St Faustina Maria Kowalska

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament was born as Helena, in Poland 1905 as the third of 10 children, to a poor and uneducated, but religious family. When Faustina was 19, she was at a dance with her sister, when she had a vision of a suffering Christ who instructed her to leave for Warsaw immediately and join a convent. Faustina left the dance, packed her bags and left for Warsaw the very next morning, there she applied for many convents however was rejected because of her poverty. She was eventually accepted at the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy on the condition that she could pay for her own religious habit. In 1928 at 23 years old Faustina took her first religious vows.⁠
⁠
On February 22, 1931, Faustina was visited by Jesus, who wore a white garment with red and pale rays coming from his heart. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world. In her diary, Faustina writes:⁠
⁠
"In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, 'paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.'" Jesus then explained he wanted the Divine Mercy image to be "solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy."⁠
⁠
Faustina, not knowing how to paint, asked around her convent for help but was denied. It wasn't until three years later, in 1934, that the first painting of the image was created by Eugene Kazimierowski.⁠

The following year, while praying for Mercy, Faustina found herself pleading with God and saying the words “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; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us.” As she continued, the angel became helpless and could not carry out the deserved punishment. The next day, she again heard this interior voice, instructing her to add after "have mercy on us" the words "and on the whole world" making clear that the Chaplet was not just for her, but for the whole world. From then on, she recited this form of prayer almost constantly, offering it especially for the dying. Extraordinary promises were also attached to its recitation. Faustina wrote in her Diary:⁠
⁠
“Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the Merciful Savior. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.”⁠

During the following year, Faustina attempted to set up a new congregation for Divine Mercy, but was reminded that she was perpetually vowed to her current order and sent back to Warsaw. She reported Jesus said to her, "My Daughter, do whatever is within your power to spread devotion to My Divine Mercy, I will make up for what you lack." “My daughter, write that the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to my Mercy; urge all souls to trust the unfathomable abyss of my mercy, because I want to save them all.”⁠
⁠
Faustina's health significantly deteriorated by the end of 1937. Her visions intensified and she was said to be looking forward to the end of her life. On October 5, 1938, Faustina passed away and she currently rests at the Basilica of Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland. The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; her diary, Divine Mercy in my Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to the Divine Mercy.⁠
⁠
In 1965, Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, who would later become Saint Pope John Paul II, opened up the first investigations into Faustina's life and virtues. St. Faustina Kowalska was beatified on April 18, 1993 and canonized on April 30, 2000, making her the first saint of the new millennium⁠
⁠
Feast day: October 5⁠
Patronage: Mercy⁠
⁠
“Let Souls who are striving for perfection particularly adore My mercy, because the abundance of graces which I grant them flows from My mercy.”⁠