The Truth Will Set You Free
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Wednesday of the
Fifth Week of Lent
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John 8:31-42
Jesus
said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you
will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ´You will become
free´?" Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone
who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household
forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly
be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to
kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen
in the Father´s presence; then do what you have heard from the Father."
They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said
to them, "If you were Abraham´s children, you would be doing the works
of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the
truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works
of your father!" So they said to him, "We were not born of
fornication. We have one Father, God." Jesus said to them, "If God
were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did
not come on my own, but he sent me."
Introductory
Prayer:
Lord, You are life
and truth and goodness. You are also peace and mercy. How grateful I am to
have this moment to turn to You. Without You I can do nothing good. In fact, when
I do good, it is You working through me, despite my failings. Thank You,
Lord. Here I am ready to love You more.
Petition:
Grant me the grace,
Lord, to remain in Your word and to be set free by Your truth.
1.
A Vibrant Faith: Faith isn’t real until it touches our attitudes and, above
all, our concrete choices. To “remain” in the word of Christ means to conform
our lives with his life and his virtues, especially the virtue of charity,
which is the very essence of Christian doctrine and morality. To “remain” in
his word is, as some would say, “to walk the walk.” In another passage we are
told that it is not those who say “Lord, Lord…” who will enter the Kingdom,
but only those who actually do the Father’s will in their lives. Remaining in
his word is the stuff of sanctity – it’s also the stuff of daily perseverance
and of knowing how to get up, dust ourselves off, and begin again each time
we falter or fall along the way. How well do I “remain” in Christ’s word?
Could an impartial observer see from my attitudes and actions that I follow
Christ?
2.
A True Disciple Lives the Truth: Christ seems to imply that there are true
and false disciples. There is only one way to tell the difference between the
two: whether one actually embraces his word not only as an ideal, but also as
a rule of life. Today a plethora of voices, even within the Christian
community, would have us follow a purely “therapeutic” Christianity – a form
of Christianity in which we can supposedly believe in Christ while adopting
behaviors or attitudes which are totally opposed to his “way” of discipleship
as taught authoritatively by the Church. The temptation to separate faith and
practice is never far from us. How much have these false voices impacted my
own understanding of what it means to follow Christ as a member of his body,
the Church?
3.
Authentic Freedom: The freedom promised by Christ to those who remain in his word
is much deeper than the freedom offered by the world. Christ’s freedom is not
simply a political freedom. Neither is it the ability to choose whatever I
want, when I want, and how I want. The freedom of Christ’s disciple is
spiritual, moral, and interior; it is the freedom for which every person
longs in the depths of his heart. And only Christ gives this kind of freedom.
Conversation
with Christ: Thank
You, Lord, for the freedom You have given me! With it I could seek happiness
in broken vessels of clay, forgetting You, the fountain of living waters. You
could have made me not free.... But thus You have created me, and I want to
be free. I want to know how to be free. I want to demonstrate that I am free,
with the most sovereign act of my freedom: Lord, since I am free, I give my
freedom, my will, to You, so that Your will may be done.
Resolution:
I will exercise my
freedom responsibly, as Christ would have me do.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
186 +Today
Jesus said to me, I desire that you know more profoundly the love that
burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate
upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their
salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on
behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the
prayer:
187 "O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You."
206 The
next day, after Communion, I heard the voice saying, My daughter, look
into the abyss of My mercy and give praise and glory to this mercy of Mine.
Do it in this way: Gather all sinners from the entire world and immerse them
in the abyss of My mercy. I want to give Myself to souls; I yearn for souls,
My daughter. On the day of My feast, the Feast of Mercy, you will go through
the whole world and bring fainting souls to the spring of My mercy. I shall
heal and strengthen them.
280 Jesus
commanded me to celebrate the Feast of God's Mercy on the first Sunday after
Easter. [This I did] through interior recollection and exterior
mortification, wearing the belt for three hours and praying continuously for
sinners and for mercy on the whole world. And Jesus said to me, My eyes
rest with pleasure upon this house today.
