I am offering people a vessel with which they
are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of Mercy. That vessel
is this image (Diary, 327).
The origins
of this image are connected with the vision that Saint Faustina (Faustyna
Kowalska) of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy had in the Convent at
Plock, Poland, on February 22, 1931. “In the evening, when I was
in my cell,” she wrote in her Dairy, “I saw the Lord Jesus in a white garment.
He had one hand raised in blessing, and the other was touching His garment
at the breast. From the fold in His garment … there were two large
rays: one red, and the other pale. After a while, Jesus said,
Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature:
Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated first
in your chapel, and then throughout the world (Diary,
47).
There is a very close link between
the meaning of the image and the liturgy of Second Sunday of Easter, the
Feast of Divine Mercy. On that day throughout the Church the Gospel
reading from St. John is about the appearance of the Risen Christ in the
Upper Room, and about the institution of the sacrament of reconciliation
(Jn 20:19-23). The rays of blood and water flowing
from the Savior’s pierced Heart (not visible in the image), and the scars
on His hands and feet marking the wounds of the crucifixion, recall the
events of Good Friday (Jn 19:17-18,33-37). The
Divine Mercy image makes manifest these two scriptural events that most
fully reveal the message of God’s merciful love for man.
The characteristic features of
this image are the two rays. Our Lord, when asked what they meant
said, The pale ray stands for the water which justifies souls.
The red ray stands for the blood which is the life of souls…Happy is the
one who will dwell in their shelter (Diary, 299).
It is the sacrament of baptism and the sacrament of reconciliation that
purify the soul, and the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist that most fully
nourishes it. Thus the two rays signify the sacraments and all the
gifts of Holy Spirit, of which water is a symbol in Scripture.
The image portrays God’s great
mercy which was fully revealed in Christ’s Paschal Mystery. It also
reminds Christians of their obligation to place their trust in Him and
to love their neighbor. The words contained in the signature beneath
the image, “Jesus, I trust in You,” emphasize the attitude of trust.
The image, as Jesus related, is to be a reminder of the demands of My
mercy, for even the strongest faith is of no avail without works (Diary,
742).
Our Lord promised the grace of eternal salvation to those who venerate this image with complete trust in God and charity for their neighbor: The soul that venerates this image shall not perish (Diary, 48) – it shall live forever! He also promised great progress on the road to Christian perfection, the grace of a happy death, and many other graces and temporal blessings which people who practice mercy will ask Him for with trust. By means of this image I shall be granting many graces to souls, so let every soul have access to it (Diary, 570).
I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy (Diary, 299).
Jesus
expressed this desire for the first time in Plock in 1931, when He requested
the painting of the Divine Mercy image. In the following years He
returned to this express desire as many as 14 times, determining the day
the feast is to be celebrated, the reason for its institution and its purpose,
as well as the preparations and celebrations for it.
The choice of the first Sunday
after Easter, the octave of the Resurrection, indicates the close connection
between the paschal mystery of the Redemption and the Feast of Divine Mercy.
The passion, death and resurrection of Christ are the most profound revelations
of the merciful love of God. The work of Redemption is brought to
fruition and made present today in the sacraments, which are referred to
in the liturgy on the Feast of Mercy. Baptism, the sacrament of penance,
and the Eucharist are inexhaustible founts of Divine Mercy to which the
Church is leading every generation. That is why the liturgy for this
Sunday focuses on the worship of God in the mystery of His Mercy.
This Feast is to be not only a
day designated for the singular worship of God’s mercy, but also a day
of grace, particularly for sinners. I desire that the Feast of
Mercy, said Jesus, be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially
for poor sinners (Diary, 699). Whoever
approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete remission
of sins and punishment (Diary, 300).
On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow.
Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet
(Diary, 699).
Whoever wishes to benefit from
these great gifts must satisfy the conditions required for the worship
of Divine Mercy. That means, to place his trust in God, to carry
out acts of mercy, to be in the state of sanctifying grace (having received
the sacrament of penance), and to come to the Fountain of Life by receiving
Holy Communion.
No soul will be justified,
said Jesus, until it turns with confidence to My mercy, and this is
why the first Sunday after Easter is to be the Feast of Mercy. On
that day, priests are to tell everyone about My great and unfathomable
mercy (Diary, 570).
The preparation for the Feast of Mercy is to be a novena consisting of the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet for nine days, beginning on Good Friday. By this novena, said Jesus, I will grant every possible grace to souls (Diary, 796).
(For recitation on ordinary rosary beads)
Begin with:
Our Father… Hail Mary… The Creed
On the five large beads:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy
on us and on the whole world.
Conclude with (3 times):
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have
mercy on us and on the whole world.
This is the prayer that Jesus dictated to Saint Faustina
in Vilnius on September 13 and 14, 1935 (Diary, 474-476).
He spoke about this prayer on as many as 14 occasions, explaining its purpose
and the promises attached to it.
In the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
we are offering to God the Father “the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity”
of Jesus Christ the Son of God, His Divine Person, and His Humanity, to
“beg the remission of our sins and those of the whole world”. We
are uniting with the sacrifice of Jesus offered up on the cross for the
salvation of the world. We are appealing to the love which God the
Father bestows on His Son, and through Him on all mankind, for in this
prayer we are offering up the beloved Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
By praying for “mercy for us and
for the whole world” we are performing an act of mercy. If we pray
the chaplet with trust, and nurture the disposition necessary for prayer
(that is, humility, perseverance, and acceptance of the will of God), we
may expect the fulfillment of Christ’s promises which He attached to the
recitation of this chaplet.
