One day, Sister Eufemia Traczyska recalled, when we were peeling apples at work in the bakery Sister Faustina came in. The figure of Blessed Micha Sopoko, confessor of Sister Faustina Kowalska, is well known, but Father Jozef Andrasz SJ (1891-1963), who played a very important role in the. "After it will come the Day of Justice. [2]. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fount of my mercy; let them profit from the blood and water which gushed forth for them ( Diary, 848). An experienced confessor, Father Sopoko first tried to get to know his penitent, and not be misled by any delusions, hallucinations or fantasies deriving from human nature. Then I saw her all different, changed, and levitating over the bed, gazing into the distance as if she were looking at something there. She was magnanimous and devoted her entire life to the saving of souls. She was kind, courteous, and hard-working. Though seriously ill herself, often so ill that she had to leave Mass, she always noticed others, who needed help. That was the quiet, godly influence Sister Faustina had on sinful souls. These words filled her soul with a terrible awe. 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. Her soul was being purified in the crucible of spiritual battle. But she wasnt sure she had understood His words correctly, that she was to found a new congregation, neither had she been told explicitly to inform her confessor of this, so for the next twenty days she remained silent. Along with the new tasks, there now came a second stage of anguishing purification known as the passive nights of the spirit. 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. However, she advised her not to hurry with the foundation of a new congregation, for if the idea indeed came from God, then it would be accomplished in its time. His apparel was as bright as snow, and all at once He was gone. You have a good, humble and such an innocent child, a neighbour, Marianna Bereziska, praised Helenka. Located in: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Saint Faustina saw visions of Heaven. This religious fervor spread to Helena quickly, as she was known from an early age for her obedience, prayerfulness . In the evening when she returned to her cell, she had a physical vision of Jesus in a white robe. Word went round in the Pock convent that Sister Faustina had had a vision. He was strict with himself and his children and did not tolerate even the slightest misdemeanour. She fetched her rosary, knelt by the dying persons bedside and started saying the Chaplet with all the powers of her spirit, asking Jesus to fulfil the promise He had made regarding the Chaplet. I shall complete all that is wanting in you (Diary 435). Stanisaw Kowalski and Marianna ne Babel after the wedding bought a few acres of farmland in the village of Gogowiec, far away from towns and busy thoroughfares. There was also Jadzia, a blind charge, who told of her unusual experiences. She suffered from tuberculosis of the lungs and alimentary system and that is why for over 8 months stayed at the hospital in Krakw Prdnik. For us on earth she left a promise: I shall not forget you, O poor Earth, though I feel I shall im[1]mediately sink completely in God, as in an ocean of bliss; but it will not prevent me from coming back to Earth and fortifying and encouraging souls to trust in Divine mercy. During the terrible war years the devotion to the Divine Mercy spread rapidly, bringing a ray of light and hope into the darkness. He was spiritual director and chaplain in the Vilnian archdiocesan seminary, and confessor to numerous religious congregations, including the Antokol house of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy for their confession week. In each of them she tried to discern Jesus Himself and out of love for Him did good works for all of them. Father supplemented his income from the farm with work as a carpenter. Know that should you fail to have this picture painted and neglect all this work of mercy, on the Day of Judgement you shall be held to account for a great number of souls (Diary 154), He told her. The Apostolic Movement of Divine Mercy, the congregation based on Sister Faustinas mystical experience and charism which Jesus asked her to found, today comprises a variety of congregations, associations, confraternities, apostolates and individuals joining in the accomplishment of her mission. He reminded Sister Faustina that He wanted it celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, for souls were still being lost despite His bitter Passion. For Your Sons sake, You have to love me (Diary 240). In the same year she went to Kiekrz near Pozna, to take over in the kitchen for Sister Modesta Rzeczkowska, who was ill. The Candlemas candle continued to burn.. It was a picture with a new content, he recalled, and that is why I could not display it in a church without permission from the Archbishop, whom I was embarrassed to ask or, even more, to explain its origins. But Sister Faustina, urged on by Jesus, demanded it be put up in church. 