308 1934,
Holy Thursday. Jesus said to me, I desire that you make an offering of
yourself for sinners and especially far those souls who have lost hope in
God's mercy.
God and Souls. An Act of Oblation. 309 Before heaven and earth, before all the choirs of Angels, before the Most Holy Virgin Mary, before all the Powers of heaven, I declare to the One Triune God that today, in union with Jesus Christ, Redeemer of souls, I make a voluntary offering of myself for the conversion of sinners, especially for those souls who have lost hope in God's mercy. This offering consists in my accepting, with total subjection to God's will, all the sufferings, fears and terrors with which sinners are filled. In return, I give them all the consolations which my soul receives from my communion with God. In a word, I offer everything for them: Holy Masses, Holy Communions, penances, mortifications, prayers. I do not fear the blows, blows of divine justice, because I am united with Jesus. O my God, in this way I want to make amends to You for the souls that do not trust in Your goodness. I hope against all hope in the ocean of Your mercy. My Lord and my God, my portion-my portion forever, I do not base this act of oblation on my own strength, but on the strength that flows from the merits of Jesus Christ. I will daily repeat this act of self-oblation by pronouncing the following prayer which You yourself have taught me, Jesus: "O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You!"
319 August
9, 1934. Night adoration on Thursdays.[79] I made my hour of adoration from eleven
o'clock till midnight. I offered it for the conversion of hardened sinners,
especially for those who have lost hope in God's mercy. I was reflecting on
how much God had suffered and on how great was the love He had shown for us,
and on the fact that we still do not believe that God loves us so much. O
Jesus, who can understand this? What suffering it is for our Savior! How can
He convince us of His love if even His death cannot convince us? I called
upon the whole of heaven to join me in making amends to the Lord for the
ingratitude of certain souls.
320 Jesus
made known to me how very pleasing to Him were prayers of atonement. He said
to me, The prayer of a humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My
Father and draws down an ocean of blessings. After the adoration, half
way to my cell, I was surrounded by a , pack of huge black dogs who were
jumping and howling and trying to tear me to pieces. I realized that they
were not dogs, but demons. One of them spoke up in a rage, "Because you
have snatched so many souls away from us this night, we will tear you to
pieces." I answered, "If that is the will of the most merciful God,
tear me to pieces, for I have justly deserved it, because I am the most
miserable of all sinners, and God is ever holy, just, and infinitely
merciful." To these words all the demons answered as one, "Let us
flee, for she is not alone; the Almighty is with her!" And they vanished
like dust, like the noise of the road, while I continued on my way to my cell
undisturbed, finishing my Te Deum and pondering the infinite and unfathomable
mercy of God.
324 The
next day, I felt very weak, but experienced no further suffering. After Holy
Communion, I saw the Lord Jesus just as I had seen Him during one adoration.
The Lord's gaze pierced my soul through and through, and not even the least
speck of dust escaped His notice. And I said to Jesus, "Jesus, I thought
You were going to take me. "And Jesus answered, My will has not yet
been fully accomplished in you; you will still remain on earth, but not for
long. I am well pleased with your trust, but your love should be more ardent.
Pure love gives the soul strength at the very moment of dying. When I was
dying on the cross, I was not thinking about Myself, but about poor sinners,
and I prayed for them to My Father. I want your last moments to be completely
similar to Mine on the cross. There is but one price at which souls are
bought, and that is suffering united to My suffering on the cross. Pure love
understands these words; carnal love will never understand them.
349 In the
morning, during meditation, I felt a painful thorn in the left side of my
head. The suffering continued all day. I meditated continually about how
Jesus had been able to endure the pain of so many thorns which made up His
crown. I joined my suffering to the sufferings of Jesus and offered it for
sinners. At four o'clock when I came for adoration, I saw one of our wards
offending God greatly by sins of impure thoughts. I also saw a certain person
who was the cause of her sin. My soul was pierced with fear, and I asked God,
for the sake of Jesus' pain, to snatch her from this terrible misery.
350 Jesus
answered that He would grant her that favor, not for her sake, but for the
sake of my request. Now I understood how much we ought to pray for sinners,
and especially for our wards.
