St. Faustyna
One
Her Mission
Jesus gave Faustyna the mission of telling the whole world about His infinite Goodness and encouraging them to trust in His Mercy before the Day of Justice arrives. The Day of Justice doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world, it could mean the end of this age, but it certainly means the Day of Justice otherwise known as our particular judgment that we will face at our death.
Jesus said to Faustyna, “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…Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy.” (Diary, 1588).
To accomplish this mission Jesus commanded Faustyna to keep a diary of all their conversations, calling her the secretary of his Mercy.
At one point, Faustyna threw the diary in the fireplace and burned it because 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.
Two
Image of Divine Mercy - Confession and Eucharist.
On Feb 22nd, 1931, Jesus appeared to Faustyna. 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
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.
Her confessor told Faustyna to ask Jesus the meaning of the two rays in the image, she answered, “Very well, I will ask the Lord.” Then, during prayer she heard these words within her, “The two rays denote Blood and Water. The white ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous (Baptism and Confession 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).”
Even though Faustyna was a great saint, she struggled with telling her sins to a man in confession. But then Jesus reassured her saying, “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…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…” 1602
St. Faustyna knew clearly the difference between living from Jesus or from her own limited power. She writes, “I find myself so weak that were it not for Holy Communion I would fall continually. One thing alone sustains me, and that is Holy Communion. From it I draw my strength; in it is all my comfort. I fear life on days when I do not receive Holy Communion. I fear my own self. Jesus concealed in the Host is everything to me. From the tabernacle I draw strength, power, courage and light. Here, I seek consolation in time of anguish. I would not know how to give glory to God if I did not have the Eucharist in my heart.” 1037
Three
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
On Friday, September 13, 1935, Jesus revealed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to Faustyna. Jesus said, “Oh, what great graces I will grant to souls who say this 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.” 848
Jesus also taught Faustyna how to speak to him in prayer, “Talk to me simply as a friend to a friend.” 1487
And how to listen, “When you reflect upon what I tell you in the depths of your heart, you profit more than if you had read many books. Oh, if souls would only want to listen to My voice when I am speaking in the depths of their hearts, they would reach the peak of holiness in a short time.” 584
However, if we want to hear Jesus then we need silence. Jesus said to Faustyna, “Strive for a life of recollection so that you can hear my voice, which is so soft that only recollected souls can hear it…” 1779
Faustyna writes, “I see one rule as most important...and it is silence…the Holy Spirit does not speak to a soul that is distracted and talkative. He speaks by His quiet inspirations to a soul that is recollected, to a soul that knows how to keep silence.” 552
We constantly give our attention to our phones, our screens, our entertainment and not to God and wonder why we never hear him. Faustyna said, “Silence is the sword in the spiritual struggle.” 477
If you want to hear God, put all your screens away after supper, walk outside, talk to a loved one or friends, read a book, and go to bed early. Then you will wake up earlier, have time for silence and you will hear God. Or just be a slave to your noise and distractions. But you must choose.
Four
Prayer and Sacrifice
By his prayer and sacrifice, Jesus opened the way to Heaven. By Baptism he makes us children of God. And God the Father wants to give all His children the joy of participating with Jesus in the work of redemption. He wants us all to play our part in helping others to receive the Mercy of God.
Jesus said to Faustyna, “My daughter, I want to instruct you on how you are to rescue souls through sacrifice and prayer. You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone.” 1767
Five
God wants to give you His Mercy
We say, “Yes, yes I know that, but I need to get my act together, clean myself up and make myself a better person, then I can go to God and He will give me His Mercy.”
No, that is totally backward! We are relying on ourselves to do what is impossible.
Holiness means God living in you, God transforming you, God acting through you. Yes, we must cooperate, but we can’t give ourselves the divine life. We can’t make ourselves like God. Only God can do this for us.
That’s why Jesus said to St. Faustyna, “Tell all people that I am Love and Mercy itself.” 1074
Stop trying to do this on your own. Jesus is constantly begging us, “Let Me do it.”
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, shortly before her death, wrote in a letter that she finally understood what Jesus expected of her when He said to her, “Let Me do it.”
“His Sacred Heart,” she wrote, “will do everything for me if I let him. He shall will, He shall love, He shall desire for me and make up for all my faults.”