“Jesus, I Trust in You,” was the message of Divine Mercy that Jesus gave to us through Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. She was the third of ten children, born in Poland on August 25, 1905, died October 5, 1938, and canonized on April 30, 2000.
As a sister with the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, St. Faustina had a deep interior life. Jesus revealed the devotion of Divine Mercy to her which includes the powerful Chaplet of Mercy.
The devotion revealed a way of trust. “Jesus, I Trust in You” are the words written under the Divine Mercy image he asked her to have painted, showing rays of blood and water flowing from his heart.
Rather than coming as a judge, Jesus gave St. Faustina messages of mercy and forgiveness for us all to access and call down on others through the chaplet. “I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful heart,” is one of the messages from Jesus she recorded in her diary, eventually published as Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul. “My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God,” she explained, setting the example of the way to holiness for us all.
Rather than coming as a judge, Jesus gave St. Faustina messages of mercy and forgiveness for us all to access and call down on others through the chaplet. “I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful heart,” is one of the messages from Jesus she recorded in her diary, eventually published as Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul. “My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God,” she explained, setting the example of the way to holiness for us all.
St. Faustina’s deepest desire was to be united with God and to help save souls. Reading her diary is an intimate encounter with Christ and a witness to surrender. In the new book, Day by Day with Saint Faustina: 365 Reflections, author Susan Tassone, arranged the diary with short reflections and prayers into a daily a walk with St. Faustina to Jesus, Not only do the writings of this humble nun lead us closer to Jesus, but she herself pledged friendship and intercession for us.
Jesus told St. Faustina what he wants from us: trust in His mercy and to be merciful to others. As we strive to do this, Jesus walks close by our side and St. Faustina intercedes for us from heaven.
Tassone’s excerpt for October 4 reveals that even before St. Faustina’s fellow sisters knew Jesus was appearing to her, they sensed that she was a powerful intercessor.
“Today, one of the sisters…came to see me and said, ‘Sister, I have a strange feeling, as though something were telling me to come to you and commend to you certain problems of mind before you die, and that perhaps you will be able to beseech the Lord Jesus and arrange these things for me. Something keeps telling me that you will be able to obtain this for me.” I answered her with equal frankness that, yes, I felt in my soul that after my death I would be able to obtain more from the Lord Jesus than at the present time. I will remember you, Sister, before His throne.’” (Diary, 1614).
Reflection: Like the sister in today’s quote we can go to St. Faustina…now. She stands ready to remember us “before His throne.”
Prayer: Dear St. Faustina, please intercede for me. I need help with_____. Jesus, I trust in you.”
Teach Our Children to Trust
It is a lifelong task to surrender our lives to Jesus; to trust in him. Here are some materials that can help parents explain Divine Mercy and introduce children to St. Faustina and the message of mercy and trust:
Another new book for young children that teaches the lesson of trusting in God is The Seed Who Was Afraid to be Planted (ages 3 and up) by Anthony DeStefano. It is not about St. Faustina, but it imparts the message of trust and surrender by letting go of fear. The story retells the parable of the grain of wheat. The seed wants to stay safe and cozy in a drawer with the other seeds, fearing the unknown. But after getting planted, the seed is transformed. The message is: no matter how small or scared we may be, God has great plans for us—plans even more wonderful than we can imagine if we just trust and follow His will.
In the end, trust and surrender to a life we cannot really control anyways, takes away much of the burden and opens us up fully to all that God has for us.
Jesus, we trust in you! St. Faustina, pray for us!
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