Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina
Kowalska
1 O Eternal Love, You command Your Sacred Image [1] to be painted And reveal to us the
inconceivable fount of mercy,
You bless whoever approaches Your rays,
And a soul all black will turn into snow.
O sweet Jesus, it is here [2] You established the throne of Your mercy
To bring joy and hope to sinful man.
From Your open Heart, as from a pure fount,
Flows comfort to a repentant heart and soul.
May praise and glory for this Image
Never cease to stream from man's soul.
May praise of God's mercy pour from every heart,
Now, and at every hour, and forever and ever.
O My God
2 When I look
into the future, I am frightened, But why plunge into the future?
Only the present moment is precious to me,
As the future may never enter my soul at all.
It is no longer in my power,
To change, correct or add to the past;
For neither sages nor prophets could do that.
And so, what the past has embraced I must entrust to God.
O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire.
I desire to use you as best I can.
And although I am weak and small,
You grant me the grace of your omnipotence.
And so, trusting in Your mercy,
I walk through life like a little child,
Offering You each day this heart
Burning with love for Your greater glory
God and Souls.
5 Be adored, O
Most Holy Trinity, now and for all time. Be adored in all Your works and
all Your creatures. May the greatness of Your mercy be admired and
glorified, O God.
6 I
am to write [3] down the encounters of my soul with You, O God, at the moments
of Your special visitations. I am to write about You, O Incomprehensible in
mercy towards my poor soul. Your holy will is the life of my soul. I have
received this order through him who is for me Your representative here on
earth, who interprets Your holy Will to me. Jesus, You see how difficult it
is for me to write, how unable I am to put down clearly what I experience
in my soul. O God, can a pen write down that for which many a time there
are no words? But You give the order to write, O God; that is enough for
me.
49
When I told this to my confessor,[29] I received this
for a reply: "That refers to your soul." He told me, "Certainly,
paint God's image in your soul." When I came out of the confessional,
I again heard words such as these: My image already is in your soul. I
desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you will
paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after
Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.
50 + I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of Mine towards
souls of sinners. Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me. The flames
of mercy are burning Me - clamoring to be spent; I want to pour them out
upon these souls.
Jesus complained to me in these words, Distrust on the part of souls is
tearing at My insides. The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater
pain; despite My inexhaustible love for them they do not trust Me. Even My
death is not enough for them. Woe to the soul that abuses these
[gifts].
66 O inexhaustible treasure of purity of
intention which makes all our actions perfect and so pleasing to God!
O Jesus, You know how weak I am; be then ever with me; guide my actions and
my whole being, You who are my very best Teacher! Truly, Jesus, I become
frightened when I look at my own misery, but at the same time I am
reassured by Your unfathomable mercy, which exceeds my misery by the
measure of all eternity. This disposition of soul clothes me in Your power.
O joy that flows from the knowledge of one's self! O unchanging Truth, Your
constancy is everlasting!
69 +O Jesus, eternal Truth, strengthen my
feeble forces; You can do all things, Lord. I know that without You all my
efforts are in vain. O Jesus, do not hide from me, for I cannot live
without You. Listen to the cry of my soul. Your mercy has not been
exhausted, Lord, so have pity on my misery. Your mercy surpasses the
understanding of all Angels and people put together; and so, although it
seems to me that You do not hear me, I put my trust in the ocean of Your
mercy, and I know that my hope will not be deceived.
O Divine Sun, in
Your rays the soul sees the tiniest specks of dust which displease You.
72 O Jesus, eternal Truth, our Life, I call upon You and I beg Your mercy
for poor sinners. O sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of pity and
unfathomable mercy, I plead with You for poor sinners. O Most Sacred Heart,
Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable graces upon the
entire human race, I beg of You light for poor sinners. O Jesus, be mindful
of Your own bitter Passion and do not permit the loss of souls redeemed at
so dear a price of Your most precious Blood. O Jesus, when I consider the
great price of Your Blood, I rejoice at its immensity, for one drop alone
would have been enough for the salvation of all sinners. Although sin is an
abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be
equaled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and
place its hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven
and earth may change, but God's mercy will never be exhausted. Oh, what
immense joy burns in my heart when I contemplate Your incomprehensible
goodness, O Jesus! I desire to bring all sinners to Your feet that they may
glorify Your mercy throughout endless ages.
248 The words of the Bishop [Rospond[73]], spoken at the
ceremony of the taking of perpetual vows: "Accept this candle as a
sign of heavenly light and of burning love." While giving the ring:
"I betroth you to Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father Most High; may
He keep you unblemished. Take this ring as a sign of the eternal covenant
you are making with Christ, the Spouse of Virgins. May it be for you the
ring of faith and the sign of the Holy Spirit, that you may be called the
bride of Christ and, if you serve Him faithfully, be crowned [as such] for
all eternity.
