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Diary of Hl. Sr. Faustyna Kowalska

This page gives a short introduction to the revelations of God-Son (Jesus) given to the Holy Sister Faustyna starting at around 1925.

Preface informations

Mrs. Elisabeth Rieder created the new icon according to the guideline of the hl. Sister Faustyna "Jesus Christ the Mercifull" and at the suggestion of the very reverend archpriest Dr. Andreas-A. Thiermeyer: "Lord Jesus Christ, I trust in You!" May this icon gain broad circulation and veneration both in the catholic church as well as in the orthodox church including the churches of oriental rite!
Source (in German): http://www.internetpfarre.de/blog/archives/2009/12/30.html

Publication of the new icon created in 2009 with friendly permission of the A.K.M. (action group Kyrillos and Methodios e.V., D-85065 Eichstätt) All rights of any further publication and in any form are by the A.K.M. and by Dr. A.-A. Thiermeyer (owner of the icon) ® .
Link to the A.K.M.: http://www.akmev.info/ (home page in German).
 

Sister Faustina, the Apostle of Divine Mercy, counts today among the greatest mystics and best-known Saints of the Church. Through her, the Lord Jesus passed on to the world the great message of God's mercy, revealed the universal model of Christian perfection, and likewise inspired in the Church a great work - the Apostolic Movement of the Divine Mercy.

The years of her religious life abounded with supernatural graces, such as: revelations, visions, hidden stigmata, participation in Christ's passion, the gift of bilocation, the reading of human souls, the gift of prophecy, as well as the rare gift of mystical betrothal and marriage. The living relationship with God, the Blessed Mother, the Angels, the Saints, the souls in Purgatory - with the entire supernatural world - was as equally real for her as was the world she perceived with her senses. In spite of being so richly endowed with extraordinary graces, she knew that they do not constitute the essence of sanctity. In her Diary she wrote: >Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely the ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God< (Diary 1107).

Short introduction

The world-famous apostle of the Divine Mercy was born on 25 August 1905 in the village of Głogowiec, in the Świnice Warckie parish (abour 50 km outside the city of Łódź) as the third of ten children in the family of Marianna and Stanisław Kowalski. She attended school for less than 3 years. Subsequently, she worked as a charwoman in the households of well-to-do families in Aleksandrów Łódzki, Łódź and Ostrówek in the Klembów county near Warsaw. On August 1 1925, when she was 20 years old, she joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. In the course of the 13 years she had spent in the Congregation, she stayed in a number of its houses: in Cracow (the longest), Vilno, Płock and Warsaw where she worked as a cook, gardener and gatekeeper.

She suffered from tuberculosis of the lungs and of the alimentary canal. She also experienced great spiritual tribulations, as she had offered her life in sacrifice for poor sinners, particularly those who faced the prospect of being deprived of the grace of salvation. Sr. Faustina's life, which at first glance seems so grey and monotonous was filled with an extraordinary depth of mystical life. She was endowed with many extraordinary graces, among others with the gift of contemplation, concealed stigmata, bilocation, the gift of prophecy, of being able to read human souls, and of mystical betrophal and nuptials all of which enabled her to attain the heights of unity with God on earth.

Sr. Faustina died in the convent of the Congregation in Cracow-Łagiewniki on 5 October 1938. During the II World War, the fame of the sanctity of her life grew rapidly, as thanks to her mediation, people were able to obtain numerous graces. The informative process concerning the heroic quality of her life was carried out in Cracow in the years 1965-67. It was at this time that her earthly remains had been transferred from the convent's cemetery to the chapel. In the year 1968 the Beatification Process of Sister Faustina was initiated in Rome. It was completed with the issuing of a Decree of Heroic Virtues of Sr. Faustina as well as a decree about a miracle which had been worked thanks to her mediation. On 18 April 1993 in St. Peter's Square in Rome the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, beatified this Polish nun. The relics of the Blessed Sr. Faustina rest upon the altar in the Sanctuary in Cracow-Łagiewniki, right under the miraculous image of Merciful Jesus.

The Lord Jesus chose Sr. Faustina as the Apostle and "Secretary" of His Mercy, so that she could tell the world about this great message: In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart (Diary 1588) - the Lord Jesus told Sr. Faustina. (Dz. 1588).

The mission of the Blessed Sr. Faustina consisted in 3 tasks:

bulletReminding the world of the truth of our faith revealed in Holy Scripture about the merciful love of God towards every human being.
bulletEntreating God's mercy for the whole world, among others through the practice of new forms of devotion to Divine Mercy, such as the veneration of the image of the Divine Mercy with the inscription: Jesus, I Trust in You, the feast of the Divine Mercy celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, chaplet of the Divine Mercy, prayer at the Hour of Mercy (3 p.m.) and spreading the devotion to the Divine Mercy.
bulletInitiating the apostolic movement of the Divine Mercy which undertakes the task of proclaiming and entreating God's mercy for the world and strives for perfection in the spirit of childlike confidence in God, expressed in the fulfillment of His will and the attitude of mercy towards one's neighbor.

The mission of the Blessed Sr. Faustina has been recorded in her Diary which she had kept at the specific request of the Lord Jesus and her confessors. In it, she recorded faithfully all of the Lord Jesus' wishes and also described the encounters between her soul and God. Secretary of My most profound mystery, know that yours is an exclusive intimacy with Me. Your task is to write down everything that I make known to you about My mercy, for the benefit of those who by reading these things will be comforted in their souls and will have the courage to approach Me (Diary 1693). In an extraordinary way, Sr. Faustina's work sheds light on the mystery of the Divine Mercy. It delights not only the simple and uneducated people, but also scholars who look upon it as an additional source of theological research. The Diary has been translated into many languages, among others, English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Portugese, Russian, Hungarian, Czech, and Slovak. At present it is being translated into Arabic, Vietnamese, Japanese, Swedish and others.

    Painting of Sister Faustyna

Apostolates

bulletDivine Merci Sunday (1st. Sunday after Easter)
bulletHour of Gods Merci (daily 15.00 h)
bulletCongregation of merciful Jesus (Order)
bulletMercy rosary (Prayer)

Documents

bullet[...]

Literature

bulletMisericordia Publishers, Krakow: http://www.misericordia.bel.pl/
bulletParvis Publishers (D, F): http://www.parvis.ch/

Links

bulletSanctuary od the Divine Mercy: https://www.milosierdzie.pl/index.php/en/
bulletCongregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy: http://www.faustyna.pl/
bulletFaustinum Association: http://www.faustinum.pl/
bulletSr. Faustina (F, D): http://www.faustina.ch/
bulletCongregation of Sisters of Merciful Jesus: http://www.faustina-message.com/index.htm
bulletDivine Mercy painting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Kazimierowski and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hyla
bulletWorld congress on Divine Mercy: http://www.worldapostoliccongressonmercy.org/
bulletDivine merci apostolate international: http://www.nityaradhana.com/

 

Last update of this page: 10.08.2019