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<strong>JESUS</strong><br />
<strong>TRUSTS</strong> <strong>IN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong>
<strong>JESUS</strong><br />
<strong>TRUSTS</strong> <strong>IN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong><br />
AN EXTRAORD<strong>IN</strong>ARY BOOK ON DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY
ZACCHAEUS,<br />
WRITE <strong>YOU</strong>R NAME<br />
CoME DoWN QuICKLY,<br />
For ToDAY I MuST<br />
STAY AT Your houSE<br />
Lk 19:5<br />
COME DOWN FROM THE TREE<br />
AND LIVE THE ADVENTURE<br />
WITH THE MERCY<br />
OF GOD
TAbLE<br />
OF CONTENTS<br />
<strong>IN</strong>TRODUCTION<br />
9<br />
143<br />
FEAST<br />
OF DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY<br />
43<br />
ST. SISTER<br />
FAUST<strong>IN</strong>A<br />
ST. JOHN PAUL II<br />
MESSAGE<br />
TO <strong>YOU</strong>TH<br />
23<br />
63<br />
159<br />
THE WAY<br />
OF MERCY<br />
MEDITATION<br />
153<br />
THE SHR<strong>IN</strong>E OF DIV<strong>IN</strong>E<br />
MERCY<br />
185<br />
CONFESSION<br />
THE SACRAMENT<br />
?<br />
OF MERCY<br />
DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY<br />
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS<br />
HOW DO I CONFESS?<br />
227 229<br />
THE HOUR OF MERCY<br />
135<br />
CHAPLET OF<br />
DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY<br />
X<br />
127<br />
DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY IMAGE “<strong>JESUS</strong>, I TRUST <strong>IN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong>”<br />
81 115
WORD FROM METROPOLITAN OF KRAKÓW<br />
TO PARTICIPANTS OF THE THE THIRTY-FIRST<br />
WORLD <strong>YOU</strong>TH DAY<br />
KRAKÓW 2016<br />
<strong>IN</strong>TRODUCTION
I welcome you to the country<br />
which, through the baptism of Prince<br />
Mieszko I in 966, opened itself up<br />
to the Gospel…<br />
10<br />
AND<br />
ACCEPTED<br />
<strong>JESUS</strong> CHRIST<br />
AS ITS LORD<br />
AND SAVIOuR
O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD,<br />
FOR HE IS GOOD;<br />
HIS MERCY<br />
ENDURES FOREVER! Ps 118 (117):1<br />
With these words from the Psalm normally sung in church on<br />
the first Sunday after Easter, known as Mercy Sunday, let me<br />
cordially welcome all participants of World Youth Day. We are<br />
grateful to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for choosing Kraków<br />
and Poland as the place of gathering of young people from<br />
all over the world so that they can bear witness to their faith<br />
in Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen to share peace and love,<br />
goodness and kindness with all people of good will.<br />
I welcome you to Poland and to Kraków, the homeland of<br />
John Paul II. I welcome you to the country which, through<br />
the baptism of Prince Mieszko I in 966, opened itself up to<br />
the Gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as its Lord and Saviour.<br />
Fifteen hundred years ago, the foreheads of our ancestors<br />
were anointed with the waters of baptism and the sacrament’s<br />
grace filled their hearts making of them a harvest of Christ’s<br />
teaching. Therefore, Christ has been present in our history and<br />
life for over a thousand years, shaping the attitude of Poles<br />
from the Oder to the Vistula and Bug rivers, from the Tatra<br />
Mountains to the Baltic Sea. Christ suffering on the cross has<br />
become a symbol of our past, marking the history of Poland,<br />
particularly in times of wars, persecution, and the country’s occupation.<br />
Our Risen Lord was a symbol in the times of Hitler’s<br />
occupation and long years of communist subjugation. He was<br />
a source of hope and of the strength needed to persevere in<br />
following God and His rule.<br />
We invite young people from all over the world to our Polish<br />
Cenacle where we reserve an important place for the Lord’s<br />
Mother. Mary carries the title of the Queen of Poland and<br />
is venerated in numerous paintings and figures, the most famous<br />
one is the Black Madonna of Częstochowa at Jasna Góra.<br />
Apart from Mary, Poland holds hosts of Polish saints and<br />
blesseds: St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr; St. Kinga; Bl. Salome;<br />
St. Jadwiga, who was queen; St. John of Cantius; Bl. Zofia<br />
Czeska; Bl. Stanislaus Papczyński; St. Raphael Kalinowski;<br />
St. Brother Albert Chmielowski: St. Ursula Ledóchowska and<br />
Bl. Maria Teresa Ledóchowska, who were sisters; St. Maximillian<br />
Maria Kolbe and many saint and blessed martyrs of<br />
World War II; Bl. Jerzy Popiełuszko, martyred by communist<br />
authorities; and St. Sister Faustina Kowalska and St. John<br />
Paul II, who are called Apostles of Divine Mercy.<br />
Dear young people, along with your ministers, you are coming<br />
from various parts of the world: from Europe, Africa, America,<br />
Asia, Australia and Oceania, to the homeland of John Paul<br />
WHAT IS<br />
THE RECIPE<br />
FOR<br />
HOL<strong>IN</strong>ESS?<br />
12 13<br />
Mt 22, 36-40<br />
© DAYENU
Image of Our Lady of Częstochowa<br />
Black Madonna<br />
14 15
II in order to share your experience of faith and joy of believing<br />
in Christ. In this Polish Cenacle, we feel moved by the call that<br />
the Christ made to His disciples: “As the Father has sent me,<br />
so I send you” (Jn 20:21). Over two thousand years ago, when<br />
saying these words, Jesus showed His disciples His pierced<br />
hands and His side. He showed them wounds inflicted on Him<br />
by Roman soldiers during His ordeal. Most of all, He showed<br />
them His wounded Heart from which poured a torrent of love<br />
over the world.<br />
Gathering in Kraków’s Cenacle of Divine Mercy, we come to<br />
realize that we have been brought here by the Merciful Jesus.<br />
He has called us here and has given us courage to travel from<br />
very distant places to come here and to once again hear the<br />
proclamation of love and bear witness to God’s great love for<br />
His people.<br />
In Kraków, together with the Holy Father Pope Francis, we<br />
want to look at the image of the Merciful Jesus at the rays of<br />
light emanating from His heart onto the whole world. “The<br />
two rays – Jesus explained to St. Faustina – denote Blood<br />
and Water” (Diary, 299). We are here to once again relive<br />
this Gospel scene, depicted by St. John, and contemplate the<br />
greatest mystery of our salvation. The blood that flowed from<br />
Jesus’s pierced side (see Jn 19:34) reminds us of the Sacrifice<br />
of the Cross and the gift of the Holy Mass; and water is a symbol<br />
not just of baptism, but also of the gift of the Holy Spirit<br />
(see Jn 3:5; 4:14; 7:37-39), who enlightens our minds and hearts,<br />
showing the ways in which we are going to bring love to the<br />
world.<br />
Today, looking at the Merciful Jesus, we contemplate the<br />
mystery of Jesus, Crucified and Risen, who continuously shows<br />
us the mystery of Divine Mercy. Today, Christ says to us what<br />
He told St. Faustina: “Tell [all people], My daughter that I<br />
am love and mercy itself” (Diary, 1074). God’s Mercy pours<br />
out over the whole of humanity through the sacraments of<br />
the Church. Mercy, as John Paul II wrote in encyclical Dives in<br />
Misericordia (No. 7), is “love’s second name”, indicating God’s<br />
unlimited ability to forgive our sins.<br />
We believe that Christ entrusted St. Faustina with his message<br />
of mercy so that she could pass it to the world. God gave<br />
us this message at a very difficult point in the world’s history<br />
– between World War I and World War II – at the time when<br />
humanity experienced horrific atrocities embodied by concentration<br />
camps and gulags. Jesus said to St. Faustina: “Mankind<br />
will not find peace until it returns with trust to my mercy”<br />
(Diary, 300). Thanks to St. Faustina and John Paul II – for whom<br />
we thank God – this message has become a sign of hope for<br />
humanity, like “a bridge to the third millennium”. That is how<br />
St. John Paul II referred to Divine Mercy.<br />
Gathering in Kraków, let us look at a special Apostle of Mercy,<br />
namely St. John Paul II. With courage he stood by St. Sister<br />
Faustina carrying the message of mercy to distant corners of<br />
the world. Even as a young worker at Solvay, Karol Wojtyła<br />
used to come to the sanctuary chapel in Łagiewniki to pray<br />
before the image of the Merciful Jesus. Later on, as Archbishop<br />
of Kraków, he started the process of beatification of Sister<br />
Faustina. As Pope, he made the message of mercy the central<br />
point of his teaching. He discussed the teaching of God’s Mercy<br />
in his encyclical Dives in Misericordia – God who is rich in<br />
mercy. Canonising Sister Faustina on 30 th April 2000, he established<br />
the Feast of Divine Mercy. During his apostolic visit to<br />
his home country on 17 th August 2002, he entrusted the whole<br />
world to Divine Mercy.<br />
This act of entrusting became a special declaration of faith<br />
as he was convinced that God had given us the message of<br />
mercy as a sign for humanity which is losing itself in materialism.<br />
Quoting St. Faustina: “Mankind will not find peace until it<br />
16 17
eturns with trust to my mercy”, St. John Paul II reminded us<br />
that “the light of Divine Mercy, which the Lord in a way wished<br />
to return to the world through Sister Faustina’s charism, will<br />
illumine the way for the men and women of the third millennium”<br />
(Homily of John Paul II at the canonisation of Sister Faustina,<br />
Rome, 30 th April 2000).<br />
Divine Mercy is indeed a light for the world and the whole<br />
of mankind because it reminds us that people cannot live without<br />
God’s merciful love. People simply cannot exist without<br />
God; they lose their way and become monsters for others, dangerous<br />
beasts. The message of mercy also brings in another<br />
important truth: through merciful love, a love offered unconditionally,<br />
a person opens up to another person. Overcoming<br />
loneliness, he or she builds a community: a family, a home, a<br />
community of friendship and kindness. Here, in Łagiewniki, John<br />
Paul II said: “apart from the mercy of God there is no other<br />
source of hope for mankind” (Homily at the consecration of<br />
the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Kraków, 17 th August 2002).<br />
The spreading of the message of Divine Mercy, which the<br />
world was reminded of by St. Faustina and was shown afresh<br />
in the teaching of St. John Paul II, was continued by Pope Benedict<br />
XVI for the eight years of his pontificate, and now by Pope<br />
Francis, who in the papal bull Misericordiae Vultus has announced<br />
that this is an Extraordinary Year of Mercy. The Holy<br />
Father has emphasized that this mercy is the name of God who<br />
revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore today<br />
we still need to contemplate the mystery of mercy: “It is a<br />
wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends<br />
on it. Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the Most<br />
Holy Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which<br />
God comes to meet us” (Misericordiae Vultus, 2). Mercy discovered<br />
in God is a basic right that resides in the heart of every<br />
© DAYENU<br />
18 19
person. It shows itself when a person looks with sincerity at<br />
his or her brother met on their journey of life. Mercy is a route<br />
connecting God with a person, because it opens up their heart<br />