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. When a friend asked her why she was walking alone, not with the other girls, she said, Im not alone, Im walking with Jesus. What did Faustina see Saint Faustina saw visions of Heaven In . During the homily for her canonization on April 30, 2000, the pope declared Divine Mercy Sunday to be celebrated worldwide. Today, I am sending you with My mercy to the whole of mankind (Diary 1588). The chapel was decorated for a feast day, and on this day it was open to everyone, anyone who wanted [to attend]. In November 1932 Sister Faustina left Pock and returned to Warsaw for the third probation and to prepare for her perpetual vows. On arriving in Krakw she met with Father Andrasz, who advised her to keep praying and exercising acts of self-mortification until the Feast of the Sacred Heart, when he would give her an answer to this question. One day passing by the chapel she said to Sister Damiana Ziek, I heard that Jesus said that at the Last Judgement He would judge people only on their mercy, for God is Mercy, so by doing or failing to do merciful deeds you are casting a verdict on yourself. Do not be afraid of anything, be faithful right unto the end. Nearly half a year passed in this way and there was no change at all in the state of my soul. Was when I was seven, [it happened] during Vespers and Jesus was exposed in the monstrance. She thought it must be a fire and she started shouting just when the bakers were putting the loaves into the oven. The funeral took place on 7 October, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. With trustful prayer at three oclock in the afternoon, offered on the merit of His Passion, is connected a promise of all graces which would be granted to the petitioners and all for whom they prayed, naturally provided that the grace asked for was in agreement with the will of God, i.e. She instructed Sister Faustina to say the exclamatory prayers instead of long prayers which required a considerable amount of concentration, and thereby accept the will of God. Pilgrims started to come to her grave in the agiewniki Convent and pray for her intercession. From the age of seven, she had felt the calling for religious vocation, but her parents would not give her permission to enter the convent. It looked impressive there, and attracted peoples attention more than the image of Our Lady over the gate.. I put all my trust in God and His holy will. The family was not well off, so like her older sisters she went into domestic service. The mystery of Divine Mercy took up the central position in Sister Faustinas life and apostolic work. Purified in the passive nights, the powers of her soul no longer put up any opposition: her reason and will longed only for God and whatever He longed for. Father gave a detailed answer to all my questions. Jesus said to Sister Faustina that the sign would come with the graces dispensed through the picture. When she wanted to please her father she would take the Lives of the Saints or some other religious book from our modest bookcase and read aloud. Jesus will take care of it'. After a brief stay in Warsaw in the ytnia and at Grochw, she was again sent off to Pock, and from there for a short time to Biaa, an agricultural colony of the Pock house. It was with this in mind that on 21 March 1936 she left Vilnius. On May 18, 2020, Pope Francis ordered the inscription of Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin, into the General Roman Calendar. Then in my soul I heard these words, This is My faithful servant; he will help you carry out My will here on Earth. (Diary 263). She commuted into Warsaw from Ostrwek looking for a convent which would take her but she was turned down wherever she knocked to the gate. Two days later she was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of . In 1965, as the Bishop of Krakw, he initiated a diocesan process for raising of Sister Faustina to the glory of the altars. This is the prayer for the appeasing of Gods wrath. My second year in the novitiate was coming up. That is the hour of great mercy for the whole world (Diary 1320). By July 1937, the first Divine Mercy holy cards were printed with Sr. Faustina's instructions for praying the Novena of Divine Mercy, which she reported was a message from Jesus. Then she whispered, Jesus wants to elevate me and make me a saint. For the entire day without intermission, I lived immersed in God (Diary 707-708). This scrawny young man, in dreadfully tattered clothes, barefoot and without a hat as Sister Faustina described the incident was freezing, as it was a cold and wet day. She didn't plan to become a nun. For it was in Divine Mercy that the world would find peace, and mankind happiness. Yet, I decided to bear it all quietly, and not to answer questions. Some warned her of hallucinations, others declared she was hysterical and fantasising, and yet others acknowledged that she must be close to Jesus since she was bearing all this suffering with such calm. One big prayer of thanksgiving sprang up from my heart (Diary 17). The Diary has been translated into more than 20 languages, including, English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak . He promised special graces to priests who preached the truth of Gods merciful love for mankind. The over eightmonth period of illness and two spells in Prdnik Hospital was a good time for writing, and a major part of her spiritual writings was done in Krakw. Jesus does not ask you to suffer beyond your capacity. She was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of Swinice Warckle. Tell distressed humankind to come up and cling to My Heart, and I shall fill it with peace. 