Jesus said to St. Faustina Kowalska: ”Paint an image according to the pattern you see with the signature: ’Jesus, I trust in You’” … “I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world.”   (Diary 47)

“The two rays denote Blood and Water.  The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous.  The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls.  These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross … Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.” (Diary 299) … “By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls.  It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works.” (Diary 742)

 

The Feast of Mercy:  “This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of My tender mercies.”  (Diary 420)   ”It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter … I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.  On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open.  I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fountain of My mercy.”  (Diary 699) … “I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy.” (Diary 1109)

 

“My great delight is to unite Myself with souls … When I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul.  But souls do not even pay any attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things.  Oh, how sad I am that souls do not recognize Love!”  (Diary 1385)

 

“It pains Me very much when religious souls receive the Sacrament of Love merely out of habit, as if they did not distinguish this food.  I find neither faith nor love in their hearts.  I go to such souls with great reluctance.  It would be better if they did not receive Me.”  (Diary 1258) 

 

“How painful it is to Me that souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion.  I wait for souls, and they are indifferent toward Me.  I want to lavish My graces on them, and they do not want to accept them.  They treat me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and mercy.  In order that you may know at least some of My pain imagine the most tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while those children spurn her love.  Consider her pain.  No one is in a position to console her.  This is but a feeble image and likeness of My love.”  (Diary 1447)   

 

“Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me.  To such souls I grant even more than they ask.  I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion.”  (Diary 1146) … “Beg for mercy for the whole world.”  (Diary 570)

 

St. Faustina’s love for her “Instructress,” the Mother of God, is as passionate as it is inspirational:  “You are joy, because through you God descended to earth and into my heart.” (Diary 40)

 

Holy Mary:  “I am not only the Queen of Heaven, but also the Mother of Mercy and your Mother.”  (Diary 330) … “I am Mother to you all, thanks to the unfathomable mercy of God.”  (Diary 449)

 

Blessed Faustina and St. Joseph:  “He looked at me with great kindness and gave me to know how much he is supporting this work [of mercy].   He has promised me his special help and protection.” (Diary 1203)

 

Our Lord instructed Blessed Faustina to recite a special prayer which he called The Chaplet:  “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” (Diary 476)  ["In subsequent revelations, the Lord made it clear that the Chaplet was not just for her, but for the whole world."]  “Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.”  (Diary 1731)  

 

The Apostle and “Secretary” of The Divine Mercy, Blessed Sr. Mary Faustina,  was born in Poland on August 25, 1905.  ”The years she had spent at the convent were filled with extraordinary gifts, such as: revelations, visions, hidden stigmata, participation in the Passion of the Lord, the gift of bilocation, the reading of human souls, the gift of prophecy, or the rare gift of mystical engagement & marriage.”  She died at the age of 33, on October 5, 1938.  “My mission will not come to an end upon my death … I will draw aside for you the veils of heaven to convince you of God’s goodness.” (Diary  281)  Her canonization was initiated in 1965.  After a lengthy beatification process–1968-1992–she was beatified on April 18, 1993. 

 

St. Faustina’s canonization was celebrated on Sunday, April 30, 2000, by Pope John Paul II:  “And you, Faustina, a gift of God to our time, a gift of awareness of the depth of divine mercy, help us to have a living experience of it and to bear witness to it among our brothers and sisters.  May your message of life and hope spread throughout the world, spurring sinners to conversion, calming rivalries and hatred, and opening individuals and nations to the practice of brotherhood.  Today, fixing our gaze with you on the face of the risen Christ, let us make our own your prayer of trusting abandonment, and say with firm hope:  Christ Jesus, I Trust in You!  Jezu, Ufam Tobie!”

 

 … Mary Rose … “To cheat one’s self out of love is the greatest deception of which there is no reparation in either time or eternity.”

 

Main Source:  The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion, Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC and Vinny Flynn, Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Association of Marian Helpers, Stockbridge, MA