It pleases Me to grant everything
[people] ask of Me, Jesus told Saint Faustina, by saying
this chaplet (Diary, 1541)… if what you ask
for is compatible with My will (Diary, 1731).
God’s will expresses His love for man; and hence anything that contradicts
the will of God is either bad or harmful and cannot be granted by a loving
Father. Very special promises relate to the hour of death:
the grace of conversion and of a peaceful death for those who pray this
chaplet, and for the dying at whose bedside others will say this prayer.
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 (Diary,
687). Jesus promised to grant grace to those who recite this
prayer at least once in their lifetime, providing it is said with an attitude
of complete trust, humility, and a sincere, deep sorrow for sin.
By saying this chaplet, said
Jesus, you will be bringing mankind closer to Me (Diary,
929). This prayer is for the appeasement of My wrath (Diary,
476).
It was to this simple, uneducated
nun, whose spiritual life was very deep, that God chose to be the apostle
of His Mercy. He entrusted her with a mission that would have a threefold
purpose: to remind the world of the known yet forgotten truth of
the merciful love of God towards man, to convey new forms of devotion to
the Divine Mercy and to initiate a movement that would renew Christian
life according to the spirit of trust and mercy.
Saint Faustina died in the odor
of sanctity on October 5, 1938, in the convent at Cracow – Lagiewniki.
Her mortal remains lie in the convent chapel beneath the miraculous image
of the Divine Mercy.
Saint Faustina’s name is known
today in every continent of the world, and the mission of mercy entrusted
to her by the Lord Jesus is drawing more and more followers.
At three o’clock implore My mercy especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My passion. …
This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world.
…
In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul
that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion (Diary,
1320).
It was at Cracow in October of
1937, in circumstances not described with greater detail, than Our Lord
recommended with particular emphasis the veneration of the hour of his
death, which He Himself called “the hour of great mercy for the world”
(Diary, 1320). A few months later, in February
1938, He repeated His demand suggesting the prayers that may be used at
the hour of mercy and specifying the promise attached to the observance
of this hour.
Jesus wants us to meditate upon
His sorrowful Passion, to worship and glorify the Mercy of God and thus,
in virtue of His sorrowful Passion, to implore graces for the whole world,
especially for sinners. As often as you hear the clock strike
the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying
it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor
sinners, for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul (Diary,
1572).
“Jesus laid down three conditions
necessary for the prayers which shall be offered up at the hour of mercy
in order for them to be heard and answered: the prayer is to be directed
to Him, it is to take place at three o’clock in the afternoon, and it is
to appeal to the merits of His Passion” (Father Rozycki). Furthermore
the spirit of the Divine Mercy devotion requires that the prayer be full
of trust and accompanied by works of mercy toward one’s neighbor.
Our Lord also described the religious
practices appropriate for this form of the Divine Mercy devotion.
He said, Try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour,
providing that your duties permit it; and if you are unable to make the
Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel and adore My
Heart full of mercy present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. But if
you are unable to step into the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer there
where you happen to be, if only for a brief instant (Diary,
1572).
This is the hour, as our Lord has
promised, in which you may obtain everything for yourself and for others
for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world – mercy triumphed
over justice (Diary, 1572).
Saint Faustina’s prayer for mercy towards sinners:
“O Jesus, eternal Truth, our Life, I beg and entreat Your mercy for poor sinners. O sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of pity and unfathomable mercy, I plead with You for poor sinners. O, Most Sacred Heart, Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable graces for the entire human race, I beg of You light for poor sinners. O, Jesus, be mindful of Your own bitter Passion and do not permit the loss of souls redeemed at so dear a price of Your most precious Blood” (Diary, 72).
Souls who spread the honor of
My mercy I shield through their entire life as a tender mother her infant,
and at the hour of their death I will not be a Judge for them, but the
Merciful Savior (Diary, 1075).
By these words, Jesus is encouraging
us to spread the worship of Divine Mercy; He has promised maternal care
to those who do so by shielding them throughout their entire life and at
the hour of death. The Lord directs a singular request towards priests,
with the assurance: Hardened sinners will repent on hearing their
words, when they speak about my unfathomable mercy, about the compassion
I have for them in My heart (Diary, 1521).
Priests and lay people are apostles
of Divine Mercy chiefly through the example of a deep Christian life as
expressed by a boundless trust in God and a merciful love of their neighbor.
I desire trust from My creatures,
Jesus told Saint Faustina. Encourage souls to place great
trust in My fathomless mercy (Diary, 1059). He also said, I
demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me.
You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You
must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.
I am giving you three ways of
exercising mercy towards you neighbor: the first - by deed, the second
- by word, and the third – by prayer. In these three degrees is contained
the fullness of mercy and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me.
By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy (Diary,
742).
Divine Mercy devotees should perform
at least one act of mercy towards their neighbor every day, as this is
what the Lord Himself expects of them (see Diary, 1158).
It is possible to be a great apostle
of the Divine Mercy without the use if any words. Saint Faustina
left is the example of this apostleship by the witness of her life filled
with the spirit of trust and mercy. Through prayer and sacrifice
she strove effectively for the glory of God’s mercy in her own soul and
in the soul of others, especially sinners. “It is my greatest desire,”
she prayed, “ that souls should recognize You as their eternal happiness,
that they should come to believe in Your goodness and glorify You infinite
mercy” (Diary, 305). This promise if Our Lord
was fulfilled in her:
All those souls who will glorify My Mercy and spread its worship, encouraging others to trust in My mercy, will not experience terror at the hour of death. My mercy will shield them in that final battle…(Diary, 1540).