Our life is truly apostolic; I cannot imagine a religious living in one of our houses; that is, in our Community, and not having an apostolic spirit. Zeal for the salvation of souls should burn in our hearts.
355
1934-1935. New Year's Eve. I was given permission not to go to sleep, but
rather pray in the chapel. One of the sisters had asked me to offer an hour of
adoration for her. I said yes, and prayed for her for an hour. During the
hour, God gave me to understand how very pleasing this soul was to Him.
I offered the second hour of adoration for the conversion of sinners, and I tried especially to offer expiation to God for the insults that were being committed against Him at this present moment. How greatly God is being offended! I offered the third hour for my spiritual director. I fervently prayed for light for him in a particular matter. Finally the clock struck twelve, the last hour of the year. I finished it in the Name of the Holy Trinity, and I also started the first hour of the New Year in the Name of the Holy Trinity. I asked each of the Three Persons to bless me and, with great confidence, looked toward the New Year which certainly would not be sparing of suffering. 356 O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the testament of God's mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus as proof of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained life eternal and of infinite mercy, dispensed in abundance to us and especially to poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the mercy of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit toward us, and especially toward poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the infinite price of mercy which will compensate for all our debts, and especially those of poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fountain of living water which springs from infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fire of purest love which blazes forth from the bosom of the Eternal Father, as from an abyss of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the medicine for all our infirmities, flowing from infinite mercy, as from a fount, for us and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the union between God and us through His infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom are contained all the sentiments of the most sweet Heart of Jesus toward us, and especially poor sinners. O Blessed Host, our only hope in all the sufferings and adversities of life. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of darkness and of storms within and without. O Blessed Host, our only hope in life and at the hour of our death. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of adversities and floods of despair. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of falsehood and treason. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the darkness and godlessness which inundate the earth. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the longing and pain in which no one will understand us. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the toil and monotony of everyday life. O Blessed Host, our only hope amid the ruin of our hopes and endeavors. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the ravages of the enemy and the efforts of hell. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when the burdens are beyond my strength and I find my efforts are fruitless. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when storms toss my heart about and my fearful spirit tends to despair. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my heart is about to tremble and mortal sweat moistens my brow. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when everything conspires against me and black despair creeps into my soul. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my eyes will begin to grow dim to all temporal things and, for the first time, my spirit will behold the unknown worlds. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my tasks will be beyond my strength and adversity will become my daily lot. O Blessed Host I trust in You when the practice of virtue will appear difficult for me and my nature will grow rebellious. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when hostile blows will be aimed against me. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my toils and efforts will be misjudged by others. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when Your judgments will resound over me; it is then that I will trust in the sea of Your mercy.
Holy
Trinity, One God,
361 incomprehensible in the greatness of Your mercy for creatures, and especially for poor sinners, You have made known the abyss of Your mercy, incomprehensible and unfathomable [as it is] to any mind, whether of man or angel. Our nothingness and our misery are drowned in Your greatness. O infinite goodness, who can ever praise You sufficiently? Can there be found a soul that understands You in Your love? O Jesus, there are such souls, but they are few.
367 +On
one occasion, Jesus gave me to know that when I pray for intentions which
people are wont to entrust to me, He is always ready to grant His graces, but
souls do not always want to accept them: My Heart overflows with great
mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners. If only they could
understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for them that
the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with
mercy. For them I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy. I desire to
bestow My graces upon souls, but they do not want to accept them. You, at
least, come to Me as often as possible and take these graces they do not want
to accept. In this way you will console My Heart. Oh, how indifferent are
souls to so much goodness, to so many proofs of love! My Heart drinks only of
the ingratitude and forgetfulness of souls living in the world. They have
time for everything, but they have no time to come to Me for graces.
