Handmaids of Mercy

Life & Mission of St. Faustina

Helena Kowalska - known in the convent as Sister Mary Faustina - was the third of ten children of Stanisław (d.1946) and Marianna (d.1965). Her father came from Świnice Warckie, from the area known by the name of Zagórze. As a bachelor, he worked in the local brewery in Dąbie on the river Ner, where he had met his future wife Marianna Babel. The wedding of Stanisław and Marianna took place on October 28, 1892; when the two of them got married, he was 25, while she was 18. After the wedding they purchased a few acres of poor land at the village of Głogowiec, where in the year 1900 they had built a house, consisting of one room, a kitchen and a carpenter's workshop. Next to the house, there was a water well and a little shrine hanged on a pear-tree. A great trial of faith for the young couple was the difficulty of having children. It was only 10 years after the wedding that the couple had been blessed with children: Józefa, Ewa, Helena (subsequently Sr. Faustina), Kazimiera (died in infancy), Natalia, Bronisława (also died in infancy), Stanisław, Mieczysław, Lucyna and Wanda.

Helena was born on August 25, 1905. Considered to be a weak child, she was baptized already on the second day after birth in Świnice Warckie by the then parish priest Rev. Józef Chodyński (whose grave is to be found at the local cemetery). Helena's birth certificate is written in Russian as it was a time of partitions. Under the birth certificate one can see a clear and legible signature of Helena's father, which testifies to the fact that he was literate. Already as a little child, the future Saint had shown great inclination to prayer; she even got up at night so as to pray. She also taught other children how to pray. In the seventh year of her life when she attended vespers at church, she had for the first time heard God's voice in her soul (c.f. Diary 7). During her First Holy Communion, she experienced a real presence of Jesus in her soul.

In the year 1917, when she was 12, she started attending elementary school in Świnice Warckie. She was a very good pupil, yet she had only attended school for 3 years, as she had to make room for younger children. Her stay was also connected with a series of humiliations, due to her extreme poverty.

When she was 16, she went into service with the well-to-do Bryszewski family in the town of Aleksandrów Łódzki. It was here, in the courtyard, that she for the first time saw a great light. She then returned home and asked her parents for permission to enter a convent. But her father objected very strongly. She went back into service in the city of Łódź. When she was 18 she had once again asked her parents for permission to go into convent but they objected yet again. After this refusal, she decided to suppress this calling from God. On February 2, 1923 she began working as housekeeper to Marcjanna Sadowska in Łódź and she remained there until July 1, 1924. Her other two sisters were also in Łódź at the time working as housekeepers for well-to-do families. It was with the two of them and a friend that Faustina had gone to a dance in the "Wenecja" park (present-day Słowacki park). At the dance she saw the image of the Suffering Jesus who summoned her to follow the voice of her vocation at any cost. When she lay prostrated in the cathedral dedicated to St. Stanislaw in Łódź, she heard a voice which told her that she is to go to Warsaw, so as to enter a convent there. She worked for the whole year to save up for a very modest dowry which was required of her. On August 1, 1925 she went through the gate of the convent home of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw which was situated in Żytnia St. She went back to her home and family parish only once more during her lifetime when she visited her sick mother in 1935.

St. Faustina's mission and life in the convent

Known as Sister Mary Faustina - she had spent 13 years in the convent, performing the duties of cook, gardener, and gate-keeper in various houses belonging to the Congregation, but the longest in Cracow, Vilnius and Płock. She carried out the above simple duties with immense dedication, trying to discover God's love through them and responding to this love with her own personal involvement.

She suffered from tuberculosis of the lungs and intenstines. She also experienced great spiritual sufferings as she had offered her life as a sacrifice for sinners, and especially for those people who were in danger of losing salvation. The life of Sr. Faustina which to some might have seemed gray and monotonous, hid an extraordinary depth of mystical life. She was endowed with extraordinary graces, among others: the gift of contemplation, hidden stigmata, bilocation, prophesy, the ability to get to know the secrets of hearts, all of which had allowed her to reach the summits of unity with God in this world.

Sister Faustina died in the convent of the Congregation in Cracow-Łagiewniki on 5 October 1938. During the II World War the fame of the sanctity of Sister Faustina's life spread quickly, as through her intercession, people were able to entreat many graces. The Lord Jesus chose her for a secretary and apostle of His mercy, so as to communicate a great message to the world. In the Old Covenant - He said to her - I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world (Diary 1588).