375 Particular interior practice; that is, the
examination of conscience. Self-denial, denial of my own will.
I. The denial of my reason. Subjecting it to the reason of those who
represent God to me here on earth.
II. The denial of my will. Doing the will of God, which is revealed in the
will of those who represent God to me and which is contained in the rule of
our order.
III. The denial of my judgment. Accepting immediately and without
reflection, analysis or reasoning all orders given by those who represent
God to me.
IV. The denial of my tongue. I will not give it the least bit of freedom;
but in one case only I will give it complete freedom; that is, in
proclaiming the glory of God. Whenever I receive Holy Communion, I will ask
Jesus to fortify and cleanse my tongue that I may not injure my neighbor
with it. That is why I have the greatest respect for the rule which speaks
about silence.
376 My Jesus, I trust that Your grace will help me to
carry out these resolutions. Although the above points are contained in the
vow of obedience, I want to practice these things in a special way, because
this is the essence of the religious life. Merciful Jesus, I beg You
fervently to enlighten my mind so that I may come to know You better, You
who are the Infinite Being, and that I may get to know myself better, who
am nothingness itself.
378 Once as I was talking with my spiritual director, I
had an interior vision-quicker than lightning-of his soul in great
suffering, in such agony that God touches very few souls with such fire.
The suffering arises from this work. There will come a time when this work,
which God is demanding so very much, will be as though utterly undone. And
then God will act with great power, which will give evidence of its
authenticity. It will be a new splendor for the Church, although it has
been dormant in it from long ago. That God is infinitely merciful, no one
can deny. He desires everyone to know this before He comes again as Judge.
He wants souls to come to know Him first as King of Mercy. When this
triumph comes, we shall already have entered the new life in which there is
no suffering. But before this, your soul [of the spiritual director] will
be surfeited with bitterness at the sight of the destruction of your
efforts. However, this will only appear to be so, because what God has once
decided upon, He does not change. But although this destruction will be
such only in outward appearance, the suffering will be real. When will this
happen? I do not know. How long will it last? I do not know.[89] But God has
promised a great grace especially to you and to all those... who will
proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death,
as My own glory. And even if the sins of soul are as dark as night, when
the sinner turns to My mercy he gives Me the greatest praise and is the
glory of My Passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before
it and flees to the very bottom of hell.
379 During one of the adorations, Jesus promised me
that: With souls that have recourse to My mercy and with those that
glorify and proclaim My great mercy to others, I will deal according to My
infinite mercy at the hour of their death.
My Heart is sorrowful, Jesus said, because even chosen souls do not
understand the greatness of My mercy. Their relationship [with Me] is, in
certain ways, imbued with mistrust. Oh, how much that wounds My Heart I
Remember My Passion, and if you do not believe My words, at least believe
My wounds.
389 Love must be reciprocal. If Jesus tasted the
fullness of bitterness for me, then I, His bride, will accept all
bitterness as proof of my love for Him.
391 Through Holy Baptism, we entered into union with
other souls. Death tightens the bonds of love. I ought always to be of help
to others. If I am a good religious, I will be useful, not only to the
Order, but to the whole Country as well.
392 The Lord God grants His graces in two ways: by
inspiration and by enlightenment. If we ask God for a grace, He will give
it to us; but let us be willing to accept it. And in order to accept it,
self-denial is needed. Love does not consist in words or feelings, but in
deeds. It is an act of the will; it is a gift; that is to say, a giving.
The reason, the will, the heart-these three faculties must be exercised
during prayer. I will rise from the dead in Jesus, but first I must live in
Him. If I do not separate myself from the Cross, then the Gospel will be
revealed in me. Jesus in me makes up for all my deficiencies. His grace
operates without ceasing. The Holy Trinity grants me Its life abundantly,
by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Three Divine Persons live in me. When
God loves, He loves with all His Being, with all the power of His Being. If
God has loved me in this way, how should I respond I, His spouse?
393 During one conference, Jesus said to me, You are
a sweet grape in a chosen cluster; I want others to have a share in the
juice that is flowing within you.
441 Once, the image was being exhibited over the altar
during the Corpus Christi procession [June 20, 1935]. When the priest
exposed the Blessed Sacrament, and the choir began to sing, the rays from
the image pierced the Sacred Host and spread out all over the world. Then I
heard these words: These rays of mercy will pass through you, just as
they have passed through this Host, and they will go out through all
the world. At these words, profound joy invaded my soul.
