In December of the same year she came back to the house in the ytnia, but not for long. At first, I was a bit anxious, but after a while peace entered my soul; but I noticed that Jesus heard my Confession in the same way as my confessors. A sick man lived in a lumber room under the stairs in the house. Her superiors directed her to priests, and the priests sent her back to her superiors. Your email address will not be published. As I started to dance, I suddenly saw Jesus next to me, Jesus crushed with suffering, stripped of His apparel and all covered with wounds, Who said these words to me, How long am I to put up with you, and how long are you going to keep Me waiting? (Diary 9). 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. Sister Faustina was to contemplate His love for her and love of ones neighbour. That was the quiet, godly influence Sister Faustina had on sinful souls. But occasionally someone was a witness to them. The second hue would be the active congregations, which would combine prayer with acts of mercy and make the merciful love of God present in an egoistic world. The Chaplet to the Divine Mercy is recited even in obscure languages, and the prayer at the hour of Jesus death on the cross, the Hour of Mercy, is becoming more and more popular. Although she had already realised that the new congregation would be a great work in the Church, comprising mens and womens congregations as well as lay associations, as she wrote to Father Sopoko in April 1936, she was still convinced that her role in this was to found a contemplative order. During the homily for her canonization on April 30, 2000, the pope declared Divine Mercy Sunday to be celebrated worldwide. Towards the end of my first year in the novitiate she recorded in her diary it began to grow dark in my soul. You will prepare the world for My final coming. When I tried to explain that I had a problem with saying this Litany, he rose and granted me absolution. Thanks to a satellite television link religious and lay pilgrims gathered in the agiewniki Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakw could participate in the ceremony. 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. Many of the great saints suffer like St. Faustina, who died of tuberculosis at age 33, suffering greatly in her final years. In the same year she went to Kiekrz near Pozna, to take over in the kitchen for Sister Modesta Rzeczkowska, who was ill. What does Faustina mean The name Faustina is a girls name of Spanish, Latin origin meaning fortunate one. He asked me to say the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus for my penance. 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. In this situation, she tried to avoid the Lord, and when He came she would ask, Jesus, are You my God, or a spectre? No-one can deny that God is infinitely merciful; He wants everyone to know that. The priest told her to paint an image of Jesus in her soul. 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. Born into an impoverished Polish family living in what was then the Russian Empire, Helena Kowalska heeded God's call to join the convent, where she was initiated in 1926 as Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. Several decades earlier the event had been described by Sister Faustina: I saw myself in Rome, in the Holy Fathers chapel, while at the same time I was in our own chapel, and the ceremony celebrated by the Holy Father and the entire Church was closely connected with our chapel and, in a special way, with our Congregation; I was participating at the same time in the service held in Rome and in our chapel. But it was to her that Jesus addressed these amazing words: Under the Old Covenant I sent prophets to My people with thunderbolts. Apostle of Divine Mercy, Prophet of Our Times, Great Mystic, Mistress of Spiritual Life - these are the epithets usually appended to the name of Sister Faustina Kowalska, St Faustyna (Faustina), of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She saw clearly what she was taking upon herself. She was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of Swinice Warckle. 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. 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. She joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and experienced several visions of Jesus. Jesus introduced the Chaplet of Divine Mercy through a vision granted to St. Faustina. Seeing this sign of Gods wrath, she started begging the Angel to hold off a while for the world to do penance, but when she stood before the majesty of the Holy Trinity she did not dare repeat her plea. Her given name was Helena. Suddenly the dying person opened her eyes, looked at Sister Faustina, and died with an extraordinary calm on her face. Finally she came to the house of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. Her superiors sent her first to the Congregations house in nearby Walendw, where an eight-day annual retreat was just starting under the direction of the Jesuit Father Edmund Elter, a professor of ethics, homiletics and rhetoric at the Gregorianum University in Rome. At the young age of 20, she made the decision to join a convent in Warsaw. Faustina I Silver Roman Imperial Coins (27 BC-476 AD), I couldnt grasp the meaning of whatever I read; I couldnt meditate. From a very tender age she stood out . When all the opinions, including a psychiatric examination carried out by Dr. Helena Maciejewska, turned out in Sister Faustinas favour, Father Sopoko still deferred for some time. I went to bed at the usual time, Sister Eufemia recollected, and was soon asleep. The parish priest, Father Jzef Chodyski, made the following entry for 27 August 1905 