So I turn to you, you-chosen souls, will you also fail to understand the love of My Heart? Here, too, My Heart finds disappointment; I do not find complete surrender to My love. So many reservations, so much distrust, so much caution. To comfort you, let Me tell you that there are souls living in the world who love Me dearly. I dwell In their hearts with delight. But they are few. In convents too, there are souls that fill My Heart with joy. They bear My features; therefore the Heavenly Father looks upon them with special pleasure. They will be a marvel to Angels and men. Their number is very small. They are a defense for the world before the justice of the Heavenly Father and a means of obtaining mercy for the world. The love and sacrifice of these souls sustain the world in existence. The infidelity of a soul specially chosen by Me wounds My Heart most painfully. Such infidelities are swords which pierce My Heart.
384 When I
stayed for adoration from nine to ten o'clock, four other sisters stayed;
too. When 1 approached the altar and began to meditate on the Passion of the
Lord Jesus, a terrible pain immediately filled my soul because of the
ingratitude of so many souls living in the world; but particularly painful
was the ingratitude of souls especially chosen by God. There is no notion or
comparison [which can describe it]. At the sight of this blackest
ungratefulness I felt as though my heart were torn open; my strength failed
me completely, and I fell on my face, not attempting to hide my loud cries.
Each time I thought of God's great mercy and of the ingratitude of souls,
pain stabbed at my heart, and I understood how painfully it wounded the
sweetest Heart of Jesus. With a burning heart, I renewed my act of self-oblation
on behalf of sinners.
420 Low
Sunday; that is, the Feast of The Divine Mercy, the conclusion of the Jubilee
of Redemption. When we went to take part in the celebrations, my heart leapt
with joy that the two solemnities were so closely united. I asked God for
mercy on the souls of sinners. Toward the end of the service, when the priest
took the Blessed Sacrament to bless the people, I saw the Lord Jesus as He is
represented in the image. The Lord gave His blessing, and the rays extended
over the whole world. Suddenly, I saw an impenetrable brightness in the form
of a crystal dwelling place, woven together from waves of a brilliance
unapproachable to both creatures and spirits. Three doors led to this
resplendence. At that moment, Jesus, as He is represented in the image,
entered this resplendence through the second door to the Unity within. It is
a triple Unity, which is incomprehensible-which is infinity. I heard a voice,
This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in
the vast depths of My tender mercies. Every soul believing and trusting in My
mercy will obtain it. I was overjoyed at the immense goodness and greatness
of my God.
423 Praise
the Lord, my soul, for everything, and glorify His mercy, for His goodness is
without end. Everything will pass, but His mercy is without limit or end. And
although evil will attain its measure, in mercy there is no measure.
O my God, even in the punishments You send down upon the earth I see the abyss of Your mercy, for by punishing us here on earth You free us from eternal punishment. Rejoice, all you creatures, for you are closer to God in His infinite mercy than a baby to its mother's heart. O God, You are compassion itself for the greatest sinners who sincerely repent. The greater the sinner, the greater his right to God's mercy.
687 Once,
as I was going down the hall to the kitchen, I heard these words in my soul: Say
unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will
receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to
sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most
hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace
from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy.
I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy.
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.
730 +
In this retreat, I shall keep you continually close to My Heart, that you may
better know My mercy, that mercy which I have for people and especially for
poor sinners.
741 Today,
I was led by an Angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture;
how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the
first torture that constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is
perpetual remorse of conscience; the third is that one's condition will never
change; the fourth is the fire that will penetrate the soul without
destroying it-a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit
by God's anger; the fifth torture is continual darkness and a terrible
suffocating smell, and, despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the
damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own; the
sixth torture is the constant company of Satan; the seventh torture is
horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies. These
are the tortures suffered by all the damned together, but that is not the end
of the sufferings. There are special tortures destined for particular souls.
These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and
indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned. There
are caverns and pits of torture where one form of agony differs from another.
I would have died at the very sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of
God had not supported me. Let the sinner know that he will be tortured
throughout all eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin. I am
writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by
saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one
can say what it is like.
I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. I cannot speak about it now; but I have received a command from God to leave it in writing. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell. When I came to, I could hardly recover from the fright. How terribly souls suffer there! Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the conversion of sinners. I incessantly plead God's mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, than offend You by the least sin.
