I had seen him in the vision. Like the biblical prophets, she started enumerating her inadequacies and excusing herself that she was not capable of accomplishing this work. Already in the first days, when she suffered much because for nearly three weeks she had no access to confession, This afternoon, Father Andrasz came into my isolation room and sat down to hear my Confession. Her father had already taught her to read, but at school she had the opportunity to learn more. This is why Vilnius has become known as the "City of Divine Mercy." It was where all of our Lord's demands of St. Faustina in His message of Divine Mercy were finally realised. Sister Faustina was born on 25 August 1905 in Gogowiec, Poland to Marianna and Stanisaw Kowalski as the third of ten children. She joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and experienced several visions of Jesus. 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. Writing about her experience viewing Heaven, the saint wrote: I saw how all creatures give ceaseless praise and glory to God. St. Faustina is known for her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She was magnanimous and devoted her entire life to the saving of souls. Sister Faustinas prophetic mission was kept strictly secret during her lifetime. Her soul was being purified in the crucible of spiritual battle. During confession, he assured her she was on the right road, and that her relationship with Jesus was neither hysteria, nor delusion, nor daydreaming. When she was eighteen she once again asked her parents permission to enter a convent and again was refused. Life in the Kowalski household went on at a tranquil place marked out first by prayer and then work, never the other way round. Her fellow nuns called her the lawyer because she could direct the discussion to the subject of Gods truths. But Sister Faustina was not pleased, although the artist and Father Sopoko did all they could to render as faithful an image of Jesus as possible. I gave her the prayers and said good-bye, and she said, 'See you in heaven. I want priests to preach My great mercy to sinful souls (Diary 49-50). It was in the convent at Pock, where Sister Faustina arrived in the May or June of 1930, that her great prophetic mission was to begin. Tuberculosis, which had not been diagnosed until her stay in Vilnius, was ravaging Sister Faustinas body. His apparel was as bright as snow, and all at once He was gone. When she returned to the reception room she repeated these words to Mother Superior, who said, If the Lord has admitted you, then so do I (Diary 14). One big prayer of thanksgiving sprang up from my heart (Diary 17). Her condition was incurable, he replied, but Sister was an extraor- dinary nun, so he did not take any notice of that. In the morning, I did my Meditation she noted in her diary and prepared for Holy Communion, even though I was not going to receive it. 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. Sister Amelia arrived after me. She also helped not only those who were dying in the sanatorium, but thanks to the gift of bilocation also those dying in another part of the hospital or even hundreds of miles away. Father Sopoko requested Sister Faustina to ask Jesus about that, too. She had a lot of work, as there were four rooms in the house, the shop, and the bakery. Tell souls of His great mercy, while there is still time for mercy; if you should remain silent now, you shall be held responsible on that terrible day for a great number of souls. Blessed art Thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. When she returned to the convent chapel, she complained to Jesus, Whos going to paint You as beautiful as You are? (Diary 313). 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. On that day are open all the Divine floodgates through which graces flow; let no soul fear to approach Me, even if its sins be as scarlet (Diary 699). The joy brought by the accomplishment of Jesus requests, the painting of the picture and its display for public veneration on the first Sunday after Easter, the envisaged Feast of Divine Mercy, did not last long because already in May 1935 Sister Faustina felt intuitively that there would be new tasks which she was very anxious about. 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. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. the Diary, 1732). Pilgrims started to come to her grave in the agiewniki Convent and pray for her intercession. Towards the end of my first year in the novitiate she recorded in her diary it began to grow dark in my soul. 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. Everyone loved her her mother recalled she was chosen, the best of the children. Sister Faustina died in Krakow on October 5, 1938, at the age of just thirtythree. She told us children that when she grew up she would enter a convent, but we laughed. When I went indoors, and thought about what had happened at the gate I heard these words in my soul, My daughter, the blessings uttered by the poor as they leave your gate have reached My ears; they are thankful to Me, your mercy within the bounds of obedience pleased Me, so I descended from My throne to taste the fruit of your mercy. (Diary 1312). He consulted Mother Superior Irena Krzyanowska, asking for information concerning Sister Faustinas religious life and asked for an examination to be done of her physical and mental health. In each of them she tried to discern Jesus Himself and out of love for Him did good works for all of them. 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. That is how Sister Faustinas hospital ministry for the dying started. She prayed to the souls in purgatory to wake her when the time came for Sister Faustina to die. This period, which Sister Faustina had foretold, contributed to the theological analysis of her writings and the making of the right foundations for the practise of the devotion. Suddenly, there was a great brilliance around him and I saw that it wasnt Father Andrasz at all, but Jesus. Then she whispered, Jesus wants to elevate me and make me a saint. 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. It turned out to be a false alarm. During the 1930s, a Polish nun named Faustina Kowalska reportedly had . What is Maria Faustina Kowalska known for? She told Sister Boenna Pniewska, who regretted that the agiewniki chapel was available only for the sisters and their charges, There will soon come a time when the convent gate will be wide open and people will come here to pray to the Divine Mercy. Saint Faustina describes God's love as a "Fountain of Mercy." 