JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU
Saint Sister Faustyna Kowalska and Divine Mercy The Feast of Divine Mercy that is celebrated today, on the second Sunday of Easter, was instituted for the whole Catholic Church by Pope St. John Paul II on April 30, 2000, at the canonization of a humble 33- year-old Polish nun, Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy. It was St. Faustina who wrote in her Diary, “Divine Mercy in My Soul”, after having received an instruction from Jesus during apparitions, about this feast to be observed each year on the Easter Octave Sunday. In our Holy Cross parish, we do have a special devotion to the Divine Mercy and St. Faustina. There are images of Merciful Jesus in all of our campus churches and a beautiful painting of Sister Faustina herself in the Holy Cross church, funded by our Polish Saturday School. Moreover, our parish received a 1st class relic of St. Faustina just last October; it was brought by Fr. Howe and the group of our pilgrim parishioners from the Łagiewniki Divine Mercy shrine and monastery in Cracow, Poland, the resting place of St. Faustina’s remains.
It is appropriate, therefore, to learn more about her life and see how it might be an inspiration for us. She was born Helena Kowalska in Głogowiec, northwest of Łódź, Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of ten children of Stanisław and Marianna. The Kowalski’s were poor – father was a peasant and carpenter and mother served as a housekeeper – yet they were a devout Catholic family. At the age of twenty, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw. She spent 13 years in that religious congregation, in different houses, mostly in Cracow, Warsaw, Płock and Vilnius. In the monastery, she worked as cook, salesperson in a bakery store, gardener and portress. Faustina’s life was marked by a deep devotion to Christ and a profound love for humanity, especially “souls of poor sinners”. She experienced visions of Jesus and was directed by Him to spread the message of His Divine Mercy. Sister Faustina’s Diary documents her conversations with Jesus and her spiritual journey. In her writings, she emphasized the importance of trust in God’s Mercy and the need for repentance and forgiveness. One of the central aspects of Sister Faustina’s spirituality was the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a prayer that calls upon the Mercy of God for the sake of the whole world. Another one is the image of Merciful Jesus, from whose heart red and white rays go out, blood and water, symbols of Eucharist and Baptism, where the Divine Mercy is revealed and accessible to all.
Sister Faustina’s health began to decline, and she suffered greatly from tuberculosis. She offered her suffering as a sacrifice for the salvation of souls. She passed away in Cracow on October 5, 1938. However, her legacy lived on, as devotion to the Divine Mercy continued to spread. Today, Saint Sister Faustina Kowalska is venerated by millions around the world, and her message of God’s Mercy continues to inspire and transform lives. She remains a beacon of hope and a reminder of the boundless love and mercy of God for all humanity.
A sizable image of Merciful Jesus has recently been placed on the northern wall of our Saint Clement Church (see page 7) and is clearly visible to those passing or driving by on Lowry Avenue. It will be blessed today after Mass at Saint Clement.
Fr. Cyprian Czop, O.M.I., Parochial Vicar