793 I am
reliving these moments with Our Lady. With great longing, I am waiting for
the Lord's coming. Great are my desires. I desire that all humankind come to
know the Lord. I would like to prepare all nations for the coming of the Word
Incarnate. O Jesus, make the fount of Your mercy gush forth more abundantly,
for humankind is seriously ill and thus has more need than ever of Your
compassion. You are a bottomless sea of mercy for us sinners; and the greater
the misery, the more right we have to Your mercy. You are a fount which makes
all creatures happy by Your infinite mercy.
845 Before
the vigil supper, I entered the chapel for a moment to break the wafer
spiritually with those dear to my heart. I presented them all, by name, to
Jesus and begged for graces on their behalf. But that wasn't all. I commended
to the Lord all those who are being persecuted, those who are suffering,
those who do not know His Name, and especially poor sinners. O little Jesus,
I fervently ask You, enclose them all in the ocean of Your incomprehensible
mercy. O sweet little Jesus, here is my heart; let it be a little cozy
dwelling place for Yourself. O Infinite Majesty, with what sweetness You drew
close to us. Here, there is no dread of the thunderbolts of the great
Jehovah; here, there is the sweet little Jesus. Here, no soul is afraid,
although Your majesty has not lessened, but only concealed itself. After
supper, I felt very tired and was in pain. I had to lie down. But I kept
vigil with the Most Holy Mother, awaiting the arrival of the little Child.
873
January 8. On Friday morning, as I was going to the chapel to attend Holy
Mass, I suddenly saw a huge juniper tree on the pavement and in it a horrible
cat who, looking angrily at me, blocked my way to the chapel. One whisper of
the name of Jesus dissipated all that. I offered the whole day for dying
sinners. During Holy Mass, I felt the closeness of the Lord in a special way.
After Holy Communion, I turned my gaze with trust toward the Lord and told
him, "Jesus, I so much desire to tell You something." And the Lord
looked at me with love and said, And what is it that you desire to tell
Me?
"Jesus, I beg You, by the inconceivable power of Your mercy, that all the souls who will die today escape the fire of hell, even if they have been the greatest sinners. Today is Friday, the memorial of Your bitter agony on the Cross; because Your mercy is inconceivable, the Angels will not be surprised at this." Jesus pressed me to His Heart and said, My beloved daughter, you have come to know well the depths of My mercy. I will do what you ask, but unite yourself continually with My agonizing Heart and make reparation to My justice. Know that you have asked Me for a great thing, but I see that this was dictated by your pure love for Me; that is why I am complying with your requests.
875 Today,
I experienced a great suffering during the visit of our sisters. I learned of
something that hurt me terribly, but I controlled myself so that the sisters
didn't notice anything. For some time, the pain was tearing my heart apart,
but all that is for the sake of poor sinners.... O Jesus, for poor
sinners.... Jesus, my strength, stay close to me, help me....
893
January 22, [1937]. Today is Friday. My soul is in a sea of suffering.
Sinners have taken everything away from me. But that is all right; I have
given everything away for their sake that they might know that You are good
and infinitely merciful. I shall be faithful to You, come rain or shine.
908 + O
Jesus, how sorry I feel for poor sinners. Jesus, grant them contrition and
repentance. Remember Your own sorrowful Passion. I know Your infinite mercy
and cannot bear it that a soul that has cost You so much should perish.
Jesus, give me the souls of sinners; let Your mercy rest upon them. Take
everything away from me, but give me souls. I want to become a sacrificial
host for sinners. Let the shell of my body conceal my offering, for Your Most
Sacred Heart is also hidden in a Host, and certainly You are a living
sacrifice.
Transform me into Yourself, O Jesus, that I may be a living sacrifice and pleasing to You. I desire to atone at each moment for poor sinners. The sacrifice of my spirit is hidden under the veil of the body; the human eye does not perceive it, and for that reason it is pure and pleasing to You. O my Creator and Father of great mercy, I trust in You, for You are Goodness Itself. Souls, do not be afraid of God, but trust in Him, for He is good, and His mercy is everlasting.