525
O Holy Trinity, in whom is contained the inner life of God, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit, eternal joy, inconceivable depth of love, poured
out upon all creatures and constituting their happiness, honor and glory be
to Your holy name forever and ever. Amen.
When I consider Your greatness and beauty, O my God, I rejoice exceedingly
that the Lord I serve is so great. With love and joy I carry out His will,
and the more I come to know Him, the more I desire to love Him. I burn with
the desire to love Him ever more and more.
543
The duration of the postulancy. The postulancy will last one year. During
this time, the candidate should examine whether she is attracted to this
type of life and whether it is suitable to her. The directress should also
diligently consider whether or not the person in question is suitable for
this type of life. After a year, if the postulant shows evidence of a
stable will and an earnest desire to serve God, she should be admitted to
the novitiate.
699 On one occasion, I heard these words: My
daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that
the Feast of Mercy [139] 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 fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and
receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and
punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow
are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as
scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will
be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has
come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its
relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The
Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire
that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind
will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.
745 During Holy Mass, I was so enveloped in the great
interior fire of God's love and the desire to save souls that I do not know
how to express it. I feel I am all aflame. I shall fight all evil with the
weapon of mercy. I am being burned up by the desire to save souls. I
traverse the world's length and breadth and venture as far as its ultimate
limits and its wildest lands to save souls. I do this through prayer and
sacrifice. I want every soul to glorify the mercy of God, for each one
experiences the effects of that mercy on himself. The Saints in heaven
worship the mercy of the Lord. I want to worship it even now, here on
earth, and to spread devotion to it in the way that God demands of me.
930 + O my Jesus, although I will go to You, and You
will fill me with Yourself, and that will make my happiness complete, I
will nevertheless not forget about humanity. I desire to draw aside the
veils of heaven, so that the earth would have no doubts about The Divine
Mercy. My repose is in proclaiming Your mercy. The soul gives the greatest
glory to its Creator when it turns with trust to The Divine Mercy.
+
The Love of God is the flower - Mercy the fruit.
1000
In the terrible desert of life,
O my sweetest Jesus,
Protect souls from disaster,
For You are the Fountain of Mercy.
Let the resplendence of Your rays,
O sweet Commander of our souls,
Let mercy change the world.
And you who have received this grace, serve Jesus.
Steep is the great highway I must travel,
But I fear nothing,
For the pure fount of mercy is flowing for my sake,
And, with it, strength for the humble soul.
I am exhausted and worn out,
But my conscience bears me witness
That I do all for the greater glory of the Lord,
The Lord who is my repose and my heritage.
[End of Notebook Two of the Diary.]
962 + I often see a certain person dear to God. The Lord
has great love for him, not only because he is striving to spread the
veneration of God's mercy, but also because of the love he has for the Lord
God, although he does not always feel this love in his own heart and is
almost always in Gethsemane. However, this person is always pleasing to
God, and his great patience will overcome all difficulties.
1074 When I went for adoration, I heard these words: My
beloved daughter, write down these words, that today My Heart has rested in
this convent [the Cracow house]. Tell the world about My mercy and
My love.
The flames of mercy are burning me. I desire to pour them out upon human
souls. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them!
My daughter, do whatever is within your power to spread devotion to My
mercy. I will make up for what you lack. Tell aching mankind to snuggle
close to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it -with peace.
Tell [all people], My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy itself.
When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of
graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to
other souls.
1075 Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield
through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour
of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior. At that
last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy.
Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain
of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it.
1076 Write this: Everything that exists is enclosed
in the bowels of My mercy, more deeply than an infant in its mother's womb.
How painfully distrust of My goodness wounds Me! Sins of distrust wound Me
most painfully.
1083 + That beautiful soul who is spreading this work of
divine mercy throughout the world is, by his deep humility, very pleasing
to God.
1104 Today there was a beautiful teaching [by Father
Plaza on the goodness and mercy of God. During this conference my soul
experienced the flames of God's love, and I understood that God's word is a
living word.
1256 [August] 30. Reverend Father Sopocko left this
morning. When I was steeped in a prayer of thanksgiving for the great grace
that I had received from God; namely, that of seeing Father, I became
united in a special way with the Lord who said to me, He is a priest
after My own Heart; his efforts are pleasing to Me. You see, My daughter,
that My will must be done and that which I had promised you, I shall do.
Through him I spread comfort to suffering and careworn souls. Through him
it pleased Me to proclaim the worship of My mercy. And through this work of
mercy more souls will come close to Me than otherwise would have, even if
he had kept giving absolution day and night for the rest of his life,
because by so doing, he would have labored only for as long as he lived;
whereas, thanks to this work of mercy, he will be laboring till the end of
the world.