giving hope of being loved eternally despite the limitations of<br />
our sin. Mercy unites people and opens them to each other.<br />
At this special place we wish to share the joy of being disciples<br />
of Christ and apostles of Divine Mercy. The Holy Father<br />
John Paul II entrusted the Church and the whole world to Divine<br />
Mercy and encouraged us to pass the message of mercy<br />
to the whole world bringing hope to men’s hearts. “Mankind<br />
will not find peace until it returns with trust to my mercy!”<br />
May those words accompany us during the World Youth Days<br />
and may they inspire us to be apostles of mercy in the contemporary<br />
world.<br />
Stanisław Cardinal Dziwisz<br />
Metropolitan of Kraków<br />
Kraków, The Feast of Presentation of the Lord,<br />
2 nd February 2016<br />
20 21
MESSAGE OF HIS HOL<strong>IN</strong>ESS POPE FRANCIS<br />
FOR THE THIRTY-FIRST WORLD <strong>YOU</strong>TH DAY 2016<br />
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”<br />
(Mt 5:7)<br />
MESSAGE<br />
TO <strong>YOU</strong>TH
Dear Young People,<br />
We have come to the last stretch of our pilgrimage to Kraków,<br />
the place where we will celebrate the 31 st World Youth Day<br />
next year in the month of July. We are being guided on this<br />
long and challenging path by Jesus’ words taken from the Sermon<br />
on the Mount. We began this journey in 2014 by meditating<br />
together on the first Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in<br />
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3). The theme<br />
for 2015 was: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see<br />
God” (Mt 5:8). During the year ahead, let us allow ourselves<br />
to be inspired by the words: “Blessed are the merciful, for they<br />
shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7).<br />
1. The Jubilee of Mercy<br />
With this theme, the Kraków 2016 WYD forms part of the<br />
Holy Year of Mercy and so becomes a Youth Jubilee at world<br />
level. It is not the first time that an international youth gathering<br />
has coincided with a Jubilee Year. Indeed, it was during<br />
the Holy Year of the Redemption (1983/1984) that Saint John<br />
Paul II first called on young people from around the world<br />
to come together on Palm Sunday. Then, during the Great<br />
Jubilee of the year 2000, over two million young people from<br />
around 165 countries gathered in Rome for the 15 th World<br />
Youth Day. I am sure that the Youth Jubilee in Kraków will be,<br />
as on those two previous occasions, one of the high points of<br />
this Holy Year!<br />
Perhaps some of you are asking: what is this Jubilee Year that<br />
is celebrated in the Church? The scriptural text of Leviticus 5<br />
can help us to understand the meaning of a “jubilee” for the<br />
people of Israel. Every fifty years they heard the sounding of<br />
A YEAR ACCEPTABLE TO THE LORD<br />
a trumpet (jobel) calling them (jobil) to celebrate<br />
a holy year as a time of reconciliation (jobal) for<br />
everyone. During that time they had to renew<br />
their good relations with God, with their neighbours<br />
and with creation, all in a spirit of gratuitousness.<br />
This fostered, among other things, debt<br />
forgiveness, special help for those who had fallen into<br />
poverty, an improvement in interpersonal relations and the<br />
freeing of slaves.<br />
Jesus Christ came to proclaim and bring about the Lord’s<br />
everlasting time of grace. He brought good news to the poor,<br />
freedom to prisoners, sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed<br />
(cf. Lk 4:18-19). In Jesus, and particularly in His Paschal<br />
Mystery, the deeper meaning of the jubilee is fully realized.<br />
When the Church proclaims a jubilee in the name of Christ,<br />
we are all invited to experience a wonderful time of grace. The<br />
Church must offer abundant signs of God’s presence and closeness,<br />
and reawaken in people’s hearts the ability to look to the<br />
essentials. In particular, this Holy Year of Mercy is “a time for<br />
the Church to rediscover the meaning of the mission entrusted<br />
to her by the Lord on the day of Easter: to be a sign and an<br />
instrument of the Father’s mercy” (Homily at First Vespers of<br />
Divine Mercy Sunday, 11 th April 2015).<br />
24 25
2. Merciful like the Father<br />
The motto for this Extraordinary Jubilee is “Merciful like the<br />
Father” (cf. Misericordiae Vultus, 13). This fits in with the<br />
theme of the next WYD, so let us try to better understand the<br />
meaning of divine mercy.<br />
The Old Testament uses various terms when it speaks about<br />
mercy. The most meaningful of these are hesed and rahamim.<br />
The first, when applied to God, expresses God’s unfailing fidelity<br />
to the Covenant with His people whom He loves and<br />
forgives for ever. The second, rahamim, which literally means<br />
“entrails”, can be translated as “heartfelt mercy”. This particularly<br />
brings to mind the maternal womb and helps us understand<br />
that God’s love for His people is like that of a mother<br />
for her child. That is how it is presented by the prophet Isaiah:<br />
“Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the<br />
child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget<br />
you” (Is 49:15). Love of this kind involves making space for others<br />
within ourselves and being able to sympathize, suffer and<br />
rejoice with our neighbors.<br />
The biblical concept of mercy also includes the tangible<br />
presence of love that is faithful, freely given and able to forgive.<br />
In the following passage from Hosea, we have a beautiful<br />
example of God’s love, which the prophet compares to that of<br />
a father for his child:<br />
26
“When Israel was a child I loved him;<br />
out of Egypt I called my son.<br />
The more I called them,<br />
the farther they went from me…<br />
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,<br />
who took them in my arms;<br />
I drew them with human cords,<br />
with bands of love;<br />
I fostered them like one<br />
who raises an infant to his cheeks…<br />
I stooped to feed my child.”<br />
Hos 11:1-4<br />
Despite the child’s wrong attitude that deserves punishment,<br />
a father’s love is faithful. He always forgives His repentant<br />
children. We see here how forgiveness is always included<br />
in mercy. It is “not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality with<br />
which he reveals his love as of that of a father or a mother,<br />
moved to the very depths out of love for their child… It gushes<br />
forth from the depths naturally, full of tenderness and compassion,<br />
indulgence and mercy” (Misericordiae Vultus, 6).<br />
The New Testament speaks to us of divine mercy (eleos) as<br />
a synthesis of the work that Jesus came to accomplish in the<br />
world in the name of the Father (cf. Mt 9:13). Our Lord’s mercy<br />
can be seen especially when He bends down to human misery<br />
and shows His compassion for those in need of understanding,<br />
healing and forgiveness. Everything in Jesus speaks of mercy.<br />
Indeed, He Himself is mercy.<br />
In Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel we find the three parables<br />
of mercy: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the parable of the<br />
prodigal son. In these three parables we are struck by God’s<br />
joy, the joy that God feels when He finds and forgives a sinner.<br />
Yes, it is God’s joy to forgive! This sums up the whole of the<br />
Gospel. “Each of us, each one of us, is that little lost lamb,<br />
the coin that was mislaid; each one of us is that son who has<br />
squandered his freedom on false idols, illusions of happiness,<br />
and has lost everything. But God does not forget us; the Father<br />
never abandons us. He is a patient Father, always waiting for<br />
us! He respects our freedom, but he remains faithful forever.<br />
EVERYTH<strong>IN</strong>G <strong>IN</strong> <strong>JESUS</strong> SPEAKS OF MERCY<br />
<strong>IN</strong>DEED, HE HIMSELF IS MERCY<br />
28 29
And when we come back to him, he welcomes us like children<br />
into his house, for he never ceases, not for one instant, to wait<br />
for us with love. And his heart rejoices over every child who<br />
returns. He is celebrating because he is joy. God has this joy,<br />
when one of us sinners goes to him and asks his forgiveness”<br />
(Angelus, 15 th September 2013).<br />
God’s mercy is very real and we are all called to experience<br />
it firsthand. When I was seventeen years old, it happened one<br />
day that, as I was about to go out with friends, I decided to<br />
stop into a church first. I met a priest there who inspired great<br />
confidence, and I felt the desire to open my heart in Confession.<br />
That meeting changed my life! I discovered that when we<br />
open our hearts with humility and transparency, we can contemplate<br />
God’s mercy in a very concrete way. I felt certain that,<br />
in the person of that priest, God was already waiting for me<br />
even before I took the step of entering that church. We keep<br />
looking for God, but God is there before us, always looking for<br />
us, and He finds us first. Maybe one of you feels something<br />
weighing on your heart. You are thinking: I did this, I did that…<br />
Do not be afraid! God is waiting for you! God is a Father and He<br />
is always waiting for us! It is so wonderful to feel the merciful<br />
embrace of the Father in the sacrament of Reconciliation, to<br />
discover that the confessional is a place of mercy, and to allow<br />
ourselves to be touched by the merciful love of the Lord who<br />
always forgives us!<br />
You, dear young man, dear young woman, have you ever felt<br />
the gaze of everlasting love upon you, a gaze that looks beyond<br />
your sins, limitations and failings, and continues to have<br />
faith in you and to look upon your life with hope? Do you realize<br />
how precious you are to God, who has given you everything<br />
out of love? Saint Paul tells us that “God proves his love for<br />
us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom<br />
5:8). Do we really understand the power of these words?<br />
DO NOT<br />
BE AFRAID<br />
TO LOOK<br />
<strong>IN</strong> HIS EYES<br />
30 31
I know how much the WYD cross means to all of you. It was<br />
a gift from Saint John Paul II and has been with you at all your<br />
World Meetings since 1984. So many changes and real conversions<br />
have taken place in the lives of young people who have<br />
encountered this simple bare cross! Perhaps you have asked<br />
yourselves the question: what is the origin of the extraordinary<br />
power of the cross?<br />
Here is the answer:<br />
the cross is the most eloquent sign<br />
of God’s mercy!<br />
It tells us that the measure of God’s love<br />
for humanity is to love without measure!<br />
Through the cross we can touch God’s mercy<br />
and be touched by that mercy!<br />
Here I would recall the episode of the two thieves crucified<br />
beside Jesus. One of them is arrogant and does not admit that<br />
he is a sinner. He mocks the Lord. The other acknowledges<br />
that he has done wrong; he turns to the Lord saying: “Jesus,<br />
remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Jesus looks<br />
at him with infinite mercy and replies: “Today you will be with<br />
me in Paradise” (cf. Lk 23:32, 39-43). With which of the two do<br />
we identify? Is it with the arrogant one who does not acknowledge<br />
his own mistakes? Or is it with the other, who accepts<br />
that he is in need of divine mercy and begs for it with all his<br />
