I spent the day with my gal-pal, Saint Faustina Kowalska, yesterday. It was her Feast Day, so I snuck away (alone) for the day to my happy place and immersed myself in the joy of having her in my life.
Every time I spend a moment with her – grace spills out mercifully – all over me. Today, as I share a few of my favorite excerpts from her Diary, may it reign down upon you too.
with a brief reflection on the Divine Mercy of God,
which comes directly to you from a recent reflection by…
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, one of whose foundresses was Saint Sr. Faustina Kowalska herself!
The word trust in the school of St. Faustina’s spirituality signifies the attitude of man towards God. In the signature of the image, which Jesus ordered her to paint, are the words: Jesus, I trust in You!
Trust is the first response of man to knowing and experiencing the attentive merciful love of God. This word has unusually rich contents because it signifies not only faith in the existence of God, in His omnipotence, in the truths revealed through Him, but it also denotes an all-embracing attitude of man towards God, which expresses the fulfillment of God’s will contained in the commandments, in the duties of our state of life, as well as in the recognised inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
In the writings of Sister Faustina, trust is identical with the biblical conception of faith and so it means entrustment of our own life to God as the best Father who does not desire anything other than man’s temporal and eternal happiness.
God’s will – as Sister Faustina often used to say – is for us mercy itself. It is the fulfillment of God’s will that is a concrete measure of trust towards God. The Lord Jesus said to Sister Faustina, The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me, because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it is my desire to give much, very much. On the other hand, I am sad when souls ask for little, when they narrow their hearts (Diary 1578).
“O my God, I am overcome with great longing for You today. Oh, nothing else any longer occupies my heart. There no longer contains anything for me. O Jesus, how strongly I feel this exile, how very prolonged it is for me. O death, messenger of God, when will you announce to me that longed-for moment, through which I will be united to my God forever?”
St. Faustina’s Diary (1573)
Today is the Feastday of my gal-pal-hero, St. Faustina Kowalska!
Picture taken at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
I love this day.
I love the opportunity to be especially mindful of giving thanks for a Saint who has touched my heart, strenghtened my spiritual walk and lovingly taughtme: “Jesus, I trust in You.” I long to sit alone at some point today, with my God, and feel the smooth pages of St. Faustina’s Diary between my fingers; as my eyes rest in the words she left for us to comprehend God’s Mercy.
My copy of St. Faustian’s Diary
This past August I visited the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. First class relics of both St. Faustina & Pope John Paul II are there.
The peace & joy I felt while praying before them is still with me.
Saint Maria Faustina Kowalski (1950-1938) was a young member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland. Born into a poor farming family, she had only two-and-a-half years of basic education, and so was assigned the humblest tasks in the convent, usually in the kitchen or garden. However, she received extraordinary revelations from the Lord Jesus, proclaiming God’s loving message of Divine Mercy, which he instructed her to record.
To celebrate her feast day, may we all reflect on these beautiful quotes from her diary:
“I have found that the greatest power is hidden patience. I see that patience always leads to victory, although not immediately; but that victory will become manifest after many years.”
“O inconceivable goodness of God, which shields us at every step, may Your mercy be praised without cease. That You became a brother to humans, not to angels, is a miracle of the unfathomable mystery of Your mercy. All our trust is in You…”
“O Lamb of God, I do not know what to admire in You first: Your gentleness, Your hidden life, the emptying of Yourself for the sake of man, or the constant miracle of Your mercy, which transforms souls and raises them up to eternal life.”
The Divine Mercy Shrine Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Saint Maria Faustina, you told us that your mission would continue after your death and that you would not forget us. (Diary, 281,1582.)
Our Lord also granted you a great privilege, telling you to “distribute graces as you will, to whom you will, and when you will.” (Diary, 31.)
Relying on this, I ask your intercession for the graces I need, especially…
(here mention your special intentions)
Help me, above all, to trust in Jesus as you did and thus to glorify His mercy every moment of my life. Amen.
hugs n’ blessings to all those with great longing in their hearts!
Helen Kowalska, the best golden-retriever in the universe, would like to wish everyone a blessed & holy feastday of her namesake St. Faustina, (aka Helena Kowalska!)
hugsnblessings 