Divine Mercy Home Page
from various sources
Background
This series of Web Pages on the Divine Mercy
was stimulated by an article in the 23 December 1999 issue of the Baltimore Catholic Review detailing the miraculous
healing of
Congestive Heart failure in Father Ronald P. Pytel,
pastor of Holy Rosary parish, Archdiocese of Baltimore.
This "confirmed"
miracle was the last obstacle leading to the sainthood of Saint
Sister Mary Faustina, a Polish nun, who was recently canonized by Pope John Paul
II.
Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska was born in
Poland. When she was twenty years old, she entered the Congregation
of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy.
On the 22nd of February,
1931, she had a vision of Jesus
while she was in Plock,  Poland.
Jesus appeared to her and said, "paint
an image according to the pattern you see with the signature: JESUS I
TRUST IN YOU. 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".
Examples of these images are depicted above.
He asked her to remind the world of His
unfathomable Mercy and He taught her a very special devotion to
the Divine Mercy based on trust in Him.
Sister Faustina died on October 5,
1938, at a convent in Krakow. She
was buried in the convent chapel beneath the image of the Divine Mercy.
She was beatified in 1993, and her sainthood was attained in the Fall of 2000.
We are encouraged by Pope John Paul II to
study
and to practice the devotions of the Divine Mercy.
The Church does not direct devotion to any particular aspect of our
religion. As our Mother, it can only encourage us in the
right direction. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, for example, was slow to develop after the
appearance of Jesus in 1672 to Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Mankind owes a debt to God which can never be
paid. The following pages on Divine Mercy are included to strengthen your faith in the
Mercy of God. Yet, for those who do not believe, no explanation is possible. For those who
believe, no explanation is necessary.
Excerpts From Sister Faustina's Diary
(Requires RealPlayer)
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"I
saw an Angel, the executor of God's wrath... about to strike the earth...I began to beg
God earnestly for the world with words which I heard interiorly. As I prayed in this way,
I saw the Angel's helplessness, and he could not carry out the just punishment...." |
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"In the
Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My Mercy to the people of the
whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it
to My Merciful Heart." (1588) |
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"It's a
sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. While there is still time,
let them have recourse to the fount of My Mercy; let them profit from the Blood and Water
which gushed forth for them." (848) "Before I come as a Just Judge, I first open wide the doors of My Mercy. He who refuses to pass through
the doors of My Mercy must pass through the doors of My Justice..." (1146) |
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