Faustyna and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
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Today is the Feast of St Faustyna – not Faustina
I want you to get to know her because she is a close friend of mine. She was born August 25, 1905, in Poland. From the age of 7 Faustina heard the definite call of God to become a religious sister, however, she writes “But I was not always obedient to the call of grace.” And sadly she relates: “I came across no one who would have explained these things to me.” At 17 she begged her parents for permission to enter the convent. She got a flat refusal. So she turned herself over to the vain things of life, paying no attention to the call of grace…Even though she found no satisfaction in things of the world.
When she was 18 - she was at a dance (probably in Lodz) with one of her sisters. About what happened next she writes:
While everybody was having a good time, my soul was experiencing deep torments. As I began to dance, I suddenly saw Jesus at my side, Jesus racked with pain, stripped of His clothing, all covered with wounds, who spoke these words to me: "How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting Me off?" At that moment the charming music stopped, (and) the company I was with vanished from my sight; there remained Jesus and I. I took a seat by my dear sister, pretending to have a headache to cover up what took place in my soul. Then I slipped out unnoticed, leaving my sister and all my companions behind and made my way to the Cathedral of Saint Stanislaus Kostka.” Falling prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament, she begged God to tell her what to do next. Then she heard these words: Go at once to Warsaw; you will enter a convent there. She went home, confided to her sister what took place within her soul asked her sister to say good-bye to her parents. Then in her one and only dress, with no other belongings she hopped a train for Warsaw. When she arrived she was overcome with fear – not knowing what to do next so she prayer: Mary, lead me, guide me. Ultimately, Jesus and Mary led her to the convent of Our Lady of Mercy (Warsaw)
From 1925 until her death in 1938
· Vilnius, Plock, Kracov
· Cook, gardener and door-keeper
Faustyna led a very Ordinary Life except for this…
· Jesus, Mary, her Guardian Angel, Many saints and souls in purgatory as well as demons…visited and spoke with Faustyna on a continual basis
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Jesus appeared to St. Faustyna from 1931-1938 and commanded her to keep a diary of all their conversations.
He said to her: Write down everything that occurs to you regarding My goodness. She answered, “What do You mean, Lord, what if I write too much?” My daughter, be at peace; do as I tell you. Your thoughts are united to My thoughts, so write whatever comes to your mind. You are the secretary of My mercy. I have chosen you for that office in this life and the next life. 1605
At one point, Faustyna burned the Diary as she feared she was being deceived by the devil. But Jesus ordered her to rewrite it. He would at times read the notebooks and then say “You have not written everything in the notebook about My goodness towards humankind; I desire that you omit nothing;” 459
The Diary reveals a deep personal friendship between Jesus and Faustyna. As I read the Diary, I too was drawn into a deep friendship with Christ. If you read the Diary prayerfully, I’m sure the same will happen to you.
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On Feb 22, 1931 Jesus appeared to Faustina and revealed to her the Image of Divine Mercy by which He wants to give His mercy to us
She writes: In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord: my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus said to me, Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: “Jesus I trust in You.” 47
Again Faustyna writes: My confessor told me to ask the Lord Jesus the meaning of the two rays in the image, I answered, “Very well, I will ask the Lord.” During prayer I head these words within me: The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous (Baptism and the sacrament of Reconciliation which cleanse the soul). The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls (The Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist). (299)
Later Jesus said: “By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so, let every soul have access to it.” 570
I encourage you to place the Image of Divine Mercy in a prominent or central place in your home and speak the words: Jesus I trust in you.
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Jesus revealed this special prayer to Faustina called the
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
While I was saying the chaplet, I heard a voice which said, Oh, what great graces I will grant to souls who say this chaplet; the very depths of my tender mercy are stirred for the sake of those who say the chaplet. Write down these words, My daughter. Speak to the world about my mercy; let all mankind recognize my unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. 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
How to pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy:
Begin with one Our Father, One Hail Mary, and the Apostles Creed
The On the Our Father bead pray
Eternal Father, I offer you the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
On the Hail Mary beads
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,
Have mercy on us and on the whole world
After five decades pray the concluding doxology three times
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
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Jesus told Faustyna that the most important way to receive His mercy is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation which He called the “Tribunal of Mercy.”
Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy [the sacrament of Reconciliation]. There the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. 1448
Even though Faustyna was a great saint, she struggled with telling her sins to a man in confession.
Diary 1602 - Today, the Lord said to me,
Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flow down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls.