in prayer, meditation came only with much effort, anxiety started to overwhelm me. Her kitchen help Sister Serafina Kukulska recalled was a girl with a very difficult character, a convert, whom no-one ever wanted to work with. This is the prayer for the appeasing of Gods wrath. Those who are strong devotees to Divine Mercy and St. Faustina, may know a lot already about her life. The Divine presence flooded my soul; I know I am under the glance of the Mighty One. I immersed completely in the joy that comes from God. She was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of Swinice Warckle. In the convent chapel Father Andrasz blessed another picture of the Merciful Jesus painted in accordance with Sister Faustinas instructions and started special services in honour of the Divine Mercy. That was the quiet, godly influence Sister Faustina had on sinful souls. I felt wonderfully happy at having been able to confess everything. Helenkas immediate entry was prevented by poverty, and Mother Superior advised her to continue for a time in service and save up for a small trousseau, testing the firmness of her vocation. One day she held a lottery, another time she put on her mothers old clothes and as a beggar went from house to house and the collected money gave to the parish priest for the poor. She waited for the priest He had promised and the chance to have the painting of the Merciful Jesus made according to Gods will. After less than two months of Sister Faustinas novitiate there was a change of novice mistress (20 June 1926). I want the picture which you will paint with a brush blessed in a special ceremony on the first Sunday after Easter, that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy. (Diary16). In June 1937 she made a record in her diary of the final shape of the work which was one but had three hues. Located in: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. I couldnt paint, either, and I did not understand that she meant a new kind of picture, Sister Boenna recalled, so I suggested I would offer her a choice out of the many fine holy pictures I had. Tell distressed humankind to come up and cling to My Heart, and I shall fill it with peace. During her next confession she told her confessor about this incident. As I was a senior novice I had to act as her guide (angel). Jesus introduced the Chaplet of Divine Mercy through a vision granted to St. Faustina. You have a good, humble and such an innocent child, a neighbour, Marianna Bereziska, praised Helenka. After all, she lived in a convent and was only a simple nun performing prosaic duties; she had neither extensive relations with other people nor any opportunities to disseminate this message in the world at large. Nonetheless, the suffering was becoming more and more intense. St Mary Faustina Kowalska was born on 25 August 1905 in Glogowiec, Poland, to a poor, religious family of peasants, the third of 10 children. O, that day is terrible. His apparel was as bright as snow, and all at once He was gone. After just a few weeks in the convent Mother Superior sent the postulant Helenka along with two other sisters to Skolimw, in the suburbs, for reasons of health, which had deteriorated due to the fairly strict fasts practised in the house and in service, and also due to the spiritual experience of a new life in the convent. Shortly before she died she sat up in bed and asked Mother Superior to come up closer. But Helenka felt her heart was so big that no human love would satisfy it. Although she had already realised that the new congregation would be a great work in the Church, comprising mens and womens congregations as well as lay associations, as she wrote to Father Sopoko in April 1936, she was still convinced that her role in this was to found a contemplative order. The following day, as she entered the Chapel, Jesus spoke to her and explained that the main purpose of Chaplet of Divine Mercy is to appease the Just Anger of the Holy Trinity. In the Lipszyc household Helenka was treated like a member of the family, they all loved and respected her for her hard work and cheerfulness, she had a way with children, in short she had all it takes to be a good wife and mother. This is why Vilnius has become known as the City of Divine Mercy. It was where all of our Lords demands of St. Faustina in His message of Divine Mercy were finally realised. It happened again for 13 days, but I was never sure that he would bring me Holy Communion on the next day(Diary 1676). It is a record of the inspiring life of St. Faustina, as she experienced the profound supernatural events that shaped her entire life. Sister Faustinas health was deteriorating all the time and the end of her life on earth was approaching. Out of her charism and mystical experience grew the Apostolic Movement of the Divine Mercy which continues her mission, proclaiming the message of Mercy to the world through the testimony of life, deed, words and prayer. Her Cracovian spiritual director observed that since she had taken the decision she would be taking the full responsibility on herself. Helenka cared for him not only by bringing food but also by asking a priest to look after his salvation. I want a Feast of Mercy. Was when I was seven, [it happened] during Vespers and Jesus was exposed in the monstrance. On Jesus confirmation that He meant a material picture, she informed the local superior, Sister Ra Kobukowska, about the situation, who demanded a sign confirming the truth of the visions. As the devotion