The mission of Sister Faustina consists of 3 tasks:

• Proclaiming and bringing the truth of our faith revealed in Sacred Scripture about the merciful love of God for every human being closer to the world.
• Imploring God's mercy for the entire world, and particularly for sinners, among others, through the practice of the new forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy presented by the Lord Jesus. They are: the Image of the Merciful Christ with the signature: Jesus, I Trust in You; the Feast of Divine Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter; the Chaplet to the Divine Mercy; and the prayer at the Hour of Mercy (3:00 p.m.).
• Initiating the apostolic movement of the Divine Mercy, which undertakes the task of proclaiming and imploring God's mercy for the world and, at the same time, strives for Christian perfection following Sister Faustina's road to sanctity. The precepts of this path require the faithful to have the attitude of childlike trust in God which expresses itself in fulfilling God's will and in the attitude of showing mercy to one's neighbor.

The mission of Sister Faustina was recorded in her Diary which she kept at the specific request of the Lord Jesus and her confessors. In it she recorded faithfully all of the Lord's wishes. Secretary of My most profound mystery…- the Lord Jesus said to her - Your task is to write down everything that I make known to you about My mercy, for the benefit of those who by reading these things will be comforted in their souls and will have the courage to approach Me (Diary 1693).

Consumed by disease and by innumerable sufferings, which she accepted and offered as a voluntary sacrifice for sinners, and having reached full spiritual maturity, Sister Faustina died in Cracow on October 5, 1938, at the age of just thirty-three.

In the years 1965-1967, the Informative Process of her life and heroic virtues was undertaken in Cracow; and in the year 1968, the Process of Beatification was initiated in Rome. The latter was completed in December 1992. On April 18, 1993, our Holy Father John Paul II beatified her in St. Peter's Square in Rome, and he canonized Saint Faustina on April 30, 2000. Her remains rest at the Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Cracow-Łagiewniki. Saint Faustina reminds the contemporary world about the great truth of faith, namely that God is the Father of mercy and she shows us how to look for God and find Him amid the gray realities of everyday life.

From the website of: The Roman-Catholic Parish Dedicated to St. Kazimierz
99-140 Świnice Warckie, Poland

The 3:00 Hour of Mercy

The 3:00 Hour

Jesus told Saint Faustina, “I remind you, My daughter, that 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. . . . try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour” (Diary, 1572).

Why three o’clock?

Well, remember that Scripture tells us that at three o’clock in the afternoon, on the Friday he was crucified, Jesus “gave up his spirit” (Matthew 27:50; see Mark 15:37, Luke 23:46), the “veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51; see Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45), and that shortly thereafter a soldier thrust his lance into Jesus’ side  and “immediately blood and water flowed out” (John 19:34).

Theologically, this tells us that access to the “Holy of Holies” of the Temple, once limited only to the High Priest behind the veil, was given to every soul when Jesus’ heart was torn at the three o’clock hour. With his Sacred Heart opened wide, Blood and Water—love and purification, the red and white rays of The Divine Mercy—poured forth into a world darkened by sin.

What an awesome gift!

And so, because Christ died for us on a Friday, we should make every Friday into a day of penance and thanksgiving. Spiritual exercises (such as the Stations of the Cross), fasting (this is the origin of the tradition of meatless Fridays), and other practices (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1438, ) join us spiritually with Christ in his unfathomable love for us.

And we should take the time out of our work, every day at three o’clock, to join with that infinite love and mercy without which we would have no work—and no life.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1438 The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church’s penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).

Please visit: http://www.chastitysf.com/stations.htm  the source of this wonderful information

John Paul II, The Great Mercy Pope

John Paul II, The Great Mercy Pope was born

Divine Mercy Chaplet

The Divine Mercy Chaplet

How to Recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary rosary beads of five decades. At the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts the Chaplet is preceded by two opening prayers from the Diary of Saint Faustina and followed by a closing prayer.

Optional Opening Prayers

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

1. Begin with the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostle's Creed:

Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

The Apostle's Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

2. Then, on the large bead before each decade:

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.

3. On the ten small beads of each decade, say:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.

4. Conclude with (Say 3 Times):

Holy God,
Holy Mighty One,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us
and on the whole world.

Optional Closing Prayer

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina:

Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you ... Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death ... When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between my Father and the dying person, not as the Just Judge but as the Merciful Savior ... 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. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy ... Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.

Read About Divine Mercy Image

The History of the Divine Mercy Image

In  February 1931. a Polish Nun, Sister Maria Faustina had a revelation in her convent cell. She wrote:

In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand (was) raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus said to me, 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)

I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over (its) enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory. (Diary, 48)

Faustina was asked by her spiritual director and confessor to ask Jesus what the blue and red rays meant.

During prayer I heard these words within me: The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls...These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. (Diary, 299)

Our Loyalty Statement

The Handmaids of Mercy are Pro-Life, Pro-Family and Pro-Pope

We pledge our loyalty to the Magisterium (teaching authority)of the Roman Catholic Church.

