Today is Divine Mercy Sunday in the Catholic Church. To some in the Church this will be old news. To many, however, it will give pause as they question just what this means. It is a day when we venerate God’s most beautiful attribute, His Mercy and a day that each and every person can draw down great graces from heaven – for themselves and others. It is also the feast day that follows completion of a nine day novena – the Chaplet of Divine Mercy – that was dictated by Jesus to a Polish contemplative nun in the 1930’s. This chaplet and her many other supernatural experiences have been compiled in a book called Divine Mercy in My Soul; Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska. Click the link here to find out more information about this Feast Day and the Devotion to the Divine Mercy, or visit the section Mission in this website.
To fully understand the significance of this day, and the essence of her mission, it is necessary to become acquainted with this book. The easiest way for me to familiarize you quickly with this important work is to present the synopsis found on its back cover:
“A Mystic with a Message for the New Millennium”
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, a simple, uneducated, young Polish nun receives a special call. Jesus tells her, ““I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my Merciful Heart.” Jesus also tells her to record His message of mercy in a diary: “You are the secretary of My Mercy. I have chosen you for that office in this and the next life.”
These words of Jesus are found in the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, which chronicles St. Faustina’s great experience of Divine Mercy in her soul and her mission to share that mercy with the world.
Though she died in obscurity in 1938, Sr. Faustina is now hailed by Pope John Paul II as “the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time.” On April 30, 2000, the Pope canonized her as St. Faustina, saying that the message of Divine Mercy she shared is urgently (emphasis mine) needed at the dawn of the new millennium. Over half a million copies of the Diary have been sold worldwide.
In the Diary, this woman mystic’s childlike trust, simplicity, and intimacy with Jesus will stir your heart and soul. Her spiritual insights will surprise and reward you. “Only love has meaning,” she writes. “It raises up our smallest actions into infinity.”
How did St. Faustina grow in deeper trust and intimacy with Jesus? What promises did He make to her? Discover the answers to these questions and many more in the Diary of St. Faustina. (Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. c.1993 Congregation of The Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy)
I would like to share with you a quotation from this Diary. I have quoted from this resource before and probably will do so many times in this ministry because the words and experiences she received in the 1930’s are for our times:
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 desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy. (Jesus to St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. c.1993 Congregation of The Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy; entry #1588)
This is a significant passage, for the world is presently in the Day of Mercy. As I have already written, I believe a significant part of my mission is to prepare the world for God’s justice. This is not a pleasant task. I have already worn and will probably wear in future the label ‘chicken little‘. But this does not matter. I would rather wear that label and warn you of the things that I have seen and heard from God, than not speak and be accountable that you were not able to hear the warnings from someone. It will not be me that does not speak up, for I love you all far too much to do that. And so, with love and warning, I share the following dream. My spiritual director believes I have been given a special gift to occasionally ‘see’ into the spirit realm through dream, vision and word, and the following message of this dream was so compelling it caused me to immediately step up my prayers and hopefully will encourage you to do the same:
Jesus Crying
Wednesday, April 23, 2003 approx 3:30 a.m.
I had a dream where I was in the livingroom of my childhood home in Heart’s Desire. All of a sudden I started to go to heaven by some major energy rush. I could feel my body dematerialize or lift into a spirit form. It happened in an instant. One minute I was standing in my material body, then I was caught up in this energy rush and changed into spirit form. It was the most amazing feeling. I was in a holding pattern (not going to heaven and not in the material world) as I hovered over the living room. I said to one of my daughters who was sitting on the couch “I’m between worlds – can you still see me?”
I was floating suspended over the room. Then another daughter told me she saw two lines of writing on the hanging edge of an ivory paper tablecloth that covered the dining room table. The two lines were written at the end of the tablecloth off the short side – right near the end of the tablecloth. I could see the lines too, but she had to read them to me. She quoted them to me, but because she was a child she couldn’t remember all of the first line. It was:
“The Son (or sun)…He will smite them with His sword and His Justice.”
Then the dream scene changed and I looked and saw my own living room furniture (or a reasonable facsimilie thereof) had been moved slightly. The couch was slid to the left and there was a table in its place. On the table was a white porcelain statue of a crouching or hunched over angel. There were other white porcelain religious figure statues all over the room. The angel statue on the table was crying copious tears. A statue of Jesus was pouring tears (His statue was seated in a chair of some kind – looked like a rocking chair) opposite the table. Other statues in the room were also pouring copious tears. I saw the angel statue first and was alarmed and tried to console her. I started to recite my Hail Mary. Then I turned to the statue of Jesus in the chair. As I recited He came to life and I was hugging Him and caressing Him. He started to show a small heartened look/half smile of love, but very mildly – like a smile of resignation, through tears; as if somewhat consoled. I was saying “Don’t cry!” and He was approving of my saying the Hail Mary. I was consoling Him. He slowly stopped crying, but He was very sombre and resigned. He said no words.
Then the room was restored, with the furniture in the original position – the couch moved back to the right. Then I found myself out on a street with my rosary telling a character in the dream, Renata (which I found out later, coincidentally – or not – means ‘re-born’), that she should recite the rosary as often as possible – the need was urgent! I also knew I had to recite it almost non-stop if possible. I got ready to go somewhere with my family.
I said two decades right after I woke from this dream for the intention of more time for the world because this dream left me so concerned. At the time I recorded this dream I also wrote: ‘I said these two decades especially in light of the other spiritual dreams I have had lately. There is an awful foreboding in all my dreams lately. This dream left me so concerned as to the state and times of our world that I called a good friend and told her to gather up all her courage and not put off confession for another moment.’ (She took my advice and her life has profoundly changed in a beautiful way since…)
I also immediately increased my daily rosary from 15 decades to 20 and it stayed that way until my sixth child was born in 2005, and then I decreased it back to 15, because with six children and a new baby I just couldn’t keep up the 20!
As a parting thought to encourage you to heed my witness, and if possible, increase your prayers to help your sisters and brothers, I share with you words dictated by God, the Father in a dream:
March 6, 2005
“Tell souls to have recourse to My Mercy while there is still time for mercy. I love you and you are mine.”
Karen
The Deliverance Ne†work 
Leave a Reply