1. Sister Faustina decided to leave and straightaway write to the Holy Father to dispense her from her vows. From today on you shall be called Sister Maria Faustyna, 11. Words cannot describe how good she was. He asked Sister Faustina to do the Stations of the Cross at the hour of His death, but if duty prevented this, to come to the chapel for a short moment of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and if even that was out of the question, to devote a brief moment to prayer wherever she was. Faustina's message reverberated in St. John Paul II's heart. Since our ceremony was so closely linked with Rome, I dont exactly know how to distinguish [between the two ceremonies], but thats what I saw and thats what Im writing. The day of judgement has been determined, the day of Gods anger, the angels tremble at the thought of it. You will prepare the world for My final coming. God was working in a strange way in my soul. Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: Francesco d'Assisi; c. 1181 - 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianity. She died on Oct. 5, 1938, after being chosen by Jesus and Mary to become the unlikely apostle of the Divine Mercy. That terrible thought pierced my soul right through. Saint Faustina is the ideal role model for Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy, especially in light of her love of the Eucharist, and her virtuous life as exemplified by doing spiritual and corporal works of mercy. When she started the job she asked to be allowed time for daily Mass, visiting the sick and dying, and using the ministry of her mistresses confessor. Her superiors sent her for treatment to a sanatorium in the municipal health institution in Krakw. In her heart of hearts she heard the words, My Mercy does not want that, but justice commands it (Diary 20). She told her that God was still her Father although he was testing her, and that these trials were to prepare her soul for a fuller union with Him. 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). Sister Faustina was helped through these extremely painful experiences by her novice mistress, who correctly diagnosed her spiritual condition (which was not easy) and applied the right remedy. All the Kowalski children were baptised in the Parish Church of St. Casimir at winice Warckie; here they made their First Holy Communion and attended Mass on Sundays and holy days. Not only the sisters but also their charges and even the farm hands came down to pray in the crypt where Sister Faustinas coffin stood. What can you do about it?, 'Well, said Sister Faustina, 'if you have a yard then what with walking across it all week itll get dirty, but come Saturday you sweep it and clean it up and its spotless. So she did not turn down an invitation to a dance in the Wenecja Park. Although she could not read she was the one who instructed them in the faith and the principles of morality, and prepared them for their First Holy Communion. Her first period of treatment lasted nearly four months from December 1936 (with a break for Christmas). I often visited her Sister Serafina Kukulska recalled and always found her cheerful, even happy, and sometimes as if radiant, but she never disclosed the secret of her happiness. She was the third of ten children born to an impoverished and devout religious family in rural Pennsylvania. Sister Faustina is one of the Church's most popular and widely known saints and the greatest mystics in the history of the Church. As the devotion became more and more widely known the opinion of Sister Faustinas sainthood grew as well. And when her superior forbade her these visits to the bedsides of the dying on account of her own poor health, she would offer up her prayers and acts of obedience for them, which as Jesus had taught her meant more in His eyes than great deeds undertaken wilfully. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept My mercy. I suddenly saw Jesus, Who said these words to me, Now I know that it is neither for the graces nor the gifts that you love Me, but because My will is dearer to you than life; that is why I am uniting with you more closely than with any other creature. At that moment, Jesus vanished. Why is St Faustina important? The Diary of St. Faustina is the second most important book in the world, after the Bible. Throughout her life, she reported a number of visions of Jesus and conversations with him, which she wrote about in her diary, later published as the book Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul. However, she knew that the convent chapel at agiewniki in Krakw would become the shri- ne for the worship of the Divine Mercy. In October 1937 Jesus gave Sister Faustina another form of worship of the Divine Mercy. All quietly, and not to answer questions with this in mind that on 21 March 1936 she left.... 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