927 On these
two days, I received Holy Communion as an act of reparation, and I said to
the Lord, "Jesus, I offer everything today for sinners. Let the blows of
Your justice fall on me, and the sea of Your mercy engulf the poor
sinners." And the Lord heard my prayer: many souls returned to the Lord,
but I was in agony under the yoke of God's justice. I felt I was the object
of the anger of the Most High God. By evening my sufferings had reached such
a stage of interior desolation that moans welled up involuntarily from my
breast. I locked the door of my room and began an adoration; that is to say,
a Holy Hour. Interior desolation and an experience of God's justice-that was
my prayer; and the moans and pain that welled up from my soul took the place
of a sweet conversation with the Lord.
929 When I
had rested near His sweetest Heart, I told Him, "Jesus, I have so much
to tell You." And the Lord said to me with great love, Speak, My
daughter. And I started to enumerate the pains of my heart; that is, how
greatly concerned I am for all mankind, that "they all do not know You,
and those who do know You do not love You as You deserve to be loved. I also
see how terribly sinners offend You; and then again, I see how severely the
faithful, especially Your servants, are oppressed and persecuted. And then,
too, I see many souls rushing headlong into the terrible abyss of hell. You
see, Jesus, this is the pain that gnaws at my heart and bones. And, although
You show me special love and inundate my heart with streams of Your joys,
nevertheless, this does not appease the sufferings I have just mentioned, but
rather they penetrate my poor heart all the more acutely. Oh, how ardently I
desire that all mankind turn with trust to Your mercy. Then, seeing the glory
of Your name, my heart will be comforted."
Jesus listened to these outpourings of my heart with gravity and interest, as if He had known nothing about them, and this seemed to make it easier for me to talk. And the Lord said to me, My daughter, those words of your heart are pleasing to Me, and by saying the chaplet you are bringing humankind closer to Me. After these words, I found myself alone, but the presence of God is always in my soul.
934 Small
practices for Lent. Although I wish and desire to do so, I cannot practice
big mortifications as before, because I am under the strict surveillance of
the doctor. But I can practice little things: first-sleep without a pillow;
keep myself a little hungry; every day, with my arms outstretched, say the
chaplet which the Lord taught me; occasionally, with arms outstretched, for
an indefinite period of time pray informally. Intention: to beg divine mercy
for poor sinners, and for priests, the power to bring sinful hearts to
repentance.
942
February 11, [1937]. Today is Friday. During Mass, I suffered pain in my
body: in my hands, my feet and my side. Jesus is sending me this kind of
suffering that I may make reparation for sinners. The pain is brief, but very
severe. I do not suffer for more than a couple of minutes, but the impression
remains for a long time and is very vivid.
943 +
Today, I feel such desolation in my soul that I do not know how to explain it
even to myself. I would like to hide from people and cry endlessly. No one
understands a heart wounded by love, and when such a heart feels itself
abandoned interiorly, no one can comfort it. O souls of sinners, you have
taken the Lord away from me, but all right, all right; you get to know how
sweet the Lord is, and let the whole sea of bitterness flood my heart. I have
given all my divine comforts to you.
951 + O incomprehensible and
limitless Mercy Divine, To extol and adore You worthily, who can? Supreme
attribute of Almighty God, You are the sweet hope for sinful man.
Into one hymn yourselves unite, stars, earth and sea, and in one accord, thankfully and fervently sing of the incomprehensible Divine Mercy.
975 Today
I heard these words: Pray for souls that they be not afraid to approach
the tribunal of My mercy. Do not grow weary of praying for sinners. You know
what a burden their souls are to My Heart. Relieve My deathly sorrow;
dispense My mercy.
999 Last
night I was in such pain that I thought it was the end. The doctors could not
diagnose what the sickness was. I felt as if my entrails had been torn to
shreds, but after a few hours of such sufferings I am all right. All this is
for sinners. Let Your mercy descend upon them, O Lord.