6. 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. Sister Faustina had achieved the fullness of union with God and sang a hymn in honour of His unfathomable Mercy. Nonetheless, during this Confession something was wondrously penetrating my hear(Diary 817). She was kind, courteous, and hard-working. But the joy of those days for Sister Faustina was the fact that Jesus requests had been fulfilled. Saint Faustina Kowalska is known for her love and devotion to Jesus, especially His Divine Mercy. At the young age of 20, she made the decision to join a convent in Warsaw. God never sends suffering that is unbearable, she used to say, for the greater the suffering, the greater Gods grace. In fact, being submerged in God will give me unlimited scope for action(Diary 1582). St Mary Faustina Kowalska was born on 25 August 1905 in Glogowiec, Poland, to a poor, religious family of peasants, the third of 10 children. Faustina wrote (Notebook 1, item 49) that Jesus told her that he wanted the Divine Mercy image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; and that Sunday was to be the Feast of Mercy. From that moment her union with God was closer than ever before. 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. Others, the more thoughtful ones, said that Sister Faustina must surely be very close to God if she has the strength to bear all that suffering (Diary 126). Jesus introduced the Chaplet of Divine Mercy through a vision granted to St. Faustina. 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. He didnt say a word to start with. "Speak to the world about My mercy," Jesus allegedly told her. But Helenka felt her heart was so big that no human love would satisfy it. This was her last attempt to leave the Congregation, but the spiritual struggle continued. This was also when she underlined the words Jesus had said, as instructed by her Vilnian spiritual adviser. Eugene Kazimierowski was the artist who painted the first Image of Divine Mercy which currently hangs in the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Vilnius, Lithuania. This argument and their childs happiness persuaded her parents and from then on they had no further objections to her life in the convent. Helenka knew this meant going to the chapel. What are the requirements for Divine Mercy Sunday? For the spirit space does not exist. At the age of seven she had her first undeniable experience of Gods love. Informed of this, Mother Superior Irena Krzyanowska forbade her to speak about it, and this is how Sister Faustinas extraordinary spiritual life was kept secret. 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. 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. We did not understand her. As the devotion became more and more widely known the opinion of Sister Faustinas sainthood grew as well. Quotations of St. She died on Oct. 5, 1938, after being chosen by Jesus and Mary to become the unlikely apostle of the Divine Mercy. I went to bed at the usual time, Sister Eufemia recollected, and was soon asleep. I was amazed a junior postulant was capable of such self-restraint and goodness, she later wrote. On her return from Rabka Sister Faustina was given a lighter duty, in the entrance lodge, than her previous job in the garden. First, say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Apostles Creed; next, on the Our Father beads you will say 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; and on the Hail Mary beads you will say these words, For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. At the end, you will say these words three times, Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world (Diary 476). The crowds were so huge that I couldnt see an end to them. She didn't plan to become a nun. And now praised be the Divine Mercy in us and through us., It was at Prdnik Hospital that she spoke for the last time with her Vilnian spiritual director, Father Sopoko, who was in Krakw in early September 1938 and had the opportunity to visit his extraordinary penitent before she died and hear instructions directly from her relating to the work of Mercy which Jesus had initiated through her services. The flames of mercy are burning Me; I want to pour them out onto human souls. Her family had ten children and was very poor. 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). She would often tell the sisters and charges about Gods love of mankind and about the tremendous value of doing good to ones neighbour. Sister Faustina put an immense amount of confidence in Mother Michaela, who helped her tremendously in the accomplishment of her vocation and was the woman of providence for the recognition of the mission of prophecy. This proved such an encouragement that it seemed to her nothing would be too difficult, and in an inner act she agreed to carry out Gods will although she knew it would mean great suffering for her. I observed a profound gravity in her, and had a strange feeling that Sister Faustina took this assurance as a gift from the Divine Mercy, without a trace of pride, Mother Irena recalled. 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. I am suffering as much as I can bear. I wanted to die but could not (Diary 23). I want this picture venerated first in your chapel, and in the whole world. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000. The Story of St. Faustina. Many of the great saints suffer like St. Faustina, who died of tuberculosis at age 33, suffering greatly in her final years. In the Vilnian period Jesus returned to the issue of the establishment of the Feast of Divine Mercy in the Church. Just as the astounding revelations on the Divine Mercy entrusted by Jesus to St. Faustina constitute God's final effort of salvation . So she did not turn down an invitation to a dance in the Wenecja Park. St. Faustina was canonized in 2000, making her the first declared saint of the third millennium. She was the tutor who prepared Helenka to take the veil and directed her in the first months of her novitiate. Faustina was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church on 30 April 2000, [1] [2] having been considered a mystic and visionary. 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