Devotion to the Mercy of God

by K. Patrick, Ontario, Canada

THE BEGINNING

It was the evening of February 22, 1931, and a young novice, "Sister" Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament, was in her cold, bare cell at the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Plock, Poland. Suddenly, she saw Jesus standing before her in a shining white garment. His right Hand was raised in blessing, and His other Hand was pointing to two rays, one red and one pale, that were streaming from His breast. As she gazed at Jesus, Jesus spoke to her: "Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature ‘Jesus, I trust in You’. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, then throughout the world."

Later, while she was praying, St. Faustina heard Jesus interiorly telling her the meaning of the symbolic rays: they "denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for Blood, which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender Mercy when my agonizing Heart was opened by a lance on the cross."

THE IMAGE

St. Faustina wondered how she was supposed to paint an image of Jesus, as she could not draw at all. She tried to sketch it but failed, and told her confessor about the problem. But, being very cautious, he dismissed the apparition lightly, saying that Jesus was only telling her to carry His Image in her soul. Later on in the day she heard Jesus telling her that was not why He appeared to her. He wanted a real image painted, an image of His Divine Mercy, to be "venerated throughout the world." Again the young nun told her Superior and her spiritual director about Christ's request.

But it was not until three years later, in 1934, that she was finally allowed to visit an artist and guide him as he painted the image. When the artist, Eugene Kazimierowski, finished painting the image of Divine Mercy (see the picture on the right), St. Faustina was very disappointed at the result. It didn’t look nearly as beautiful as Jesus had looked when he appeared to her. But she hid her feelings until the evening, when she was alone in the chapel, then cried because of her extreme disappointment. Tearfully, she asked Jesus who would paint Him the way she saw Him. His answer was comforting: "Not in the beauty of the colour, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My Grace." He also told her: "My Gaze from this image is like My Gaze from the Cross."

"JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU"

Jesus asked St. Faustina to put the words "Jesus, I trust in You" under the picture of Divine Mercy because of the lack of trust man has in Him: "How painfully distrust of My Goodness wounds Me!" and "Distrust on the part of souls is tearing out my insides. The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater pain; despite My inexhaustible Love from them, they do not trust Me."

THE CHAPLET OF MERCY

Jesus not only gave St. Faustina the image of Divine Mercy for mankind, but also the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Feast of Divine Mercy, and the Hour of Divine Mercy. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, He revealed to her by a terrifying vision of an Angel executing just punishment on a country. The dazzling Angel was standing on a cloud, from which terrible thunder and lightning burst forth. When Sister Faustina saw this, she begged and pleaded with the Angel to wait before executing this punishment so that she could get everyone to do penance for their sins to lessen the wrath of God, but in vain.

Suddenly she found herself in front of the Most Holy Trinity, before Whose power and majesty she did not dare to speak. She was taken to the Throne of God and there she felt herself begging again, but with some words heard interiorly. As she prayed with these words, the Angel was unable to deliver the punishment on the earth. These inner words were the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

Jesus explained to her later that the Chaplet of Divine Mercy was to be said on Rosary beads. It begins with an "I Believe in God", then a "Hail Mary" and an "Our Father". On the "Our Father" beads of the Rosary Jesus told her to say "Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Thy Most Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world". On the "Hail Mary" beads, He asked her to say "For the Sake of His Most Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." In conclusion, the prayer "Holy God, Holy Omnipotent, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us and on the whole world" was to be said three times.

Jesus told St. Faustina that He wanted a novena of this Chaplet of Divine Mercy to be made before the Feast of Divine Mercy (the Novena would start on Good Friday): "I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fount of My Mercy. . .On each day you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls, and you will immerse them in this ocean of My Mercy. I will deny nothing to any soul whom you will bring to the fount of My Mercy. On each day you will beg of My Father, on the strength of My bitter Passion, for graces for these souls."

FEAST OF MERCY

Jesus asked that the Feast of Divine Mercy be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. He told her: "On that day, all the Divine floodgates, through which graces flow, are opened. The soul who will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment."

It is interesting to note that St. Thomas the Apostle wrote, in the Apostolic Constitutions, "After the eight days (that follow Easter) let there be another feast observed with honour, the eighth day itself, on which He gave me, Thomas, who was hard of belief, full assurance by showing me the print of the nails and the wounds made in His Side by the spear."

On May 23, 2000, the Church officially established the Feast of Mercy as a feast of the Church, to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.

THE HOUR OF MERCY

Jesus also asked St. Faustina to remember to pray during the Hour of Mercy at three o’clock in the afternoon each day- perhaps the Stations of the Cross or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. It was at this Hour that He died on the Cross on Good Friday. He urged St. Faustina many times to, "if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly My Abandonment at the moment of agony" during this hour.

DEVOTION TO THE DIVINE MERCY TODAY

Only four years after the first image of Divine Mercy was painted, thirty-three year old St. Faustina died a peaceful death on the first Friday of the month. Her beatification process was started and fittingly, on April 18th, 1993, the Feast of Divine Mercy, she was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II. She was canonized on the Feast of Divine Mercy, April 30, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.

The message of Divine Mercy has been spread throughout the world. Jesus had told St. Faustina concerning those who venerated the image of Divine Mercy: "I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies. . .I Myself shall defend it as My own Glory." In World War II, two Polish cities, Krakow and Vilno, distributed copies of the image of Divine Mercy to their inhabitants, and placed an image in a central spot for public worship. Miraculously, as Jesus had promised, these cities were spared destruction in the war, while other cities perished.

Such love and mercy Jesus has given us through His Divine Mercy is truly incredible: "From My Wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the Wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable Mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls. . ." Let us not let a day go by without telling Jesus, "I trust in You!"

Reprinted from Blossoms At Our Lady's Feet Catholic teen newsletter. (ufamtobie@catholic.org)

Special thanks to K. Patrick for providing this article on devotion to the Divine Mercy!

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