1286 + Thank You, O God, for
all the graces
Which unceasingly You lavish upon me,
Graces which enlighten me with the brilliance of the sun,
For by them You show me the sure way.
Thank You, 0 Lord, for creating me,
For calling me into being from nothingness,
For imprinting Your divinity on my soul,
The work of sheer merciful love.
Thank You, O God, for Holy Baptism
Which engrafted me into Your family,
A gift great beyond all thought or expression
Which transforms my soul.
Thank You, O Lord, for Holy Confession,
For that inexhaustible spring of great mercy,
For that inconceivable fountain of graces
In which sin-tainted souls become purified.
Thank You, O Jesus, for Holy Communion
In which You give us Yourself.
I feel Your Heart beating within my breast
As You cause Your divine life to unfold within me.
Thank You, O Holy Spirit, for the Sacrament of Confirmation,
Which dubs me Your knight
And gives strength to my soul at each moment,
Protecting me from evil.
Thank You, O God, for the grace of a vocation.
For being called to serve You alone,
Leading me to make You my sole love,
An unequal honor for my soul.
Thank You, O Lord, for perpetual vows,
For that union of pure love,
For having deigned to unite Your pure heart with mine
And uniting my heart to Yours in the purest of bonds.
Thank You, O Lord, for the Sacrament of Anointing
Which, in my final moments, will give me strength;
My help in battle, my guide to salvation,
Fortifying my soul till we rejoice forever.
Thank You, O God, for all the inspirations
That Your goodness lavishes upon me,
For the interior lights given my soul,
Which the heart senses, but words cannot express.
Thank You, O Holy Trinity, for the vastness of the graces
Which You have lavished on me unceasingly through life.
My gratitude will intensify as the eternal dawn rises,
When, for the first time, I sing to Your glory.
1300 When I looked at this image, I was pierced with
such a lively love for God that, for a moment, I did not know where I was.
When we had finished our business, we went to the Church of the Most Holy
Virgin Mary. We attended Holy Mass, during which the Lord gave me to know
what a great number of souls would attain salvation through this work. Then
I entered into an intimate conversation with the Lord, thanking Him for
having condescended to grant me the grace of seeing how the veneration of
His unfathomable mercy is spreading. I immersed myself in a profound prayer
of thanksgiving. Oh, how great is God's generosity! Blessed be the Lord,
who is faithful in His promises...
1520 Today the Lord said to me, I have opened My
Heart as a living fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let
them approach this sea of mercy with great trust. Sinners will attain
justification, and the just will be confirmed in good. Whoever places his
trust in My mercy will be filled with My divine peace at the hour of death.
1652 Adore, my soul, the mercy of the Lord,
O my heart, rejoice wholly in Him,
Because for this you have been chosen by Him,
To spread the glory of His mercy.
His goodness no one has fathomed, no one can measure,
His compassion is untold.
Every soul that approaches Him experiences this.
He will shield her and clasp her to His merciful bosom.
Happy the soul that has trusted in Your goodness
And has abandoned herself completely to Your mercy.
Her soul is filled with the peace of love.
You defend her everywhere as Your own child.
O soul, whoever you may be in this world,
Even if your sins were as black as night,
Do not fear God, weak child that you are,
For great is the power of God's mercy.
1710 May 26, [1938-Feast of the Ascension]. Today I
accompanied the Lord Jesus as He ascended into heaven. It was about noon. I
was overcome by a great longing for God. It is a strange thing, the more I
felt God's presence, the more ardently I desired Him. Then I saw myself in
the midst of a huge crowd of disciples and apostles, together with the
Mother of God. Jesus was telling them to... Go out into the whole world
and teach in My name. He stretched out His hands and blessed them and
disappeared in a cloud. I saw the longing of Our Lady. Her soul yearned for
Jesus with the whole force of Her love. But She was so peaceful and so
united to the will of God that there was not a stir in Her heart but for
what God wanted.
1711 When I was left alone with the Blessed Virgin, She
instructed me concerning the interior life. She said, The soul's true greatness
is in loving God and in humbling oneself in His presence, completely
forgetting oneself and believing oneself to be nothing; because the Lord is
great, but He is well pleased only with the humble; He always opposes the
proud.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-1-2, 5-6, 49-50, 66, 69, 72, 248,
375-376, 378-379, 389, 391)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-392-393, 441)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-525, 543, 699, 745, 930, 962, 1000)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1074-1076, 1083, 1104)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1256, 1286, 1300)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1520)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1652, 1710-1711 )
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