heart? It is in the Lord, who gave His life for us on the cross,<br />
that we will always find that unconditional love which sees<br />
our lives as something good and always gives us the chance<br />
to start again.<br />
3. The amazing joy of being instruments of<br />
God’s mercy<br />
The Word of God teaches us that “it is more blessed to give<br />
than to receive” (Ac 20:35). That is why the fifth Beatitude<br />
declares that the merciful are blessed. We know that the Lord<br />
loved us first. But we will be truly blessed and happy only when<br />
we enter into the divine “logic” of gift and gracious love,<br />
when we discover that God has loved us infinitely in order to<br />
make us capable of loving like Him, without measure. Saint<br />
John says: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is<br />
of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows<br />
God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is<br />
love… In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he<br />
loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if<br />
God so loved us, we also must love one another” (1 Jn 4:7-11).<br />
34 35
After this very brief summary of how the Lord bestows his<br />
mercy upon us, I would like to give you some suggestions on<br />
how we can be instruments of this mercy for others.<br />
I think of the example of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. He<br />
said, “Jesus pays me a visit every morning in Holy Communion,<br />
and I return the visit in the meagre way I know how, visiting the<br />
poor”. Pier Giorgio was a young man who understood what it<br />
means to have a merciful heart that responds to those most<br />
in need. He gave them far more than material goods. He gave<br />
himself by giving his time, his words and his capacity to listen.<br />
He served the poor very quietly and unassumingly. He truly did<br />
what the Gospel tells us: “When you give alms, do not let your<br />
left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving<br />
may be secret” (Mt 6:3-4). Imagine that, on the day before<br />
his death when he was gravely ill, he was giving directions on<br />
how his friends in need should be helped. At his funeral, his<br />
family and friends were stunned by the presence of so many<br />
poor people unknown to them. They had been befriended and<br />
helped by the young Pier Giorgio.<br />
I always like to link the Gospel Beatitudes with Matthew 25,<br />
where Jesus presents us with the works of mercy and tells us<br />
that we will be judged on them.<br />
I ask you, then, to rediscover the corporal works of mercy:<br />
to feed the hungry,<br />
give drink to the thirsty,<br />
clothe the naked,<br />
welcome the stranger,<br />
assist the sick,<br />
visit the imprisoned,<br />
and bury the dead.<br />
Nor should we overlook the spiritual works of mercy:<br />
to counsel the doubtful,<br />
teach the ignorant,<br />
admonish sinners,<br />
comfort the sorrowful,<br />
forgive offences,<br />
patiently bear with<br />
troublesome people,<br />
and pray to God for the living<br />
and the dead.<br />
36<br />
37
As you can see, mercy does not just imply being a “good<br />
person” nor is it mere sentimentality. It is the measure of our<br />
authenticity as disciples of Jesus, and of our credibility as Christians<br />
in today’s world.<br />
If you want me to be very specific, I would suggest that for<br />
the first seven months of 2016 you choose a corporal and a<br />
spiritual work of mercy to practice each month. Find inspiration<br />
in the prayer of Saint Faustina, a humble apostle of Divine<br />
Mercy in our times:<br />
“Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I<br />
will never be suspicious or judge by appearances, but always<br />
look for what is beautiful in my neighbours’ souls and be of<br />
help to them; (…) that my ears may be merciful, so that I will<br />
be attentive to my neighbours’ needs, and not indifferent to<br />
their pains and complaints; (…) that my tongue may be merciful,<br />
so that I will never speak badly of others, but have a<br />
word of comfort and forgiveness for all; (…) that my hands<br />
may be merciful and full of good deeds; (…) that my feet<br />
may be merciful, so that I will hasten to help my neighbour,<br />
despite my own fatigue and weariness; (…) that my heart<br />
may be merciful, so that I myself will share in all the sufferings<br />
of my neighbour” (Diary, 163).<br />
The Divine Mercy message is a very specific life plan because<br />
it involves action. One of the most obvious works of mercy,<br />
and perhaps the most difficult to put into practice, is to forgive<br />
those who have offended us, who have done us wrong or<br />
whom we consider to be enemies. “At times how hard it seems<br />
to forgive! And yet pardon is the instrument placed into our<br />
fragile hands to attain serenity of heart. To let go of anger,<br />
wrath, violence, and revenge are necessary conditions to living<br />
joyfully” (Misericordiae Vultus, 9).<br />
I meet so many young people who say that they are tired of<br />
this world being so divided, with clashes between supporters<br />
of different factions and so many wars, in some of which religion<br />
is being used as justification for violence. We must ask<br />
the Lord to give us the grace to be merciful to those who do<br />
us wrong. Jesus on the cross prayed for those who had crucified<br />
Him: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”<br />
(Lk 23:34). Mercy is the only way to overcome evil. Justice is<br />
necessary, very much so, but by itself it is not enough. Justice<br />
and mercy must go together. How I wish that we could join together<br />
in a chorus of prayer, from the depths of our hearts, to<br />
implore the Lord to have mercy on us and on the whole world!<br />
4. Kraków is expecting us!<br />
Only a few months are left before we meet in Poland. Kraków,<br />
the city of Saint John Paul II and Saint Faustina Kowalska, is<br />
waiting for us with open arms and hearts. I believe that Divine<br />
Providence led us to the decision to celebrate the Youth Jubilee<br />
in that city which was home to those two great apostles<br />
of mercy in our times. John Paul II realized that this is the time<br />
of mercy. At the start of his pontificate, he wrote the encyclical<br />
Dives in Misericordia. In the Holy Year 2000 he canonized<br />
Sister Faustina and instituted the Feast of Divine Mercy, which<br />
now takes place on the Second Sunday of Easter. In 2002<br />
he personally inaugurated the Divine Mercy Shrine in Kraków<br />
and entrusted the world to Divine Mercy, in the desire that<br />
this message would reach all the peoples of the earth and<br />
fill their hearts with hope: “This spark needs to be lighted by<br />
the grace of God. This fire of mercy needs to be passed on to<br />
the world. In the mercy of God the world will find peace and<br />
mankind will find happiness!” (Homily at the Dedication of the<br />
Divine Mercy Shrine in Kraków, 17 th August 2002).<br />
38 39
Dear young people, at the Shrine in Kraków dedicated to the<br />
merciful Jesus, where He is depicted in the image venerated by<br />
the people of God, Jesus is waiting for you. He has confidence<br />
in you and is counting on you! He has so many things to say<br />
to each of you… Do not be afraid to look into His eyes, full<br />
of infinite love for you. Open yourselves to His merciful gaze,<br />
so ready to forgive all your sins. A look from Him can change your<br />
lives and heal the wounds of your souls. His eyes can quench<br />
the thirst that dwells deep in your young hearts, a thirst for<br />
love, for peace, for joy and for true happiness. Come to Him and<br />
do not be afraid! Come to Him and say from the depths of your<br />
hearts: “Jesus, I trust in You!”. Let yourselves be touched by His<br />
boundless mercy, so that in turn you may become apostles of<br />
mercy by your actions, words and prayers in our world, wounded<br />
by selfishness, hatred and so much despair.<br />
Carry with you the flame of Christ’s merciful love – as Saint<br />
John Paul II said – in every sphere of your daily life and to the<br />
very ends of the earth. In this mission, I am with you with<br />
my encouragement and prayers. I entrust all of you to Mary,<br />
Mother of Mercy, for this last stretch of the journey of spiritual<br />
preparation for the next WYD in Kraków. I bless all of you<br />
from my heart.<br />
DO <strong>YOU</strong> WANT TO<br />
HAVE A SELFIE<br />
WITH<br />
POPE FRANCIS?<br />
(insert your photo here)<br />
FRANCIS<br />
From the Vatican, 15th August 2015<br />
Solemnity of the Assumption of the B.V. Mary<br />
40 41
42<br />
ST. SISTER<br />
FAUST<strong>IN</strong>A
SHE wAS NOT bORN<br />
A SA<strong>IN</strong>T<br />
bUT SHE MATURED<br />
TO SANCTITY
IShe was common and simple yet extraordinary. She had a<br />
strong personality and great sensitivity. Intelligent despite<br />
her lack of education. She was a mystic with her feet firmly<br />
on the ground. She was not born a saint but she matured to<br />
sanctity. This is Sister Faustina.<br />
The life mission of Faustina Kowalska was to remind the<br />
Church and the world that God’s greatest attribute is mercy.<br />
She was given this mission by Jesus on the night of Sunday<br />
22 nd February 1931. Faustina, who was a sister in the Congregation<br />
of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, was living in the convent<br />
in Płock, over a hundred kilometers from Warsaw. She<br />
was in her cell when suddenly she saw Jesus. He was standing<br />
before her with one arm raised for blessing, and the other<br />
touching the gown at His chest. “From beneath the garment,<br />
slightly drawn aside at the breast there were emanating two<br />
large rays, one red, the other one pale. In silence I kept my<br />
gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also<br />
with great joy” – she wrote in her Diary (No. 47). After a while<br />
Jesus said to her: “Paint an image according to the pattern you<br />
see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this<br />
image be venerated, first in your chapel and [then] throughout<br />
the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this<br />
image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies<br />
already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself<br />
46<br />
will defend it as My own glory.” (Diary, 47-48). The Divine<br />
Mercy image depicting Jesus as seen by Faustina that night in<br />
1931 in her convent cell is now known all over the world and<br />
millions of people give glory to the God of Mercy. However,<br />
the journey leading to this point was long and took many,<br />
sometimes dramatic years, even after Faustina’s death, to be<br />
known to the world.<br />
From 22 nd February 1931 until her death in 1938, Sister<br />
Faustina had visions in which Jesus was gradually revealing to<br />
her the complete essence of Divine Mercy, and told her about<br />
new ways in which to worship God’s Mercy.<br />
When her revelations of the Divine Mercy started, Sister<br />
Faustina was 26 years old. By then, she had been at the Congregation<br />
of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy for six years. Before<br />
joining the Congregation her name was Helena. She was<br />
born in Głogowiec, a few dozen kilometers from Łódź, on 25 th<br />
August 1905. She was the third of ten children of Marian na<br />
and Stanisław Kowalski. The family was very poor and struggled<br />
to make ends meet, living off a<br />