PROFESSION OF FAITH

The Handmaids of Mercy, with firm faith believe and profess everything that is contained in the symbol of faith: namely,

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: By the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

With firm faith I believe as well everything contained in God's word, written or handed down in tradition and proposed by the church--whether in solemn judgment or in the ordinary and universal Magisterium--as divinely revealed and called for faith.

I also firmly accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed by that same church definitively with regard to teaching concerning faith or morals.

What is more, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman pontiff or the college of bishops enunciate when they exercise the authentic Magisterium even if they proclaim those teachings in an act that is not definitive.

John Paul II, The Great Mercy Pope

The Great Mercy Pope: John Paul II

Prayer for the Intercession of Pope John Paul II:

O Blessed Trinity We thank You for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him. Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holinessis the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen.

I highly reccommend purchasing the book John Paul II: the Great Mercy Pope by Rev. George Kosicki, CSB. It is an excellent source of information on Pope John Paul II's devotion to the Divine Mercy message. The book is published by John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy, An Imprint of Marian Press, Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge MA 01262. I have requested that Aquinas and More Catholic bookstore, (for which there is a link on the main page of this blogsite) consider carrying this book. Below is more information from his book and a quote from Rev. Kosicki.

     "...the Holy Father has not only taught about God's mercy, but also how he has lived out the message of mercy by the witness of his life. In his writing, teaching, preaching, and by his prayer, his forgiveness, his radiating presence and his ministry to the sick and poor, he reflects God's mercy. The very themes of his pontificate are mercy themes: his challenge, "Do not be afraid!" his call to holiness, to evangelization, to ecumenism; his entrustment to The Divine Mercy and to the Mother of Mercy; the Jubilee Year of mercy; his continued emphasis on the value and dignity of every human being. For all these things, John Paul II has shown himself to be the Mercy Pope. His whole life, therefore, should be an example for the world and a challenge to each individual to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful" (Rev. George Kosicki, CSB)

Rev. Kosicki then goes on in his book to identify Pope John Paul II as both a teacher of mercy and a model of mercy. He also identifies the mercy themes found in JPII's writings. I have summarized these sections below:

Teacher of Mercy: The Encyclical Rich in Mercy (Dives in Misericordia), Homilies and Addresses on Divine Mercy, Divine Mercy in Various Writings: Redeemer of Man, Lord and Giver of Life, Mission of the Redeemer, Gospel of Life, and The Day of the Lord.

Model of Mercy: "John Paul II not only teaches about mercy, he puts his teaching into practic: by praying for mercy; by forgiving and asking for forgiveness; by radiating mercy; by his presence; by ministry to the sick, the suffering and the poor"

Themes of Mercy: The value and dignity of each person, "Be not afraid", Universal call to Holiness, New Evangelization, Ecumenism:Commitment to Church Unity, Mary the Mother of Mercy, the Jubilee Year 2000, The message of Divine Mercy as the Message of the Third Millennium

Pope John Paul II on forgiveness and justice: " Forgiveness does not cancel out the objective requirements of justice. ...Properly understood, justice constitutes the goal of forgiveness, ...Mercy has the power to confer on justice a new content, which is expressed most simply in forgiveness (#14, Rich in Mercy)

May 13, 1981  Pope John Paul II, wounded by an attempted assassination, forgives his assassin on the way to the hospital. The Diary of Sister Faustina is read to him in Polish durin his convalescence.

December 27, 1983 Pope John Paul II visits Ali Agca in his prison to extend his forgiveness. A world-wide witness to mercy, recorded in the film Time for Mercy.

   

Divine Mercy Sunday

By virtue of a Decree issued on May 5, 2000 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Holy See proclaimed the Second Sunday of Easter also as Divine Mercy Sunday.

Decree

Merciful and gracious is the Lord (Ps 111:4), who, out of great love with which He loved us (Eph 2:4) and [out of] unspeakable goodness, gave us his Only-begotten Son as our Redeemer, so that through the Death and Resurrection of this Son He might open the way to eternal life for the human race, and that the adopted children who receive his mercy within his temple might lift up his praise to the ends of the earth.

In our times, the Christian faithful in many parts of the world wish to praise that divine mercy in divine worship, particularly in the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, in which God's loving kindness especially shines forth.

Acceding to these wishes, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II has graciously determined that in the Roman Missal,  after the title "Second Sunday of Easter", there shall henceforth be added the appellation  "(or Divine Mercy Sunday)", and has prescribed that the texts assigned for that day in the same Missal and the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Rite are always to be used for the liturgical celebration of this Sunday.

The Congregation for DIvine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments now publishes these decisions of the Supreme Pontiff so that they may take effect.

Anything to the contrary notwithstanding.

Cardinal Jorge A. Medina Esteves, Prefect

+Francesco Pio Tamburrino, Archbishop Secretary