in the parish register: On this day, 27 August 1905, at one oclock in the afternoon, Stanisaw Kowalski, farmer, aged 40 years, came accompanied by Franciszek Bednarek, aged 35 years, and Jzef Stasiak, aged 40 years, farmers of Gogowiec, presenting to us an infant of the female sex, born of his wife Marianna ne Babel, aged 30, at eight oclock in the morning of 25 August 1905 in the village of Gogowiec. The Sister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart, who worked as nurses in the hospital, prepared a room for her, but in the evening one of them informed her that she would not have Holy Communion the next day because she was exhausted. Sister Klemensa Buczek, who helped her take off her white dress and veil and put on the habit, thought it must have been due to the emotions associated with abandoning the world. Your email address will not be published. Helenka cared for him not only by bringing food but also by asking a priest to look after his salvation. My mission will not end at my death. Jesus not only revealed the depth of His Mercy to St. Faustina, but also gave her new forms of worship: the picture inscribed Jesus, I trust in You, the Feast of Divine Mercy, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the Prayer in the Hour of His Death on the Cross, the Hour of Mercy. She was kind, courteous, and hard-working. During his homily in St. Peters Square, Rome, he referred to her words, I clearly sense that my mission will not end upon my death, but will only begin then (Diary 281). Sister Faustinas parents came to the agiewniki convent. This message, Pope Benedict XVI has said, The message of Mercy as the Divine Power, as God putting a check on all the worlds evil, is indeed the chief message of our times. With this priests help, Sister Faustina commissioned an artist to paint the first Divine Mercy image, based on her vision of Jesus. In each of them she tried to discern Jesus Himself and out of love for Him did good works for all of them. On the Feast of Pentecost, 9 June 1935, in the evening, when she was in the garden, Jesus gave her a new task: You and your companions shall beg for mercy for yourselves and for the world (Diary 435). Sister Faustina decided to leave and straightaway write to the Holy Father to dispense her from her vows. FAQ: Who Is The Patron Saint Of Football? However, under heavy inner pressure, Sister Faustina did not wait until the feast-day but told Father Andrasz during her weekly confession that she had decided to leave the Congregation. Sister Felicja was surprised that the doctor allowed her to go to Mass despite her poor condition. The Diary has been translated into more than 20 languages, including, English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak . Mankind shall not find peace and contentment until it turns with trust unto My mercy (Diary 300), He told Sister Faustina. The background to and instrument whereby God effected this in Sister Faustinas soul was the work for the implementation of the concept of a new congregation. 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. The Lord is with Thee. During the terrible war years the devotion to the Divine Mercy spread rapidly, bringing a ray of light and hope into the darkness. Helenka knew this meant going to the chapel. Some, especially the more curious ones, were irked by my silence. "Speak to the world about My mercy," Jesus allegedly told her. In the Lipszyc household Helenka was treated like a member of the family, they all loved and respected her for her hard work and cheerfulness, she had a way with children, in short she had all it takes to be a good wife and mother. When she returned to the convent chapel, she complained to Jesus, Whos going to paint You as beautiful as You are? (Diary 313). On Jesus confirmation that He meant a material picture, she informed the local superior, Sister Ra Kobukowska, about the situation, who demanded a sign confirming the truth of the visions. She died on Oct. 5, 1938, after being chosen by Jesus and Mary to become the unlikely apostle of the Divine Mercy. But when I went down to the kitchen, I didnt find anything for the poor, yet after a while, I found some soup, which I heated up, crumbled a bit of bread into it, and gave it to the poor young man. In her soul she heard Jesus words: Say the Chaplet I have taught you (Diary 810). Sister Faustina experienced visions of Jesus and Mary, during one of which Our Lord revealed that she was to . There were holy pictures on the walls, and a little altar stood in the middle of the bedroom, with a crucifix and two holy statues, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On April 18, 1993, the Holy Father John Paul II raised her to the glory of the altars and on April 30, 2000, numbered her among the saints of the Church. When she was eighteen she once again asked her parents permission to enter a convent and again was refused. It turned out to be a false alarm. God was working in a strange way in my soul. In the evening when she returned to her cell, she had a physical vision of Jesus in a white robe. However, impelled by the vision of the Suffering Christ, in July 1924 she left for Warsaw to find a place. Her apparitions of Jesus Christ inspired the Roman Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy and earned her the title of Secretary of Divine Mercy. I want priests to preach My great mercy to sinful souls (Diary 49-50). The Divine presence flooded my soul; I know I am under the glance of the Mighty One. But as she left the confessional Jesus explained, My image is in your soul. Of Helenka she used to say that she had an inner life of her very own and that her little soul must be dear to Jesus. ultimate desires God has for His dear children. 