few acres of poor soil and whatever<br />
income their father made as an occasional<br />
carpenter. Even as a sevenyear-old<br />
girl Helena felt a calling to<br />
a kind of life which she described as<br />
more perfect, as at that stage she did<br />
not yet know about the existence of<br />
consecrated life. Because of her poverty<br />
she could not get an education,<br />
she completed only three years of<br />
primary school. At the age of 15 or<br />
16, she started working as a maid,<br />
initially in Aleksandrów near Łódź,<br />
de-<br />
sire
and then in Łódź. Throughout that time she discovered<br />
consecrated life and did not give up the<br />
thought of joining a convent. She asked her parents’<br />
permission to do so several times but they<br />
kept refusing her request. Later on her mother<br />
explained that the reason was a lack of money<br />
for a dowry or at least enough to pay for a set<br />
of clothing which back then was required by monastic<br />
congregations. Apart from this, as Helena<br />
was an exceptionally good child, her parents saw<br />
themselves being cared for by her in their old<br />
age. What also mattered was the fact that working<br />
as a maid in a city, Helena would send most<br />
of her wages back home.<br />
However, Jesus Himself demanded that Helena’s<br />
vocation be fulfilled. It happened in Łódź in<br />
June 1924, on a warm Sunday afternoon.<br />
Helena, a girl of medium-height, with<br />
grey eyes, a pretty smile, beautiful<br />
voice, with a slightly freckled complexion,<br />
and long, thick, reddish hair which<br />
she wore in a plait, went to a dance with<br />
her friends at Wenecja Park. For the occasion<br />
she wore a pink dress with frills.<br />
She started dancing with a young man<br />
when Jesus stood next to her.<br />
49
He was “racked with pain, stripped of His clothing,<br />
all covered with wounds”<br />
(Diary, 9).<br />
He asked the girl reproachfully:<br />
„<br />
HOW LONG<br />
SHALL I PUT UP WITH <strong>YOU</strong><br />
AND HOW LONG<br />
WILL <strong>YOU</strong> KEEP<br />
PUTT<strong>IN</strong>G ME OFF?<br />
50
Helena immediately stopped dancing and left the party; she<br />
ran to a church nearby where she heard in her heart that she<br />
was to go to Warsaw without delay as there she would find<br />
a congregation that would accept her. Helena who, until that<br />
point complied with her parents’ will, now did not hesitate for<br />
a minute. She knew that she had to act against their will in<br />
order to carry out what God intended for her. However, another<br />
year passed before she joined the Congregation of the<br />
Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw. This year was a time<br />
to test the strength of Helena’s calling for the superiors of the<br />
congregation. Over that year, Helena worked as a maid in Ostrówek<br />
near Warsaw, saving money to pay for her trousseau.<br />
She joined the convent in Warsaw on 1 st August 1925. After a<br />
few months she received a habit and the name Maria Faustina.<br />
She spent the two-year noviciate at Łagiewniki, where she<br />
made her vows (of chastity, poverty and obedience). In 1933<br />
she also professed her perpetual vows over there.<br />
Seen from the outside, Faustina’s life was no different from<br />
anyone else’s. Due to her lack of education and dowry, she<br />
belonged to a second monastic choir whose sisters undertook<br />
physical chores (division into choirs was abolished only after<br />
World War II). Faustina was a cook, a gardener, she sold bakery<br />
products, and towards the end of her life she was on<br />
duty at the convent gates. She liked baking cakes most of<br />
all and making grand gateaux. Faustina was obedient to her<br />
superiors and was frequently moved from one convent to another<br />
to do manual labor. Over the thirteen years of her monastic<br />
life, she lived in eight monasteries, sometimes returning<br />
to the ones she had lived in before; she stayed at Łagiewniki,<br />
Warszawa, Vilnus, Płock, Derdy, Walendów, Kiekrz and Biała.<br />
She spent the longest time in Łagiewniki where she passed<br />
away on 5 th October 1938, after suffering for several years<br />
from tuberculosis in her lungs and in her bones.<br />
SHE LIKED<br />
BAK<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
CAKES<br />
MOST OF<br />
ALL AND<br />
MAK<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
GRAND<br />
GATEAUX<br />
52 53
The most important things in Faustina’s life were<br />
happening in her spiritual life. She was chosen by God<br />
to proclaim the truth about Divine Mercy to the Church<br />
and to the world, a truth which was by no means new.<br />
Faustina was one of the greatest mystics in the history<br />
of the Church. She achieved the highest mystical state<br />
possible for a human being on earth. At the beginning<br />
of this journey, she experienced what is known as a<br />
dark night, a period in one’s spiritual life when a soul<br />
feels rejected by God and the senses and the spirit are<br />
purified of the desires of this world. In Faustina’s case<br />
this period did not last long. For Faustina, this period<br />
was a year and a half, while for instance, in the case<br />
of blessed Mother Teresa, her night of the soul lasted<br />
for half a century. After the dark night Sister Faustina<br />
swiftly moved through the next stages of mystical<br />
life until her soul attained union with God in a mystical<br />
marriage. The decisive moment which marked the deepening<br />
of her mystical life was when she expressed her<br />
consent saying ‘yes’ to God, herself becoming a sacrifice<br />
for sinners.<br />
In her Diary Faustina complained on several occasions<br />
that physical language cannot describe what a<br />
human soul experiences when it is immersed in God;<br />
nevertheless she described her experiences in a very<br />
emotional way. She noted down in her Diary what she<br />
learned about the essence of Divine Mercy while experiencing<br />
those mystical states. She also wrote down<br />
what Jesus told her in her visions; she had as many as 82<br />
of them! These visons can be summarized in the following<br />
words: God is prepared to forgive a person, even the<br />
person’s worst sin, and the only thing required of that<br />
person is to cut with evil and turn to God with trust.<br />
dark night<br />
54 55
8<br />
2<br />
Faustina knew that the One who appeared to her and spoke<br />
to her was Jesus. However, most of her superiors whom she<br />
told about the message of Divine Mercy, as Jesus wanted, did<br />
not believe her. She was advised to avoid those visions which<br />
were considered to be the outcome of fantasizing and hysteria.<br />
This, as well as the unfair judgments of some other sisters who<br />
did not understand Faustina’s spiritual ‘otherness’, was the reason<br />
for her moral suffering. It was not until the autumn of 1932,<br />
which was a year and a half after she had her first vision about<br />
the Divine Mercy, that Faustina met a priest, Fr. Edmund Elter,<br />
who confirmed that her visions were of a supernatural nature.<br />
The greatest helper of Sister Faustina’s message of Divine<br />
Mercy was Fr. Michał Sopoćko, whom she met at the convent<br />
in Vilnius, Lithuania. By examining the depth of her spiritual<br />
life, the sincerity of her intentions, and her mental health by<br />
having her examined by himself and professionals, Fr. Sopoćko,<br />
became Faustina’s spiritual director. It was on his orders that<br />
she started keeping her diary where she wrote down her mystical<br />
experiences. Her Diary is a great hymn of praise to Divine<br />
Mercy. It was also on orders from Fr. Sopoćko, with Faustina’s<br />
involvement, that Eugeniusz Kazimirowski, a Vilnius artist,<br />
painted the first image of the Merciful Jesus with the words:<br />
“Jesus, I trust in You” in 1934 the way Sister Faustina first saw<br />
Jesus in 1931 (the painting in Łagiewniki renowned all over the<br />
world was painted in 1943 by Adolf Hyła). In September 1935,<br />
Jesus gave Faustina the words of the Chaplet to the Divine<br />
Mercy and in October 1937 He told her about the Prayer at the<br />
Hour of Divine Mercy.<br />
Sister Faustina suffered for a long time because she was unable<br />
to implement Jesus’s orders expressed in 1931, and then<br />
repeated several times, for the Church to establish a celebration<br />
of Divine Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter (as was<br />
56 57
introduced by John Paul II in 2000). Despite that, she was at<br />
peace when she died. She possessed many spiritual gifts including<br />
foretelling the future (e.g. she foretold her own canonization),<br />
she knew that despite great difficulties, the cult of Divine<br />
Mercy would survive and develop (a ban by the Apostolic<br />
See against spreading the cult of the Divine Mercy in the forms<br />
passed by Sister Faustina lasted from 1958 to 1978). Faustina<br />
wrote that “There will come a time when this work, which God<br />
is demanding so very much, will be as though utterly undone.<br />
And then God will act with great power, which will give evidence<br />
of its authenticity” (Diary, 378). Faustina was a mystic<br />
but she knew that it was not this that determined her sanctity:<br />
“My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my<br />
will with the will of God” (Diary, 1107).<br />
John Paul II beatified Sister Faustina in 1993, and in 2000<br />
she was canonized. A casket with her reliquary is kept at the<br />
Convent Chapel in Łagiewniki where Faustina would pray over<br />
several years. It is stored on the altar behind the paining of<br />
Merciful Jesus with a caption “Jesus, I trust in you”.<br />
Ewa K. Czaczkowska<br />
FAUST<strong>IN</strong>A<br />
WAS ONE<br />
OF THE GREATEST<br />
MYSTICS<br />
<strong>IN</strong> THE HISTORY<br />
OF THE CHURCH<br />
Ewa K. Czaczkowska – journalist, historian, senior lecturer at the<br />
Institute for Media Education and Journalism at UKSW; author of<br />
books including Sister Faustina (translated into English, Italian,<br />
Spanish, Portuguese, French, Croatian and Slovak), Miracles of Saint<br />
Faustina, and The Pope who believed. How Karol Wojtyla persuaded<br />
the Church to accept the devotion to Divine Mercy.<br />
58 59
A little child came and woke me up. (…)<br />
The child (…) said to me,<br />
“look<br />
at the sky”<br />
And when I looked at the sky<br />
I saw the stars and the moon shining.<br />
Then the child asked me,<br />
“Do you see this moon and these stars?”<br />
When I said yes,<br />
he spoke these words to me,<br />
“These stars are the souls<br />
of faithful Christians,<br />
and the moon is the souls<br />
of religious.”<br />
Diary, 424<br />
60 61
ST. JOHN PAUL II
May the binding promise of the Lord Jesus be fulfilled:<br />
from here there must go forth the spark which will prepare the world for<br />
HIS F<strong>IN</strong>AL COM<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
64 65
1920<br />
John Paull II was first referred to as “an apostle of Divine<br />
Mercy” by Pope Benedict XVI during the Angelus prayer on<br />
30 th March 2008. The Pope rightly noted that John Paul II’s<br />
entire life and papal teachings revolved around the mystery<br />
of Divine Mercy. The mission of “the Pope from a distant<br />
country” was service to “the truth of God, mankind and peace<br />
in the world”. Benedict XVI also noted the exceptional coincidence<br />
of the Pope’s death occurring on the eve of Divine<br />
Mercy Sunday.<br />
1. Karol Wojtyła’s long journey<br />