became more and more widely known the opinion of Sister Faustinas sainthood grew as well. From a very tender age she stood out . Sister Faustina followed the novice mistress instructions attentively and fulfilled all the duties allotted her with exactitude. She realised that she was responsible not only for her own salvation, but also other peoples, and so she resolved to do all in her power to fulfil His will or to make Him transfer these graces to someone else, since she was only wasting them. She attended elementary school for merely three years and then she went to work as a housekeeper in various welltodo families in Aleksandrw and d. So she did not turn down an invitation to a dance in the Wenecja Park. From then on Helenka prayed all the more fervently for the souls in purgatory, to help them, and God permitted her to establish a closer form of contact with them. This argument and their childs happiness persuaded her parents and from then on they had no further objections to her life in the convent. He wanted that message to radiate out from agiewniki to the whole of Poland and the entire world, and Jesus promise to be fulfilled that a spark which would prepare the world for Jesus final coming would issue from this place (cf. Thats how Mother Magorzata Gimbutt described the candidate on a preliminary interview to Mother General, Mother Leonarda Cielecka, who was not very keen on admitting persons with such a background into the Congregation. In a response she heard: It is not the beauty of the paint nor of the brush, but My grace that makes this painting great(Diary 313). Through the many visions that she had, she was able to grow and nourish her love for Christ in the Eucharist. One of the people who came to worship before this image was Karol Wojtya, a young labourer from the Solvay quarry which neighboured on the convent, who had already become familiar with the devotion to Divine Mercy in the forms of worship prescribed by Sister Faustina. The canonisation ceremony was held on the Feast of Divine Mercy, 30 April 2000, in St. Peters Square, Rome, and was attended by bishops and priests, nuns, and huge crowds of pilgrims from all over the world. St. Faustina Kowalska Catholic Online Saints & Angels Facts Feastday: October 5 Patron: of Mercy Birth: 1905 Death: 1938 Beatified: Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1993 Canonized: Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000 Author and Publisher - Catholic Online Printable PDF of St. Faustina Kowalska Shop St. Faustina Kowalska In the next visions Jesus made great promises to Sister Faustina in connection with the trustful reciting of the Chaplet. During the homily for her canonization on April 30, 2000, the pope declared Divine Mercy Sunday to be celebrated worldwide. The Lord brought her into the world of an ever closer union with Him, preparing her for receiving the grace of mystical marriage. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. But the joy of those days for Sister Faustina was the fact that Jesus requests had been fulfilled. Nevertheless, my confessor did not allow me to miss a single Holy Communion. Under the pretext of a headache she quickly left the company, making her way to the nearest church, the Cathedral of St. Stanisaw Kostka. Before He comes again as Judge, He wants souls to learn that He is the King of merc (Diary 378), Sister Faustina wrote in her diary. He said to her, You are the witness of My mercy; forever and ever you shall stand before My throne as a living witness to My mercy (Diary 417). You will prepare the world for My final coming. The doctor, the nurses, the patients they were all very good to her. In November 1932 Sister Faustina left Pock and returned to Warsaw for the third probation and to prepare for her perpetual vows. I had seen him in the vision. She continued to make entries in her diary almost to the end of June. The background to and instrument whereby God effected this in Sister Faustinas soul was the work for the implementation of the concept of a new congregation. From that moment her union with God was closer than ever before. Helenka went into service again, this time in d. She expressed her thanks for all the good she had received from Mother General and the Congregation, she begged forgiveness for her transgressions against the rule, she asked for their sisterly love, prayer and a blessing in the hour of death. This message, Pope Benedict XVI has said, The message of Mercy as the Divine Power, as God putting a check on all the worlds evil, is indeed the chief message of our times. In her everyday contacts Sister Faustina was able to interpret lifes troubles in a spirit of living faith and see Gods goodness in everything. Two days later she was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of . In August 1938 she wrote a letter to Mother General Michaela Moraczewska: Dearest Reverend Mother, I feel this is our last conversation on earth. Jesus paid no attention to this and did not withdraw His directive, but encouraged her, saying, Do not be afraid. I saw Jesus exposed in a monstrance on the great altar in our chapel. Writing about her experience viewing Heaven, the saint wrote: I saw how all creatures give ceaseless praise and glory to God. Right at that moment, I was transfixed by the Divine light, and I felt I belonged solely to God; and I experienced supreme spiritual freedom, such as I had never had any idea of before (Diary 1681). 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