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. Nevertheless, my confessor did not allow me to miss a single Holy Communion. After all, she lived in a convent and was only a simple nun performing prosaic duties; she had neither extensive relations with other people nor any opportunities to disseminate this message in the world at large. Apostle of Divine Mercy, Prophet of Our Times, Great Mystic, Mistress of Spiritual Life these are the epithets usually appended to the name of Sister Faustyna Kowalska, St. Faustyna (Faustina), of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. I was to bring her into the life of the community, and admired her for her quick learning. From henceforth Sister Faustina knew that she was supported in the carrying out of the mission not only by the Blessed Virgin but also St. Joseph. The notification had been issued owing to an erroneous translation of her diary and resulting inappropriate forms of worship. Her health slightly improved, Sister Faustina returned to agiewniki Convent. She realised that she was responsible not only for her own salvation, but also other peoples, and so she resolved to do all in her power to fulfil His will or to make Him transfer these graces to someone else, since she was only wasting them. Two days later she was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of . Pilgrims started to come to her grave in the agiewniki Convent and pray for her intercession. By her bedside were the chaplain, Father Teodor Czaputa and Mother Superior Irena Krzyanowska, while the rest of the Sisters stood in the corridor. He did his best to follow all her requirements.. She thanked Jesus for the unfathomed grace of being the bride of the Son of God and implored Our Lady for special care, reminding her of a new claim to her love. Although the first and only apparition in Poland to Saint Faustina of Jesus as the Image of Divine Mercy, occurred on February 22, 1931 in Plock, Saint Faustina had several apparitions of Jesus as Divine Mercy in Vilnius, where she lived in a convent house where she was sent by the superiors of her religious community. He said to her, You are the witness of My mercy; forever and ever you shall stand before My throne as a living witness to My mercy (Diary 417). In her everyday contacts Sister Faustina was able to interpret lifes troubles in a spirit of living faith and see Gods goodness in everything. There Helenka found the refuge from which she set off in search of a convent, and once she had found it stayed for another year to save some money for a modest monastic trousseau. She told us children that when she grew up she would enter a convent, but we laughed. Sister Faustina was born on 25 August 1905 in Gogowiec, Poland to Marianna and Stanisaw Kowalski as the third of ten children. From the book of sr. M. Elisabeth Siepak ISMM Through her the Lord Jesus communicates to the world the great message of God's mercy and reveals the pattern of Christian perfection based on trust in God and on the attitude of mercy toward one's neighbors. Mrs. Lipszyc tried to get her to marry. The last time I visited her, on 26 September in the agiewniki Convent, she did not want to talk to me, or perhaps she couldnt any longer, saying she was in communion with the Heavenly Father. People of faith feel this perfectly well!. The doctor, the nurses, the patients they were all very good to her. Sister Szymona Nalewajk, since she and Helenka were postulants in the same period, admired Helenka for taking all the humiliations so meekly and without grumbling. Her feast day is Oct. 5. 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 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. At one point, I got a strong feeling that I had been rejected by God. On her return from Rabka Sister Faustina was given a lighter duty, in the entrance lodge, than her previous job in the garden. Today there is probably no country left without an image of the Merciful Jesus. Faustina was a remarkable child who knew from an early age that she was called to have a religious life. Soon after that mysterious event she returned to Gogowiec to ask her parents permission to enter a convent. The name Faustina is a girls name of Spanish, Latin origin meaning fortunate one. Priests were to preach sermons on Gods loving mercy for Man and make their hearts trust in Him, thereby enabling them to draw on the fountainhead of Divine Mercy. Life in the Kowalski household went on at a tranquil place marked out first by prayer and then work, never the other way round. Quotations of St. Prayer for the intentions of Our Holy Father, the Pope. When she entered the ward next day she saw that one of the patients was dying and heard that the agony had begun during the night at the hour when she had woken up. Macarius the Great was a disciple of Anthony. St. Faustina is best known for her devotion to the Divine Mercy. the Diary, 1732). She is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as a saint, and is known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy. In the Holy Week of 1935 she told Father Sopoko that this was what Jesus wanted and insisted it be set up for three days in the Ostra Brama gate, where a triduum of ceremonies was to be held before the first Sunday after Easter to mark the close of the Jubilee of the Worlds Redemption. These words filled her soul with a terrible awe. The achievement of this objective not only brought Sister Faustina the greatest amount of suffering, but also led her to full union with Jesus, to what is generally referred to as mystical betrothal and mystical marriage. He asked for something hot to eat. 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