Karol Wojtyła was born in Wadowice on 18 th May 1920 as the<br />
second son of Karol Wojtyła and Emilia née Kaczorowska. His<br />
father was a retired military man and his mother was a seamstress<br />
by trade. Karol had an older brother, Edmund, who was<br />
a doctor, and sister Olga, who died soon after she was born.<br />
In his childhood Karol was usually called Lolek – a diminutive<br />
form of his name. In 1929, when he was 9, his mother Emilia<br />
passed away followed by his brother Edmund three years<br />
later.<br />
Karol first attended primary school and then middle school<br />
in Wadowice where he developed an interest in poetry and<br />
theatre. He was an altar boy at the parish church, a scout,<br />
played football, went skiing, hiked through the countryside,<br />
and went on pilgrimages with his father to the Marian Shrine<br />
in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. In September 1938, having passed<br />
secondary school exams, he and his father moved to Kraków<br />
where he studied Polish at the Department of Philosophy at<br />
the Jagiellonian University. On the outbreak of World War II on<br />
1 st September 1939, universities in Poland were closed down<br />
and he was forced to undertake manual labour in the German<br />
chemical factory, Solvay.<br />
66<br />
1929<br />
‘19<br />
In 1940, he participated in prayer meetings led by<br />
Jan Tyranowski where he read letters of John of the<br />
Cross. On 18 th February 1941 Karol Wojtyła’s father<br />
passed away after a long illness. During the war, many<br />
of his Jewish friends from Wadowice and Kraków<br />
were arrested by the German occupying army and<br />
taken to the concentration camp in Auschwitz.<br />
At the end of 1942 and beginning of 1943, when<br />
he was praying at the convent church of the Congregation<br />
of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in<br />
Ła giewniki, Karol discovered the devotion to the Divine<br />
Mercy. He saw the painting of Merciful Jesus<br />
38<br />
by Adolf Hyła for the first time and he learned the<br />
Chaplet of Divine Mercy. During World War II, together<br />
with Tadeusz Kotlarczyk, he set up Teatr Rapsodyczny,<br />
where he was an actor.<br />
1939<br />
During the war Karol Wojtyła worked hard to support<br />
himself. He performed at the theatre and wrote<br />
poetry and plays. In 1942, when death at the hands<br />
of German invaders was a daily threat, Karol decided<br />
to join seminary. He studied philosophy and theology<br />
at the underground seminary in Kraków. On 17 th January<br />
1945, when Kraków was liberated by the Red<br />
‘46<br />
Army, he moved into the seminary and continued his<br />
theological studies.<br />
2.<br />
‘40<br />
Service to the Church in Kraków<br />
On 1 st November 1946, Karol Wojtyła was ordained<br />
as a priest by the Metropolitan of Kraków, Cardinal<br />
Adam Stefan Sapieha. On 2 nd November he celebrated<br />
his first Holy Mass at St. Leonard’s Crypt at Waw-<br />
1941<br />
el Cathedral. In November 1946, he went to Rome
‘4 2<br />
1943<br />
1945<br />
1948<br />
to study theology. He studied at the Pontifical University of<br />
Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. He successfully<br />
defended his doctoral thesis “The Doctrine of Faith According<br />
to St. John of the Cross”. On his return from his studies in July<br />
1948, Karol Wojtyła started working as an assistant priest at<br />
Niegowić parish (40 km from Kraków). In August 1949, he was<br />
transferred to the Parish of St. Florian in Kraków, where he<br />
worked until 1951 as the student chaplain.<br />
In 1952, Fr. Karol Wojtyła was working to prepare his thesis<br />
that would promote him to the level of assistant professor.<br />
At that period he also dedicated a lot of time to journalism by<br />
writing philosophical and theological essays. He was a lecturer<br />
in ethics and moral theology at the Seminary in Kraków. For a<br />
year he was a professor at the Catholic University in Lublin. He<br />
taught ethics of marriage, humanity, and freedom. On 4 th July<br />
1958, Karol Wojtyła was appointed a coadjutor bishop of the<br />
Archdiocese of Kraków. The guiding motto that he chose for<br />
his episcopal ministry was Totus Tuus (which in Latin means<br />
Totally Thine) taken from St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort’s<br />
book True Devotion to Mary. This motto, which has to<br />
do with the theme “spiritual servitude”, is understood as a voluntary<br />
and complete surrendering of his life to the service to<br />
the Church and to the spiritual motherhood of Mother of God.<br />
This was a constant throughout his life.<br />
Bishop Karol Wojtyła participated in the Second Vatican<br />
Council (1962-1965). On 13 th January 1964 he was appointed<br />
Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków and on 26 th June 1967 he<br />
became a cardinal. As the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kraków<br />
he visited parishes and convents, maintained numerous contacts<br />
with people of science, culture and art. In 1965, he started<br />
the beatification process of Sister Faustina Kowalska. He con-<br />
1949<br />
1951<br />
tinued to publish poetry and plays like The Jeweller’s Shop and<br />
Radiance of Fatherhood. In 1969, he published an anthropological<br />
monograph Person and Act, and in 1972 he also published<br />
‘52<br />
a book on the Second Vatican Council. He researched philosophical<br />
traditions (classic Greek ethics, St. Thomas Aquinas,<br />
phenomenology) as well as the Bible and mysticism (St. John<br />
of the Cross).<br />
On 16 th October 1978 Cardinal Karol Wojtyła was elected as<br />
Pope and took the name of John Paul II. He was the first Pope<br />
from Poland and the first Bishop of Rome who was not Italian<br />
1958<br />
in 455 years (since the pontificate of Hadrian VI).<br />
3. The Pilgrim Pope<br />
A key characteristic of John Paul II’s pontificate were pilgrimages.<br />
His first apostolic visit was to Mexico in 1979. Here, he<br />
taught that politicians of Catholic countries should not forget<br />
about human rights, religious freedom and human dignity<br />
while in power. When he returned to Rome he published his<br />
first encyclical Towards Christ, the Redeemer of Man (1979).<br />
In this encyclical, he depicted Christ as man’s only redeemer.<br />
In June 1979, the Pope went to his first ap-<br />
'65<br />
ostolic visit to Poland, where he famously said, “Let<br />
your Spirit descend and renew the face of the earth,<br />
the face of this land”. The Gospel message preached<br />
by John Paul II contributed to the fall of communism<br />
in the European countries of the Eastern Bloc. In November<br />
1979, the Pope visited Turkey, where he met<br />
1967<br />
with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. This<br />
was the first step towards establishing ecumenism<br />
between the East and the West. In 1980, John Paul II<br />
published his second encyclical, which was about God<br />
1978
who is rich in mercy, Dives in Misericordia, which pointed to Divine<br />
Mercy, the feature that would distinguish his pontificate.<br />
On 13 th May 1981, during a general audience in St. Peter’s<br />
Square in Rome, at 5:19pm, John Paul II was shot by Turkish<br />
gunman, Mehmet Ali Ağca. The attack took place on the anniversary<br />
of the Fatima revelations of 1917. The Pope was<br />
convinced that the Mother of God shielded him with her cloak<br />
against danger. He survived the shooting, but he shed his blood<br />
for Christ. A year later John Paul II was attacked again. The<br />
Pope was attacked with a bayonet by Juan María Fernández y<br />
Krohn, but did not suffer any serious injuries.<br />
On 27 th October 1986, John Paul II initiated an ecumenical<br />
gathering in Assisi, where representatives of many religions<br />
prayed for peace in the world. In addition, he was the first successor<br />
of St. Peter who visited a synagogue in Rome (1986).<br />
After the overthrow of communism in the 1990’s, John Paul II<br />
made numerous pilgrimages to those countries in the world<br />
which were experiencing wars and conflicts, in particular to Africa<br />
and the Balkans, as a pilgrim of peace. He received Fidel<br />
Castro in the Vatican and himself visited Cuba (1998).<br />
John Paul II led the Church and the world into the new millennium.<br />
In the jubilee year of 2000, he visited the Holy Land.<br />
During his visit he went to Yad Vashem Institute, a memorial<br />
to the victims of the Holocaust, and he prayed by the Western<br />
Wall. In 1999, the Pope kissed the Quran brought to him<br />
by Muslim imams as a gift. In 2000, during his trip to Egypt<br />
he met with Sunni sheik, Grand Imam of al-Azhar in Cairo. In<br />
2000, as the first Pope ever, he entered the Umayyad Mosque<br />
in Damascus. The pontificate of John Paul II is regarded as the<br />
longest after the pontificate of St. Peter and Bl. Pius IX. He<br />
was Pope for 26 and a half years (9666 days). The personal<br />
let<br />
your spirit<br />
descend<br />
and renew<br />
THE FACE OF THE EARTH,<br />
THE FACE OF THIS LAND<br />
70
appointed<br />
231 cardinals at<br />
9 consistories and<br />
1 cardinal in pectore<br />
and also<br />
15 apostolic<br />
exhortations<br />
wrote<br />
14 encyclicals<br />
beatified<br />
1338 people,<br />
and canonized 482<br />
wrote<br />
a great<br />
number of apostolic<br />
letters<br />
as a poet<br />
and playwright<br />
published the poem<br />
Roman Triptych<br />
visits<br />
of John Paul II<br />
the Church of England has not recognized the authority of the<br />
Vatican. He was also the first Pope to have visited the White<br />
House.<br />
Despite his best efforts he was not able to make an apostolic<br />
pilgrimage to Russia due to the unwillingness of the Moscow<br />
Patriarch who accused the Vatican of proselytism. As Pope,<br />
John Paul II most frequently visited Poland (8 times), USA (7<br />
times), and France (7 times). John Paul II was renowned for<br />
his meetings with the youth at the World Youth Days, nine of<br />
which he attended. During his pontificate John Paul II beatified<br />
1338 people and canonized 482 people. He appointed 231 cardinals<br />
at nine consistories. He also appointed one cardinal in<br />
pectore whose name has never been disclosed.<br />
John Paul II passed away on 2 nd April 2005 at 9:37pm, on the<br />
9666 th day of his pontificate, on the eve of the Feast of Divine<br />
Mercy. The Pope’s funeral took place on Friday 8 th April 2005.<br />
A simple coffin of cypress wood (the symbol of eternity) was<br />
104 countries<br />
over 100<br />
visits around<br />
Italy<br />
assistant of John Paul II throughout the whole pontificate was<br />
Fr. Stanisław Dziwisz, who is the present Cardinal Metropolitan<br />
of Kraków. Apostolic pilgrimages were a characteristic feature<br />
of the pontificate of John Paul II. He visited 104 countries<br />
on all continents and made 100 trips throughout Italy. Many<br />
places he visited had never seen a Pope before. For instance,<br />
he was the first Pope to visit Great Britain where, since 1534,<br />
72<br />
8 visits<br />
to Poland<br />
7 visits<br />
to France<br />
7 visits<br />
to the USA<br />
9 meetings<br />
at World<br />
Youth Days
placed directly on St. Peter’s Square. The Holy Mass was concelebrated<br />
by a few thousand cardinals, bishops and patriarchs<br />
of Eastern Catholic Churches. The Mass was led by the College<br />
Dean, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. There were 300,000 faithful<br />
