Apparitions of Jesus Christ to Saint Faustina
“The human race will not find peace until it turns with trust to my mercy.” Saint John Paul II
Saint Faustina had many apparitions of Christ and of the Blessed Virgin Mary during her thirteen years of religious life. She recorded in writing, in her Diary, the entirety of the messages received and shared them. After her death, in Krakow on October 5, 1938, they grew enormously in prominence, especially that of Divine Mercy. Her writings have been translated into at least a dozen languages.
Saint Faustina was beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II on April 18, 1993. He then was canonized on April 30, 2000, on the day of the Feast of Divine Mercy.
Saint Faustina, Religious of Our Lady of Mercy
Saint Faustina Kowalska, born Helena on August 25, 1905 in Głogowiec, Poland, grew up in a peasant family of ten children. From the age of seven, she felt called to religious life by the Savior. It was only at 19 that she made the firm decision to become a religious sister. She then left her home and went to Warsaw to respond to Christ’s call. Saint Faustina entered the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She was a discreet, devoted, and obedient sister. Yet from the first year of her commitment, she had apparitions of Jesus, who gave her messages. She even realized that he had granted her the gift of prophecy. Jesus Christ gave her the mission to write down absolutely everything he told her, so as to become the “secretary of his Mercy.” But Sister Faustina said nothing to her community. She spoke only to her confessor, who then advised her to record all her apparitions in a journal. This would become famous and take the name Diary. One day, Jesus gave her particular devotions to his Divine Mercy: notably the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Hour of Mercy, the Novena to Divine Mercy, and the Feast of Mercy (instituted by Saint John Paul II, the first Sunday after Easter, according to Christ’s request). The Savior also asked that a painting be made representing one of Saint Faustina’s visions, depicting him with two great red and white rays coming from his heart. At the bottom of the painting are the words, “Jesus, I trust in You.” Sister Faustina gave her soul to the Lord on October 5, 1938, having contracted tuberculosis, at the age of 33.
Apparition of Jesus to Saint Faustina, July 7, 1929
On July 7, 1929, Saint Faustina arrived in Kiekrz (a village about fifteen kilometers from Poznań), Poland, at one of her congregation’s convents. This convent is located around the village’s “Little Lake” (there is another lake called the “Great Lake”). Sister Faustina spent the entire summer of 1929 there, replacing a sick sister in the kitchen. She had professed her final vows three years earlier. One day, the future saint went for a walk along the lakeshore, and near one of the oldest trees, Christ appeared to her.
Here is what she wrote in her Diary about this apparition:
“When I was at Kiekrz to replace one of the sisters for a short time, one afternoon I crossed the garden to stop by the lake. For a long time I was thoughtful, contemplating the beauty of nature. Suddenly I saw Jesus at my side, who said to me: ‘All this I have created for you, My spouse; and know that all this beauty is nothing in comparison with what I have prepared for you in eternity.’ My soul was filled with so much consolation that I stayed there until evening, and it seemed to me that I had spent little time there. It was my free day reserved for a personal retreat, so I had complete freedom to devote myself to prayer. How infinitely good God is, pursuing us with His goodness. Most often the Lord grants me the greatest graces when I do not expect them.” page 158.
Saint Faustina had already had apparitions of Christ before this and had others afterwards.
Apparition of Jesus to Saint Faustina, February 22, 1931
This apparition of Christ to Sister Faustina is certainly the best known of all. Indeed, it was on this occasion that Jesus appeared in a white robe, his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing and the other at the level of his heart, holding his garment. He was wounded, and two great rays, one red and the other white—representing water and blood—came forth from his heart. He then ordered her to commission a painting representing him thus, with, at the bottom of the painting, an inscription reading “Jesus, I trust in You.” Jesus Christ also asked her to establish the Feast of Divine Mercy throughout the world. She took this mission very much to heart and thus became the apostle of Divine Mercy.
This apparition had a profound influence on the place of mercy in the Catholic Church. Over the centuries, Divine Mercy had been relegated to the background of the Church’s teaching. The Savior’s apparition brought the focus back to this central theme of the Gospel. It is a crucial aspect that must be widely spread. At a time when the world was in the midst of political and social crisis, this reminder was essential and necessary. This devotion to Divine Mercy has been widely adopted throughout the world.
The twelve messages of Christ received by Saint Faustina
Saint Faustina wrote her Diary between 1934 and 1938. She recorded there all the words of Jesus during his apparitions. Thanks to this work, we know the special graces with which the religious sister was filled: visions, revelations, the gift of prophecy, invisible stigmata, the gift of bilocation, and the gift of mystical espousals.
Here are the twelve messages of Christ:
1- “Whoever trusts in my mercy will not perish, for all his affairs are mine, and his enemies will be shattered at my feet.” page 723
2- “When a soul approaches me with trust, I fill it with so many graces that it pours them out upon other souls.” page 1058
3- “When I come in Holy Communion, I have my hands full of all kinds of graces and I desire to give them to souls.” page 1385
4- “At three o’clock, in this hour of my Passion, I will refuse nothing to the soul that asks me…” page 1320
5- “No soul that has approached me has left me without consolation.” page 1777
6- “The soul that trusts in my mercy is the happiest, because I myself take care of it.” page 1273
7- “The prayer that is most pleasing to me is prayer for the conversion of sinful souls; this prayer is always heard.” page 1397
8- “Souls must seek consolation at the tribunal of mercy; that is where the greatest miracles take place.” page 1448
9- “The greatest misery of a soul does not stir me to anger, but my Heart trembles with great mercy for it.” page 1739
10- “To the priests who proclaim my mercy, I will give extraordinary power, and I will touch the hearts to whom they will speak.” page 1521
11- “Each Communion will render you more capable of being in relation with God for all eternity.” page 1810
12- “Tell suffering humanity to snuggle close to my merciful Heart, and I will fill it with peace.” page 1058
Saint Faustina’s prayer to be merciful
“I desire to be transformed completely into your mercy and thus to be a living reflection of you, O Lord; may the greatest of divine attributes, your unfathomable mercy, pass through my soul and my heart to my neighbor. Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge according to appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbor’s soul and come to his aid. Help me, O Lord, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may listen to my neighbor’s needs and not remain indifferent to his pains and complaints. Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I shall never speak poorly of my neighbor, but have a word of consolation and forgiveness for all. Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbor and take upon myself the heaviest and most unpleasant tasks. Help me, O Lord, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hasten to help my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service rendered to my neighbor. Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful, so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will not refuse my heart to anyone. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my goodness, and I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will be silent about my own sufferings. May your mercy, O my Lord, rest within me. O my Jesus, transform me into yourself, for you can do all things. O my God hidden in this great and divine Sacrament! Jesus, be with me at every moment! And my heart will be calmed. Amen.”
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