Maria Faustyna Kowalska (born Helena Kowalska; 25 August 1905 – 5 October 1938[1]), also known as Saint Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament and popularly spelled Faustina, was a Polish Roman Catholic nun and mystic. Her apparitions of Jesus Christ inspired the Roman Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy and earned her the title of "Secretary of Divine Mercy".
Throughout her life, Kowalska reported having visions of Jesus and conversations with him, which she noted in her diary, later published as The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul. Her biography, submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, quoted some of the conversations with Jesus regarding the Divine Mercy devotion.[2]
At the age of 20 years, she joined a convent in Warsaw. She was later transferred to Płock and then to Vilnius, where she met Father Michał Sopoćko, who was to be her confessor and spiritual director, and who supported her devotion to the Divine Mercy. With this priest’s help, Kowalska commissioned an artist to paint the first Divine Mercy image, based on her vision of Jesus. Father Sopoćko celebrated Mass in the presence of this painting on Low Sunday, also known as the Second Sunday of Easter or (as established by Pope John Paul II), Divine Mercy Sunday.
The Roman Catholic Church canonized Kowalska as a saint on 30 April 2000.[3][4] The mystic is classified in the liturgy as a virgin[5] and is venerated within the church as the "Apostle of Divine Mercy". Her tomb is in Divine Sanctuary, Kraków-Łagiewniki, where she spent the end of her life and met confessor Józef Andrasz, who also supported the message of mercy.
In Catholicism, Divine Mercy is a devotion to Jesus Christ associated with the reported apparitions of Jesus to Faustina Kowalska.[5] The venerated image under this Christological title[clarification needed] refers to what Kowalska’s diary describes as "God’s loving mercy" towards all people, especially for sinners.[6][7] Kowalska was granted the title "Secretary of Mercy" by the Holy See in the Jubilee Year of 2000.[8][9][10] Kowalska reported a number of apparitions during religious ecstasy which she wrote in her 1934-1938 diary, later published as the book Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul.[9][10] The two main themes of the devotion are to trust in Christ’s endless goodness, and to show mercy to others acting as a conduit for God’s love towards them.
Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, had great affinity towards this devotion and authorized it in the Liturgical Calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. The liturgical Feast of the Divine Mercy is celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Worshippers of the Divine Mercy commemorate the Hour of Mercy (3 p.m.), which according to Kowalska’s diary is the time of the death of Jesus. (See Mark 15:34-37 [NRSV], "At three o’clock [τῇ ἐνάτῃ ὥρᾳ, lit. "the ninth hour"] Jesus cried out with a loud voice . . . 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.") Another very popular form of the devotion is the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.
The primary focus of the Divine Mercy devotion is the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through one’s own heart towards those in need of it.[6] As he dedicated the Shrine of the Divine Mercy, Pope John Paul II referred to this when he said: "Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind".[12]
There are seven main forms of this devotion:
The Divine Mercy image with the specific inscription Jesus, I trust in You;[10]
The commemoration of the Feast of the Divine Mercy Sunday[13]
The recitation of the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy
The recitation of the Divine Mercy novena
The designation of the Hour of Mercy at 3:00 a.m. or p.m.
Spreading mercy by word, deed, or prayer
The spreading of works of mercy to the whole humanity, in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ to Earth
Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God.
— Words attributed to Jesus by Kowalska in her diary.
The Divine Mercy devotion views mercy as the key element in the plan of God for salvation and emphasizes the belief that it was through mercy that God gave his only son for the redemption of mankind, after the fall of Adam. The opening prayer for Divine Mercy Sunday Mass refers to this and begins: "Heavenly Father and God of Mercy, We no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for He is alive and has become the Lord of Life".
ApostleDivineMercy
