Translated by Teresa Bauk-Ulewiczowa, Copyright by ZgromadzenieSiostr Matki Boskiej Miosierdzia, 4. But there was something that set her apart from the rest of the children in the village. The Apostolic Movement of Divine Mercy, the congregation based on Sister Faustinas mystical experience and charism which Jesus asked her to found, today comprises a variety of congregations, associations, confraternities, apostolates and individuals joining in the accomplishment of her mission. The other sisters who visited her in hospital noticed her radiant happiness. Whereas, it turned out, God let her know how much she would suffer. She also brought in food for employees who were provided with meals by my parents. This conduct was inspired by Helenkas fervent faith and concern to be like Jesus trusting in the Heavenly Father even when He was on the cross and Who was meek and humble throughout His life, loving all people with a patient, understanding, and indescribably self-sacrificing love. Saint Faustina Kowalska is known for her love and devotion to Jesus, especially His Divine Mercy. After her perpetual vows Sister Faustina stayed in Krakw for almost a month, taking advantage of the service of Father Jzef Andrasz SJ, who like Father Edmund Elter had confirmed her in the belief that the visions were genuine and advised her to remain faithful to the grace of God and to be obedient. It is also the means to establish peace in human hearts and between nations: Mankind shall not find peace and contentment until it turns with trust unto My mercy (Diary 300). Her mother noticed that she loved to pray and would even get up at night and kneel down. All the Kowalski children were baptised in the Parish Church of St. Casimir at winice Warckie; here they made their First Holy Communion and attended Mass on Sundays and holy days. The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy has fully adopted Sister Faustinas prophetic mission, and on 25 August 1995 recognised her as its Spiritual Foundress. It is continuing and bringing forth wondrous fruit. 2. One day she saw there an extraordinary light. Saint Faustina saw visions of Heaven. She had a lot of work, as there were four rooms in the house, the shop, and the bakery. So when we go to confession our souls are spotless and we have nothing to worry about. Her family had ten children and was very poor. To each of these forms of worship, as well as to the preaching of the message of Mercy, He attached great promises, on condition that we care about the attitude of trust in God that is to fulfill His will and show mercy to our neighbours. The simple truths of the faith were becoming incomprehensible; my soul was undergoing torment, not finding contentment anywhere. Required fields are marked *. The crowds were so huge that I couldnt see an end to them. Sister Amelia, who had a very sensitive conscience, asked her, 'Sister, how come, when you try so hard but over the week you still commit such a lot of sins. Her main occupation at Pock, until her third probation, was serving customers in the bakers shop. When she tried to curb her daughters enthusiasm saying, Youll go mad if you keep getting up in the middle of the night, Helenka told her, Mummy, it must be an angel that wakes me up for prayers. 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. At the age of sixteen Helenka bade farewell to her parents, brothers and sisters and left home. Mummy served customers in the shop he recalled years later and Helenka tidied up, helped with the cooking, and had to wash up, carry out the refuse and bring water as there was no running water. Since our ceremony was so closely linked with Rome, I dont exactly know how to distinguish [between the two ceremonies], but thats what I saw and thats what Im writing. In the morning, during Meditation Sister Faustina recorded I was overwhelmed by the presence of God in a special way, seeing Gods immense greatness and, at the same time, His coming down to His creatures. Sister Eufemia Traczyska, a young nun in her juniorate, had heard from Sister Amelia Socha that Sister Faustina was bound to become a saint. As Jesus told her, His request that Gods merciful love for mankind be preached is the last recourse for many souls, which are being lost notwithstanding His bitter Passion. 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. Sister Felicja was surprised that the doctor allowed her to go to Mass despite her poor condition. When a friend asked her why she was walking alone, not with the other girls, she said, Im not alone, Im walking with Jesus. Others in her state would never rise, but he had seen her holding on to the wall as she walked to the chapel. Words cannot describe how good she was. In October 1928 the Congregation held its General Chapter, and the office of Mother General was entrusted to Mother Michaela Olga Moraczewska who was educated (a graduate of a music conservatory) and spoke several languages. She was anxious to fulfil the mission Jesus had given her. What does Faustina mean The name Faustina is a girls name of Spanish, Latin origin meaning fortunate one. 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. He wanted that message to radiate out from agiewniki to the whole of Poland and the entire world, and Jesus promise to be fulfilled that a spark which would prepare the world for Jesus final coming would issue from this place (cf. Her first period of treatment lasted nearly four months from December 1936 (with a break for Christmas). During the conversation she saw the candidate in a better light and wanted to admit her, so she advised the girl to ask the Master of the house whether he would accept her. From today on you shall be called Sister Maria Faustyna, 11. Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize my unfathomable mercy. 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. On Divine Mercy Sunday, 18 April 1993, the Holy Father John Paul II raised Sister Faustina to the glory of the altars. When I recognised Him, He disappeared from sight. 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. Mother ran the house and brought the children up. One of the people who came to worship before this image was Karol Wojtya, a young labourer from the Solvay quarry which neighboured on the convent, who had already become familiar with the devotion to Divine Mercy in the forms of worship prescribed by Sister Faustina. She is known and venerated within the Church as the Apostle of Divine Mercy. 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. And when her superior forbade her these visits to the bedsides of the dying on account of her own poor health, she would offer up her prayers and acts of obedience for them, which as Jesus had taught her meant more in His eyes than great deeds undertaken wilfully. 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. My second year in the novitiate was coming up. The moment I took back the cup from him, he let me know that He was the Lord of Heaven and Earth. Ive absolutely nothing to hold against her, she was just so good. She was baptized with the name Helena Kowalska in their parish church. In fact, being submerged in God will give me unlimited scope for action(Diary 1582). Tuberculosis, which had not been diagnosed until her stay in Vilnius, was ravaging Sister Faustinas body. It was Father Micha Sopoko, who lectured in pastoral theology in the Faculty of Theology of the Stefan Batory University, and in educational studies in a teachers training college. Sister Faustinas prophetic mission was kept strictly secret during her lifetime. God was working in a strange way in my soul. Without asking her parents consent she packed and went to the capital. Your email address will not be published. The proper liturgical texts were released by the Holy See in Latin.English and Spanish translations must be approved by the USCCB and confirmed by the Holy See before they can be implemented in the . I immersed completely in the joy that comes from God. I want priests to preach My great mercy to sinful souls (Diary 49-50). Two years later he made his second pilgrimage as Pope to the agiewniki Shrine, and in the basilica church he had just consecrated entrusted the whole world to the Divine Mercy. 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. On the Feast of Pentecost she renewed her religious vows. This task was of special importance, since Jesus attached such great promises to it. Word went round in the Pock convent that Sister Faustina had had a vision. She didn't plan to become a nun. But she took with her St. Josephs assurance that he was very much in favour of the work of Mercy entrusted her by the Lord. 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. Sister Faustinas mission certainly did not end at her death. The Passion of Jesus teaches us what true mercy is. Was when I was seven, [it happened] during Vespers and Jesus was exposed in the monstrance. Thats how Mother Magorzata Gimbutt described the candidate on a preliminary interview to Mother General, Mother Leonarda Cielecka, who was not very keen on admitting persons with such a background into the Congregation. For the entire day without intermission, I lived immersed in God (Diary 707-708). Sister Faustina had achieved the fullness of union with God and sang a hymn in honour of His unfathomable Mercy. From a very tender age she stood out . He stood by Sister Faustinas coffin and cried, so great was the impression she had made on him that apparently after the funeral he was converted. She was modest and quiet, ready to do any chore and help anyone, but at the same time cheerful and always with a smile on her face. Stanisaw Kowalski and Marianna ne Babel after the wedding bought a few acres of farmland in the village of Gogowiec, far away from towns and busy thoroughfares. In Vilnius Sister Faustina was to work in the garden, although she had not any experience in this duty. Pilgrims started to come to her grave in the agiewniki Convent and pray for her intercession. You didnt have to tell her twice, as often happens with other novices. Go immediately to Warsaw, there you will enter a convent (Diary 10). Sister, if you want to be by Sister Faustina when she dies, get up now. That is the hour of great mercy for the whole world (Diary 1320). He called her Diary a Gospel of Mercy written from a 20th-century perspective, which has helped people to survive the extremely painful experiences of these times. After a while Jesus said to her, Make Me a picture of this image in the form that you see, with the inscription Jesus, I trust in You. During confession, he assured her she was on the right road, and that her relationship with Jesus was neither hysteria, nor delusion, nor daydreaming. At the hospital she experienced a lot of extraordinary graces. Alongside its achievements which have by far eclipsed those of previous ages, the balance of the century now drawing to a close also carried deep anxiety for the future. They were attended by crowds from the City of Krakw and its environs. The novice mistress at the time was Mother Magorzata Gimbutt, a prayerful person and devout practitioner of the mortifications, meek and quiet, who educated the young nuns entrusted to her care above all by the example of her life. A Gift of God for Our Times The week for Confession came she recorded in her diary and, to my joy, I saw the priest whom I knew before I came to Vilnius. Is a gift from God for our times, great mystic, mistress of spiritual life, prophet, who reminded the biblical truth about merciful love of God for every human being and calls to proclaim it to the world through the testimony of life, deed, word and prayer. To find out more about St. Faustina, click here. 