1059 Jesus
is commanding me to make a novena before the Feast of Mercy, and today I am
to begin it for the conversion of the whole world and for the recognition of
The Divine Mercy... so that every soul will praise My goodness. I desire
trust from My creatures. Encourage souls to place great trust in My
fathomless mercy. Let the weak, sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for
even if it had more sins than there are grains of sand in the world, all
would be drowned in the unmeasurable depths of My mercy.
1062 + I
made an hour of adoration in thanksgiving for the graces which had been
granted me and for my illness. Illness also is a great grace. I have been ill
for four months, but I do not recall having wasted so much as a minute of it.
All has been for God and souls; I want to be faithful to Him everywhere.
During this adoration, I realized the utter care and goodness that Jesus has been lavishing upon me and the protection He has given me against all evil. I thank You especially, Jesus, for visiting me in my solitude, and I thank You also for inspiring my superiors to send me for this treatment. Give them, Jesus, the omnipotence of Your blessing and compensate them for all the losses incurred because of me.
1063
Today, Jesus is bidding me to comfort and reassure a certain soul who has
opened herself to me and told me about her difficulties. This soul is
pleasing to the Lord, but she is not aware of it. God is keeping her in deep
humility. I have carried out the Lord's directives.
1064 + O
my most sweet Master, good Jesus, I give You my heart. You shape and mold it
after Your liking. O fathomless love, I open the calyx of my heart to You,
like a rosebud to the freshness of dew. To You alone, my Betrothed, is known
the fragrance of the flower of my heart. Let the fragrance of my sacrifice be
pleasing to You. O Immortal God, my everlasting delight, already here on
earth You are my heaven. May every beat of my heart be a new hymn of praise
to You, O Holy Trinity! Had I as many hearts as there are drops of water in
the ocean or grains of sand in the whole world, I would offer them all to
You, O my Love, O Treasure of my heart! Whomever I shall meet in my life, no
matter who they may be, I want to draw them all to love You, O my Jesus, my
Beauty, my Repose, my sole Master, Judge, Savior and Spouse, all in one; I
know that one title will modify the other-I have entrusted everything to Your
mercy.
1065 + My
Jesus, support me when difficult and stormy days come, days of testing, days
of ordeal, when suffering and fatigue begin to oppress my body and my soul.
Sustain me, Jesus, and give me strength to bear suffering. Set a guard upon
my lips that they may address no word of complaint to creatures. Your most
merciful Heart is all my hope. I have nothing for my defense but only Your
mercy; in it lies all my trust.
1122 God
of great mercy, who deigned to send us Your only begotten Son as the greatest
proof of Your fathomless love and mercy, You do not reject sinners; but in
Your boundless mercy You have opened for them also Your treasures, treasures
from which they can draw abundantly, not only justification, but also all the
sanctity that a soul can attain. Father of great mercy, I desire that all
hearts turn with confidence to Your infinite mercy. No one will be justified
before You if he is not accompanied by Your unfathomable mercy. When You
reveal the mystery of Your mercy to us, there will not be enough of eternity
to properly thank You for it.
1123 Oh, how sweet it is to have in the depth of one's soul that which the Church tells us we must believe. When my soul is immersed in love, I solve the most intricate questions clearly and quickly. Only love is able to cross over precipices and mountain peaks. Love, once again, love.
1396 Today
I heard a voice in my soul: Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not
perish in such great numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach
Me; speak to them of My great mercy.
1397 The
Lord said to me, The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You
always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me
is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer
is always heard and answered.
1446 The
Lord said to me, It should be of no concern to you how anyone else acts;
you are to be My living reflection, through love and mercy. I answered,
"Lord, but they often take advantage of my goodness." That makes
no difference, My daughter. That is no concern of yours. As for you, be
always merciful toward other people, and especially toward sinners.
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-I-186-187, 206, 280, 308-309, 319, 320)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-I-324, 349, 350, 355-356, 361, 367, 384)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-I-420, 423)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-II-687, 699, 730, 741, 793, 854, 873, 875)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-II-893, 908, 927, 929, 934, 942-943, 951)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-II-975, 999)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-III-1059, 1062-1065, 1122-1123)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-1393-1397)
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