Today is the Feast Day of my gal-pal, St. Faustina!!!!  

(aka: Helen Kowalska before taking her vows as a Sister of Our Lady of Mercy!)

And oh, how I love her!❤️

In 2014 as I began reading St. Faustina’s personal Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, I had no idea the spiritual growth I would experience from the written experience of her life-lived out.  But today I lift up prayers of gratitude for all I have gained through her example! God has moved me forward, in many aspects, as He clarified for me during that time spent reading her Diary, what it means to love beyond measure…regardless of the burdens or sorrows that may come. She continues to guide me and remind me that everyone deserves mercy!

I will always be grateful for this gift and the immense peace which has remained in my heart as a result.

Our Parish priest, Fr Larry Richards, has taught us a wonderful way of incorporating scripture into our daily lives.  We have learned from him:

“No Bible, no breakfast! No Bible, no bed!”

This morning I decided to do my “breakfast portion” of Scripture in our Chapel prior to Morning Mass. And since it is a day all about her, I invited my gal-pal St. Faustina to be with me as I invoked the Holy Spirit; hoping she’d nudge Him in a direction that was merciful!

“Speak to me Your Word, Oh Lord, that I may know you, love you, and serve You.”

And (as I’d hoped in my heart) St Faustina, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, (I believe) nudged Him in a kind & gentle direction; affirming what has been (being) revealed to me for quite some time.  As I randomly broke open the Word this is where He rested my eyes:

Lamentations 3: 55-62 & 24  “I called on your name, Lord,  from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for help!” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.  Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me; you will judge my cause!  You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me. Lord, you have heard their insults, all their devices against me—what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long. …”The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.“”

A grateful giggle bubbled up inside me because of course St. Faustina would know the words I would rejoice over in celebration of this day for her!  This restful heart He has been strengthening in me, she too found rest in these words as others mocked,  judged & spoke poorly of her.  And this is why she is so close to my heart!  Her courage, to follow the ways of her Lord, despite the suffering she endured, has shone a light on my own humble attempts to love others despite what is returned to me.  And to pray always for a conversion of heart; especially for those in need of the grace to love unconditionally in return.

Thank you St. Faustina!

For giving abundantly to me, through your example, with each reminder of what it means to place our trust in Him!

Enough thanksgiving from me…now it’s ALL ABOUT Helen!

When this saint was born in Poland on August 25, 1905, her parents named her Helen. In her short life on earth, she carried out the important mission of teaching the world about the mercy of Jesus. From the time she was seven years old, Helen knew she wanted to live a life consecrated to God as a sister. When she was twenty-five, she entered the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, taking the name Sister Faustina.
Her work was simple. She cooked, tended the convent garden, and answered the door. Her kindness, serenity, and spirit of recollection were remarkable. But few people knew the real depths of her spirituality. God blessed Sister Faustina with many extraordinary gifts, including visions, prophecy, and invisible stigmata.
In one of the visions Sister Faustina had, Jesus appeared in a white garment. He raised one hand in blessing and touched his heart with the other. Two rays of light, one red, the other pale, spread out from his heart. The red ray represented the saving blood of Christ; the pale ray stood for the cleansing water of Baptism. Jesus said, “Have an image painted just as you see me, with the words ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’” Jesus told Sister Faustina that the Sunday after Easter was to be the Feast of Divine Mercy.
Sister Faustina kept a diary in which she wrote down everything that Jesus wanted the world to know about his mercy. In it, she wrote about prayer as a loving relationship with God. Jesus told her that she was his secretary. It was her special work to encourage people to trust in the limitless mercy of God.
Jesus promised forgiveness and abundant graces to anyone who would honor the Feast of Divine Mercy. Devotion to Divine Mercy consists in trusting in God’s goodness, loving one’s neighbor, remaining in the state of grace with the help of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and receiving Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday.

After only thirteen years of religious life, Sister Faustina died of tuberculosis on October 5, 1938. She was thirty-three years old. Pope John Paul II declared her a saint on April 30, 2000.

Jesus told St. Maria Faustina, “I expect you to show mercy always and everywhere.  You cannot excuse yourself from this.”

The best way to show that we trust in the mercy of Jesus is to be merciful and forgiving to the people who hurt us.

Are we willing to do this?

hugs n’ blessings to all those who love enough…to forgive!