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. After less than two months of Sister Faustinas novitiate there was a change of novice mistress (20 June 1926). 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. Everyone loved her her mother recalled she was chosen, the best of the children. When he returned and opened the door to her room he found her levitating over the bed and absorbed in prayer. He reminded Sister Faustina that He wanted it celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, for souls were still being lost despite His bitter Passion. Numerous new Divine Mercy shrines have sprung up to preach the truth of Gods merciful love for each human being. Sister Faustina was helped through these extremely painful experiences by her novice mistress, who correctly diagnosed her spiritual condition (which was not easy) and applied the right remedy. Whenever I left the house Mrs. Sadowska said of her maid years later I could rest assured. 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 to contemplate His love for her and love of ones neighbour. After her death, when World War Two came, Sister Faustinas Vilnian confessor Father Sopoko disclosed the name of the initiator of the devotion to Divine Mercy, which was spreading. Join the "Apostle of Mercy" as you prepare for Christ's birth! With this priests help, Sister Faustina commissioned an artist to paint the first Divine Mercy image, based on her vision of Jesus. I put all my trust in God and His holy will. She expressed her thanks for all the good she had received from Mother General and the Congregation, she begged forgiveness for her transgressions against the rule, she asked for their sisterly love, prayer and a blessing in the hour of death. He asked for something hot to eat. Anthony was not the first ascetic or hermit, but he may properly be called the "Father of Monasticism" in Christianity, as he organized his disciples into a community and later, following the spread of Athanasius's hagiography, was the inspiration for similar communities throughout Egypt and elsewhere. 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. When she started the job she asked to be allowed time for daily Mass, visiting the sick and dying, and using the ministry of her mistresses confessor. On Sunday afternoons Father would take out the Lives of the Saints from the bookcase and read in the family circle. 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. Her mind, will, memory, emotions and all her senses were submitting to God more and more harmoniously and preparing her soul for full union with Him. Suddenly, there was a great brilliance around him and I saw that it wasnt Father Andrasz at all, but Jesus. Helenka knew this meant going to the chapel. I want the picture which you will paint with a brush blessed in a special ceremony on the first Sunday after Easter, that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy. At first she was happy to be leaving, but on the next day was overwhelmed by darkness and felt she had lost Gods presence, so she decided to put off this move a little until her next meeting with her confessor. The grace of God is as great as the suffering. Other saints and angels, whose company and assistance she had often enjoyed, also lent a helping hand. I gave the world its Saviour, and you are to tell the world of His great mercy and prepare the world for His second coming, when He will come not as a merciful Saviour, but as a just Judge. Faustina was beatified on April 18, 1993 and canonized on April 30, 2000. Though they were god-fearing, the Kowalskis didnt want to give up their best child. Saint Faustina is the ideal role model for Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy, especially in light of her love of the Eucharist, and her virtuous life as exemplified by doing spiritual and corporal works of mercy. St. Faustina Kowalska Catholic Online Saints & Angels Facts Feastday: October 5 Patron: of Mercy Birth: 1905 Death: 1938 Beatified: Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1993 Canonized: Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000 Author and Publisher - Catholic Online Printable PDF of St. Faustina Kowalska Shop St. Faustina Kowalska I gave her the prayers and said good-bye, and she said, 'See you in heaven. After taking her first vows Sister Faustina stayed for a few months in Krakw. Her relics are in the Shrine of the Divine Mercy at agiewniki, Krakw. St. Faustina was canonized in 2000, making her the first declared saint of the third millennium. In the same year she went to Kiekrz near Pozna, to take over in the kitchen for Sister Modesta Rzeczkowska, who was ill. 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. 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