in the St. Peter’s Square, 200 presidents and prime ministers,<br />
and representatives of world religions including Muslim clergy<br />
and Jewish rabbis. All over Rome, 5 million people, including 1.5<br />
million Poles, gathered around screens set up in the city. Many<br />
mourners were holding banners with the Italian phrase santo<br />
subito (saint now). John Paul’s II coffin was placed in the crypt<br />
of John XXIII in the Vatican grottoes.<br />
Since his death, he has been referred to as John Paul the<br />
Great. In the history of the Church, only three popes have had<br />
this epithet: Leon I, Nicolas I and Gregory I. This epithet was<br />
first used in the homily of cardinal Angelo Sodano at the requiem<br />
mass in the St. Peter’s Square on Sunday 3 rd April 2005, the<br />
day after John Paul II passed away. It was also used in news and<br />
current affairs programs by large American TV stations (“John<br />
Paul the Great” – CNN, Fox News, ABC, CBS). The successor of<br />
John Paul II, Benedict XVI used this epithet in the homily at his<br />
papal inauguration.<br />
The beatification of John Paul II took place in Rome on 1 st May<br />
2011, on the Feast of Divine Mercy. He was then canonized by<br />
Pope Francis on 27 th April 2014. John Paul II is the patron saint<br />
of the World Youth Day.<br />
John Paul II dedicated a lot of time to the unity of Christian<br />
churches. Throughout his pontificate, he sought closer relationship<br />
with Protestant and Orthodox churches. He testified<br />
to his work in the cause of ecumenism in the encyclical published<br />
in 1995, Ut Unum Sint.<br />
John Paul II gave the Church 14 encyclicals. In these encyclicals,<br />
he considered the following themes: important dogmatic,<br />
moral and social issues of contemporary man and of the world.<br />
He wrote a great number of apostolic letters on the dignity of<br />
women, celebrating Sunday, Ss Cyril and Methodius, the Jubilee<br />
of the Year 2000, priestly ordination, the rosary, 15 apostolic<br />
exhortations on the family, catechesis, reconciliation and<br />
penance, the consecrated life, the laity, the life and service of<br />
priests, and apostolic constitutions on reform of Roman Curia<br />
and the code of canon law. The Pope, who was both a poet and<br />
playwright, also published the poem Roman Triptych during<br />
his pontificate.<br />
4. The truth of Divine Mercy<br />
The truth about the Divine Mercy constitutes a central motif of<br />
the pontificate of John Paul II. It features in the encyclical Dives<br />
in Misericordia (God rich in mercy, 1980). Along with the encyclical<br />
Redemptor hominis (The Redeemer of man, 1979) and<br />
Dominum et vivificantem (The Lord and Giver of Life, 1983),<br />
the Pope speaks to contemporary man about God revealing<br />
himself in the history of redemption as the Holy Trinity, Father,<br />
Son and Holy Spirit. Mercy is the key to understanding the<br />
mystery of God, the mystery of man, and the mystery of the<br />
world. In these encyclicals (Dives in Misericordia, 3) John Paul<br />
II refers to the time of the Israelite’s Exodus from Egypt where<br />
God revealed His name YHWH (“I am who I am”) to explain the<br />
mystery of His name: “The LORD, the LORD, a God gracious<br />
and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity,<br />
continuing his love for a thousand generations, and forgiving<br />
wickedness, rebellion, and sin (…)” (Ex 34:6-7).<br />
2 1<br />
:<br />
3 7<br />
74 75
John Paul II tells us that mercy is a template of God’s love<br />
for man and it includes every “shade of love”. It is fatherly love,<br />
patient, forgiving, kind and compassionate. Every person can<br />
discover God in nature and in the cosmos through God’s “invisible<br />
attributes” (Rom 1:20) and can discover God in their own<br />
life history as a good and forgiving Father. The full revelation<br />
of God’s love was embodied in Jesus Christ. Jesus revealed the<br />
Merciful God in the parables about the lost sheep and lost coin<br />
(Lk 15:1-10), and in particular in the parable of the prodigal son<br />
(Lk 15:11-32). The story first shows the greatness of fatherly<br />
love, ready to forgive and to lavish gifts on his son again. John<br />
Paul II focuses on the dignity of the prodigal son, which, thanks<br />
to the Father’s mercy, shines anew.<br />
The full revelation of Divine Mercy is in the death and resurrection<br />
of Christ. The Paschal mystery shows the greatness<br />
of God’s love for man as “He (…) did not spare his own Son”<br />
(Rom 8:32). Through the mystery of the cross, God reveals the<br />
depth of His love, which exists in the creation of man and in the<br />
act of Redemption.<br />
God’s mercy can be encountered in sacraments, in particular<br />
those of penance and in the Eucharist, in which a Christian<br />
touches God’s merciful love. The Church undertakes the mission<br />
of proclaiming Divine Mercy through declaring the truth<br />
that God is Mercy and by venerating Divine Mercy. The second<br />
task of Christ’s disciples is to act mercifully and the third way<br />
of bearing witness to God is to pray for mercy for the world.<br />
During the canonization of Sister Faustina Kowalska in Rome<br />
on 30 th April 2000, John Paul II announced the message of<br />
mercy to the whole world. At the same time he reminded us<br />
that Divine Mercy provides mankind with the opportunity to<br />
be renewed; he referred to the Diary: “Mankind will not have<br />
peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy” (Diary, 699).<br />
John Paul II proclaimed the second Sunday after Easter as<br />
Mercy Sunday stressing that Mercy is a chance to get to know<br />
“the true face of God and the true face of brethern” (Homily<br />
at the canonization of Sister Faustina, Rome, 30 th April 2005).<br />
The message of mercy reminds us of the dignity and value of<br />
each person. Mercy also helps those who are lost among the<br />
various ideologies and ideas of the 20 th and 21 st centuries find<br />
a way to God. In the mystery of Divine Mercy, a Christian will<br />
find the true face of God, who is close to man, and also the<br />
true face of the man, who is in need of mercy and is ready to<br />
show mercy. In his apostolic letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte published<br />
at the turn of the third millennium (6 th January 2001),<br />
John Paul II wrote about the need to develop the vision of<br />
mercy, or the ability to see the world in the context of God’s<br />
unlimited love.<br />
On August 17 th , 2002 during the consecration of Basilica of<br />
Divine Mercy in Kraków-Łagiewniki, John Paul II entrusted the<br />
world to Divine Mercy and set the Church a task to familiarize<br />
the world with the Divine Mercy: “Today, therefore, in this<br />
Shine, I wish solemnly to entrust the world to Divine Mercy. I<br />
do so with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful<br />
love, proclaimed here through Saint Faustina, may be made<br />
known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with<br />
hope. May this message radiate from this place to our beloved<br />
homeland and throughout the world. May the binding promise<br />
of the Lord Jesus be fulfilled: from here there must go forth<br />
the spark which will prepare the world for his final coming.”<br />
This spark of mercy is now brought to the world by Pope<br />
Francis, who has announced 2016 as the Jubilee Year of Mercy.<br />
Fr. Jan Machniak<br />
HE (…) DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON<br />
76 77
Fr. Prof. Jan Machniak – graduate of Polish Studies from the Jagiellonian<br />
University (1976-1980) and from the Seminary of the Archdiocese<br />
of Kraków; ordained a priest in 1985, spiritual theology studies<br />
in Rome (1986-1990); spiritual director of the Seminary of the Archdiocese<br />
of Kraków (1991-1995); professor of spiritual theology at the<br />
Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków; author of many books<br />
on spirituality, preacher, chaplain in St. John’s Church in Kraków (Sisters<br />
of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary), rector of the<br />
International Academy of Divine Mercy; participant of World Youth<br />
Day in Buenos Aires (1987), Częstochowa (1991), Paris (1997), Rome<br />
(2000), and Cologne (2005).<br />
78 79
DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY<br />
QUESTIONS<br />
& ANSWERS<br />
80 81
There are questions<br />
to which<br />
you won’t find answers…<br />
…<br />
ON THE WEB<br />
82 83
HAPP<strong>IN</strong>ESS<br />
Discovering<br />
that we are loved<br />
ALL PEOPLE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CULTURE, RELIGI-<br />
ON OR PLACE OF BIRTH, WANT TO BE LOVED. IT IS ONLY<br />
WHEN <strong>YOU</strong> FEEL LOVED THAT <strong>YOU</strong> CAN BE HAPPY.<br />
CHRISTIANITY OFFERS US SOMETH<strong>IN</strong>G GREATER THAN<br />
AN IMPRESSION OF LOVE – IT GIVES US CERTA<strong>IN</strong>TY THAT<br />
THERE IS SOMEONE WHO LOVES US SO MUCH. WE ARE<br />
NOT BORN WITH THIS CERTA<strong>IN</strong>TY, THOUGH. WE OF-<br />
TEN ARRIVE AT IT GRADUALLY. WE SEARCH, ASK QUES-<br />
TIONS AND F<strong>IN</strong>ALLY F<strong>IN</strong>D THE ANSWER <strong>IN</strong> GOD’S MERCY.<br />
IS WHAT WE TH<strong>IN</strong>K ABOUT GOD THE ACTUAL TRUTH ABOUT<br />
HIM?<br />
If a person’s heart were a room full of paintings and if we took a<br />
picture illustrating God from everyone’s heart, we could create a<br />
very diverse art gallery. Some of the paintings would amaze us,<br />
some other could scare us away. The story of our lives shapes<br />
different images of God in our hearts. For example, if we had too<br />
demanding parents who constantly controlled us, we can think<br />
that God is like them. If we didn’t get enough attention from our<br />
family when we were children, we can think that God cares little<br />
about us as well. If we grew up with the constant fear of punishment<br />
for our mistakes, we are likely to be afraid of God, who will<br />
be a strict judge in our eyes.<br />
Was sagt Gott selbst über sich?<br />
WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT HIMSELF?<br />
God introduces Himself to us already in the first books of<br />
the Old Testament by saying: “The LORD, the LORD, a God<br />
gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in<br />
love and fidelity (…) forgiving wickedness, rebellion and<br />
sin (…)” (Ex 34:6-7). It is these characteristics of God that<br />
we can see in His reactions to the choices people have made<br />
throughout the history of the world. His reaction to Adam<br />
and Eve’s sin was the promise of Christ’s coming and our<br />
salvation. When God saw the suffering of the Israelites in<br />
Egypt, He called Moses to lead them out of slavery. When<br />
they were complaining while wandering through the desert,<br />
He showed them His patience and care and provided them<br />
with food and drink. He has cared in the same way for the<br />
next generations and so is He taking care of us today. “God<br />
is love” (1 Jn 4:8,16); therefore, anything He does results<br />
from His love.<br />
Is there anything like unconditional love?<br />
You cannot love more than rahamim. This Hebrew word occurs<br />
frequently in the Bible as a name for God’s love for us.<br />
Rahamim is the deepest, intimate, tender and totally unconditional<br />
love. God loves us more than even the best mother.<br />
He cannot give up on loving us!<br />
Can we be certain that this love will never<br />
change?<br />
God’s hesed is irrevocable. This Hebrew term is used in the<br />
Bible to mean God’s mercy towards us. Hesed means faithful<br />
love, which makes us feel safe. Regardless of our actions,<br />
God will always love us.<br />
84<br />
85
The Lord is merciful and gracious (…)<br />
He does not deal with us according to our sins,<br />
nor repay us according to our iniquities.<br />
Ps 103:8.10<br />
DO WE NEED TO DESERVE GOD’S MERCY?<br />
We put a lot of effort into looking good. We work overtime<br />
to afford fashionable things. We can spend plenty of<br />
time choosing the best picture for our Facebook profile. We<br />
do it all to be accepted, to feel loved. God accepts us the<br />
way we are, despite our shortcomings and weaknesses. He<br />
sees our helplessness in many situations and takes pity on<br />
us. He sees perfectly what we sometimes try to hide from<br />
people and what we are afraid of in ourselves. Nevertheless,<br />
He loves us. It does not mean, however, that we do not<br />
need to act at all. God loves us because we are His children<br />
but when we start looking for Him consciously, He grants<br />
us even more graces and gifts, which help us improve ourselves<br />
on our way to sainthood.<br />
WHERE DO OUR FRIENDS, THE NIAGARA FALLS OR<br />
POWER <strong>IN</strong> THE LIGHT BULB COME FROM?<br />
When we think about God’s mercy, we tend to associate it<br />
solely with forgiveness, but we need to realize that what<br />
is good and beautiful is a gift from the merciful Father as<br />
well. He wants us to be happy so He gives us friends! He<br />
wants to amaze us with beauty so He has created so many<br />
wonders of nature! He wants us to enjoy a better life in<br />
this world so He gives inspiration to inventors! God is our<br />
Father, we are His children. He takes care of our everyday<br />
life. In doing so, He shows His mercy to us.<br />
86 87
How do we know that God wants us to be<br />
happy?<br />
When we love somebody, we want him or her to be happy.<br />
God loves us. If we have any doubts as to whether He wants<br />
us to be happy, it means that we still have a false picture of<br />
Him in our minds. Knowing about our doubts, God decided<br />
to give us the greatest proof of His merciful love. We will<br />
discuss it in the next section.<br />
THE SAVED ONES<br />
What Jesus<br />
did for us<br />
OUR STORY TAKES ITS ROOTS <strong>IN</strong> THE GARDEN OF EDEN,<br />
WHERE EVERYTH<strong>IN</strong>G WAS BEAUTIFUL, PURE AND DELIGHT-<br />
FUL. THERE WAS NO FEAR, HATRED, ILLNESS, OR DEATH.<br />
THERE WAS ONLY FREEDOM. AT SOME PO<strong>IN</strong>T, ADAM AND<br />
EVE, DECEIVED BY SATAN, CHOSE EVIL, WHICH BROUGHT<br />
AN END TO THE HARMONY OF THE WONDROUS WORLD<br />
CREATED BY GOD. FROM THAT MOMENT ON, EVERYTH<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
HAS BEEN POISONED BY S<strong>IN</strong>. HOWEVER, THE ANSWER OF<br />
THE MERCIFUL FATHER TO ADAM AND EVE’S DISOBEDI-<br />
ENCE WAS HIS PROMISE OF CHRIST’S COM<strong>IN</strong>G AND OUR<br />
SALVATION.<br />
THEY HAVE WASHED THEIR ROBES AND MADE THEM WHITE<br />
<strong>IN</strong> THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. rev 7:14<br />
© DAYENU<br />
Did God go mad?<br />
If a friend told us that he wanted to become an ant, we<br />
would probably think that he went crazy. The difference<br />
between a man and this little creature is so huge that it is<br />
virtually impossible to imagine someone having such a wish.<br />
Therefore, it is so difficult to understand that God decided<br />
to become man! The Creator of Heaven and Earth, the King<br />
of the Universe, the One who is not limited by time or space<br />
(because He created them) becomes a little helpless baby!<br />
In no other religion has God become so close to us, men.<br />
Some people believe that God’s incarnation is sufficient<br />
proof of His crazy love for us, but He took a step further,<br />
some claim that a step too far.<br />
88<br />
89
wAS IT POSSIbLE TO DO MORE?<br />
We are able to do great things out of love. We can sit long<br />
hours by the bed of a sick person, travel thousands of kilometers<br />
to meet the person we love even for a while, give up our<br />
dreams, spend all our savings to help somebody. Jesus offered<br />
His life out of love for us, He gave it for everyone of us!<br />
DID <strong>JESUS</strong> HAVE TO DIE?<br />
Every action has some consequences. The same applies to our<br />
sins, although very often we cannot see their consequences immediately,<br />
or we can notice only some of them. No person, even<br />
the strongest or the holiest one, would not be able to bear the<br />
consequences of their sins. Jesus had to do it for us. He had to<br />
because He loves us, because He is Love and Mercy. He did not<br />
do it because somebody forced Him but because He wanted<br />
to do it for us. This is the greatest mercy we have ever experienced:<br />
Jesus gave His life for us, sinners. He saved us!<br />
ARE wE REALLY THAT bAD THAT wE NEED TO bE<br />
SAVED?<br />
Every sin is a rejection of God and harm we<br />
inflict on ourselves. The drama of many sins<br />
is that they leave us with wounds which may<br />
stay hidden for a long time. Sometimes, we hear<br />
stories of people who have had a car crash and are<br />
badly injured but are in a state of shock and can walk<br />
many kilometers, for example with a broken leg, without<br />
feeling any pain. They can walk bleeding until they<br />
lose consciousness. Similarly, we are often unable to see<br />
the wounds resulting from our sins. We need a saviour<br />
because we all have some hidden wounds which can lead<br />
to death… eternal death! Jesus is our Saviour.<br />
ARE THERE PEOPLE wHO DO NOT S<strong>IN</strong>?<br />
“I haven’t killed anybody, I haven’t stolen anything, I go to<br />
church on Sunday…” It is common for people who are away<br />
from God and lead a bad life to claim that they do not have<br />
any sins. They are really unable to see them. And it would<br />
suffice to “switch on the light”… Nobody is without sin. The<br />
closer we are to God, the better we can see the truth about<br />
ourselves.<br />
(…) consider My Sorrowful Passion<br />
in all its immensity.<br />
Consider it as if it had been undertaken<br />
for your sake alone.<br />
IF MY DEATH<br />
HAS NOT CONv<strong>IN</strong>CED <strong>YOU</strong><br />
90<br />
OF MY LOvE, WHAT WILL?<br />
91<br />
Diary, 1761, 580<br />
Mercy is like light which,<br />
falling on our life,<br />
makes us see the darkness in it, too.<br />
Bp. Grzegorz Ryś
Can people be divided into smaller and bigger<br />
sinners?<br />
There are people who let themselves be deceived by Satan<br />
in their lives and committed grave sins. Some other struggle<br />
with their venial sins. Are the ones better than the others?<br />
We are all sinners and debtors of the merciful God.<br />
He forgives those who have grave sins, and protects other<br />
people from committing them. Both result from His grace<br />
and mercy.<br />
Can God be merciful and just at the same<br />
time?<br />
Many people become very indignant when God shows His<br />
mercy towards wrongdoers. They will ask: Where is justice?<br />
Some others comfort themselves with the thought: I can sin<br />
because the merciful God will forgive me everything anyway.<br />
They all misinterpret God’s justice and mercy, most<br />
commonly by treating them as two opposites. They believe<br />
that there is room for either mercy or justice. However, in<br />
fact, the two go hand in hand because both mercy and justice<br />
result from God’s love. The best illustration thereof is<br />
the cross of Jesus Christ. It was on this cross that justice<br />
was done for our sins – the punishment for sins is death and<br />
Jesus died for us voluntarily. It is also through Christ’s cross<br />
that God showed us the greatest mercy – He forgave us<br />
everything and opened us the way to Heaven.<br />
Mercy without justice<br />
is the mother of dissolution;<br />
justice without mercy is cruelty.<br />
St. Thomas Aquinas<br />
Where can we find the merciful God?<br />
If Jesus appeared before us today and invited us to follow<br />
Him, what would be our answer? Some might say: “Great,<br />
but not today. I need a bit of time to get ready.” We tend to<br />
believe that to meet God we need to be perfect or, at least,<br />
we should not have any bigger shortcomings or weaknesses.<br />
And maybe this is the reason why we meet Him so rarely. He<br />
looks for us “on the ground floor” and we are “on the 10 th<br />
floor”. We put on attractive masks to make a good impression<br />
on Him but it is our real face that draws Him, even if it<br />
is scarred. You do not need to wear any make-up when you<br />
come to meet the merciful God. We truly encounter Him<br />
only if we acknowledge the truth about ourselves.<br />
Where does the merciful God act?<br />
For the last 2,000 years, the merciful God has been saving<br />
us through the sacraments. He stays invisible to our senses<br />
– we cannot see Him, we cannot hear Him, but He is present<br />
there and He acts! He is constantly saving us from trouble,<br />
especially by means of two sacraments of “everyday use”:<br />
confession and the Eucharist. In confession, God removes<br />
the dirt of our sins, and, in the Eucharist, He gives Himself<br />
to us, He gives us life and the strength to lead a good life.<br />
Have you already met the enemy of the merciful<br />
God?<br />
Enemy, foe, the master of lies and illusion is Satan. We encounter<br />
him in all the situations which are supposed to raise<br />
doubts in our hearts, destroy our faith in God’s love for us<br />
and stop us from believing in the possibility of returning to<br />
God and being forgiven. He wants us to stop believing in<br />
God’s mercy. If we trust in God’s constant love despite our<br />
92 93
sins, Satan is helpless. Therefore, he attacked St. Faustina so<br />
brutally, especially when she wrote in her Diary about the<br />
Divine Mercy. He tried to intimidate her, force her to stop<br />
writing. He had a feeling that what she was writing would<br />
help many people find the way back to God in the future.<br />
Why is there so much “buzz” around mercy<br />
now?<br />
God is always the same, invariable, always merciful. The<br />
whole Bible, the sacred tradition, the experience of thousands<br />
of saints tell us about God’s mercy. However, it has<br />
not always been that obvious to us. The twentieth century<br />
witnessed acts of unprecedented atrocity. The wars and the<br />
totalitarian systems led to the death of many innocent people.<br />
It was at that time that God decided to remind us about<br />
His mercy through St. Faustina. Nowadays, the evil takes different<br />
forms, destroying people more secretly, but there are<br />
equally many victims, if not more. Today, evil is presented as<br />
something good, and sin as freedom. Faced with a growing<br />
number of dangers, man needs God’s mercy more than ever.<br />
Be constantly on the watch,<br />
for many souls will turn back<br />
from the gates of hell<br />
and worship My mercy.<br />
Diary, 639<br />
What will the years ahead bring us? (…)<br />
We are not given to know.<br />
However, it is certain that in addition to new progress<br />
there will unfortunately be no lack<br />
of painful experiences.<br />
But the light of divine mercy,<br />
which the Lord in a way wished<br />
to return to the world through Sister Faustina’s<br />
charism, will illumine<br />
the way for the men and women<br />
of the third millennium.<br />
St. John Paul II<br />
What is the Message of Mercy?<br />
The Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska is the most frequently<br />
translated Polish book. It contains all the words that Jesus<br />
directed at the whole world through St. Faustina. We refer<br />
to them as the Message of the Divine Mercy. It is in this<br />
message that God reminds us about His great love and encourages<br />
us to trust Him and to be merciful towards other<br />
people.<br />
(…) I intend today to pass this message on to the<br />
new millennium. I pass it on to all people, so that<br />
they will learn to know ever better the true face of<br />
God and the true face of their brethren.<br />
St. John Paul II<br />
Who is the apostle of mercy?<br />
The closest disciples of Jesus, the 12 men he called, were<br />
not His only apostles. Jesus also sent other apostles (apostle<br />
means “one who is sent away”). In the 20 th century, He<br />
94 95
entrusted the special mission of proclaiming God’s mercy to<br />
a woman – Sister Faustina. She was supposed to remind all<br />
the people about the Divine Mercy and proclaim it through<br />
acts, words and prayer. By means of St. Faustina’s Diary,<br />
Jesus also encourages us to proclaim God’s great mercy. You<br />
do not need to be a priest or a trained journalist. All He asks<br />
us for is to testify about Him in our everyday life, to notice<br />
the presence of the merciful God in everyday situations<br />
and to trust that He will lead us. We also need to become<br />
merciful towards our brethren. We can proclaim His mercy<br />
in everyday conversations by sharing our experiences with<br />
others. We can also help other people notice the presence<br />
of God in their lives and encourage them to trust Him, especially<br />
in difficult situations.<br />
AS OFTEN AS <strong>YOU</strong> WANT<br />
TO MAKE ME HAPPY,<br />
SPEAK TO THE WORLD<br />
ABOUT MY GREAT<br />
AND UNFATHOMABLE MERCY.<br />
Diary, 164<br />
96<br />
FILLED WITH PEACE<br />
Those who decided<br />
to trust God<br />
HOW BEAUTIFUL THE WORLD WOULD BE IF EVERYBODY<br />
HAD PEACE <strong>IN</strong> THEIR HEARTS! THE TRUTH IS THAT WE<br />
ALL LONG FOR PEACE AND MISS IT. MANY PEOPLE LOOK<br />
FOR <strong>IN</strong>NER PEACE <strong>IN</strong> VARIOUS RELAXATION TECHNIQUES,<br />
MEDITATION, ALCOHOL AND DRUGS, WHICH MAKE US<br />
FORGET ABOUT OUR PROBLEMS FOR A MOMENT. ALL<br />
THESE METHODS SEEM TO WORK PERFECTLY AND GIVE<br />
US RELIEF FOR A WHILE, BUT THEY LEAD TO DEVAS-<br />
TAT<strong>IN</strong>G CONSEQUENCES <strong>IN</strong> THE LONG RUN. THEY ARE<br />
SUPPOSED TO HELP US BUT, <strong>IN</strong> FACT, THEY ONLY MAKE<br />
MATTERS WORSE. HOWEVER, THERE IS SOMEBODY WHO<br />
KNOWS HOW TO REGA<strong>IN</strong> <strong>IN</strong>NER PEACE. SOMEBODY WHO<br />
KNOWS THE FATHER AND KNOWS THAT HE IS LOVE. AND<br />
THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER TO THIS LOVE – TRUST,<br />
WHICH LEADS US TO A COMPLETE PEACE.<br />
Why is it important to trust God?<br />
God encourages us to trust Him as many as 365 times in<br />
the Bible by saying: “do not fear”, “peace be with you”,<br />
“do not be afraid”… In St. Faustina’s Diary, we can often<br />
find these words of encouragement and comfort, along with<br />
the reason why we can live without fear. Jesus repeats many<br />
times: “I am with you”. His closeness should be the source<br />
of deep peace and release us from any fears. It all depends,<br />
however, on whether we will trust Him since we are able to<br />
trust only somebody whom we know very well.<br />
97
HOw CAN wE COME TO KNOw GOD?<br />
It is actually incredible that we, people, can get to know<br />
God! He wants to be discovered by us, He wants to stay<br />
close to us! Therefore, Jesus stayed with us in the sacraments,<br />
through which we can experience His closeness in a<br />
special way and learn to know Him better and better. Every<br />
prayer is a special meeting with God and a time to discover<br />
the truth about Him. It is also incredibly important to read<br />
the Bible, where God speaks to us about Himself. We can<br />
also learn to know Him better when we look back at our<br />
lives – we discover that He has been present in our lives, He<br />
loves us and constantly acts in our everyday life.<br />
The more I come to know Him,<br />
the more ardently, the more fiercely I love Him (…).<br />
Diary, 231<br />
wHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TRUST GOD?<br />
We often think that trusting God means having hope that He<br />
will fulfill our dreams. In fact, this attitude is often reflected<br />
in our prayers: we present God a list of our wishes. However,<br />
to truly trust God is to accept His plan for our life and to<br />
believe that it is the best plan possible. Sometimes, we can<br />
have the impression that we do not trust God because we<br />
cannot feel it. Trust is not a feeling. It is a conscious choice<br />
of a pathway which we decide to follow listening to Christ’s<br />
words.<br />
In spite of everything, Jesus, I trust in You<br />
in the face of every interior sentiment<br />
which sets itself against hope.<br />
Do what You want with me; I will never leave you,<br />
because You are the source of my life.<br />
Diary, 24<br />
HOw CAN wE bE CERTA<strong>IN</strong> THAT GOD’S PLAN IS bET-<br />
TER THAN OURS?<br />
Every inventor knows best what to do with the device he<br />
or she has created to make it work perfectly. They give a<br />
detailed description in the manual so that the user knows<br />
what can and cannot be done with the device. God is our<br />
Creator. He knows us better than we do ourselves. He<br />
knows what is good and what is bad for us. He knows every<br />
person’s abilities and how to use them best. He wants us<br />
to be happy. Therefore, He leaves us hints and advice as to<br />
what to choose for our benefit.<br />
HOw CAN wE CHECK wHETHER wE REALLY TRUST<br />
GOD?<br />
We can check the temperature of our body with a thermometer.<br />
We can check our language skills with a specially-designed<br />
test. But how can we check whether we trust God?<br />
What we need to do is to analyze our everyday choices and<br />
see whether they are in accordance with God’s will or not.<br />
98 99
How to live in accordance with God’s will?<br />
God has left us hints how to live. We can find them in the Bible<br />
(especially, the Ten Commandments and the Eight Beatitudes).<br />
He also speaks to us through the Church, through<br />
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, through everyday<br />
events and our meetings with other people. The moment<br />
we discover what God wants from us, He gives us some directions<br />
how to fulfill His calling in our lives. He also speaks<br />
to us through our everyday experiences. We can stay indifferent<br />
to His words, we can reject them, or accept them as<br />
a gift from our best friend, Jesus.<br />
Can I choose what I want?<br />
One of the biggest gifts we received from God is freedom.<br />
His gift is irreversible – we will always be free, we will always<br />
be able to choose what we want. If somebody wants<br />
to trust God, they will always be looking for His will and<br />
trying to understand what He wants from them, believing<br />
that God wants the best for them. This quest requires a<br />
lot of effort and engagement every day since we often have<br />
difficulties recognizing God’s will straight away. The choice<br />
between good and evil is obvious, but the choice between<br />
good and good seems more complex. In such a case, we<br />
might need to talk to somebody who will help us understand<br />
what God will like better.<br />
What will happen if I choose a different way<br />
from the one God intended for me?<br />
When we choose a way which is against God’s will, we commit<br />
sin. And this way leads us to death. God says, “I have<br />
set before you life and death (…) therefore choose life<br />
(…)” (Deut 30:19). God never stops taking care of us.<br />
Even when we do not follow His way, He stays by our side<br />
wherever we are.<br />
In our lives, we often choose a different way from the one<br />
intended for us by God. For example, Saul of Tarsus initially<br />
chose the way of violence against Christians. He was travelling<br />
to Damascus to persecute them. And it was at that time<br />
that God decided to call Him to become an apostle. Saul<br />
became one of the most zealous Christians because he experienced<br />
the great mercy of God, who turned a persecutor<br />
into His trusted friend.<br />
God straightens our crooked paths and is able to notice<br />
goodness in us despite our bad choices. Trust is a dynamic<br />
reality. God’s will is not a strict mathematical plan to follow<br />
but a wonderful story that we can co-create with Him.<br />
God is like GPS.<br />
He tells us where to go,<br />
but if I choose a different way (…)<br />
than Him, He says with the same, calm<br />
voice, “You’ve changed the route. I’m<br />
creating a new route, then.”<br />
Fr. Wojciech Ziółek SJ<br />
All things are lawful for me,<br />
but not all things are helpful.<br />
1 Cor 6:12<br />
101
Will trust in God protect us from suffering?<br />
Let’s imagine the following situation: a beautiful young<br />
student prays for a good future husband. After some time,<br />
she meets her dream boyfriend at a meeting of the youth<br />
chaplaincy. They fall in love with each other and he asks her<br />
to marry him. Two days after their engagement, the young<br />
man dies in a car crash. Could the merciful God include<br />
such a horrible event in His best plan for our life? After<br />
all, He never inflicts suffering on people. But sometimes He<br />
allows it. Trust is not about understanding everything that<br />
happens to us. To trust is to be certain that God is with us<br />
in our suffering and wants to carry us through it. The logic<br />
of mercy does not consist in protecting us from suffering<br />
but it consists in deriving good from the most difficult experiences.<br />
The best illustration thereof is the life of Jesus. His<br />
Passion and death led to His resurrection, which brought us<br />
salvation.<br />
When my soul is in anguish, I think only in this way:<br />
Jesus is good and full of mercy,<br />
and even if the ground were to give way<br />
under my feet,<br />
I would not cease to trust in Him.<br />
Diary, 1192<br />
part of God’s plan of salvation. We can learn from her how<br />
to trust God in the difficult moments of our lives. We can<br />
also ask Mary for help. Many saints came to trust God completely<br />
by doing so.<br />
What is the best way of showing God that we<br />
trust Him?<br />
Jesus has shown us this way. All His life, He was looking<br />
for His Father’s will and followed it. We can see it best in<br />
Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Despite the<br />
great fear of immense suffering, He said to the Father: “Father,<br />
if you are willing, remove this chalice from me; nevertheless<br />
not my will, but yours, be done” (Lk 22:42). With<br />
His trust, Jesus opened the doors of Heaven for us. We also<br />
participate in Christ’s mission of salvation if we trust God<br />
and let Him act in our lives. Such trust is the manifestation<br />
of the greatest love. By choosing what God wants from us<br />
we become filled with peace.<br />
Who can teach us how to trust in God?<br />
In fact, any saint who let himself or herself be led by God,<br />
can serve as an example of trust for us. However, the most<br />
remarkable example of completing God’s will is Mary’s life.<br />
At the Annunciation, she said “yes” to God and did not stop<br />
trusting Him, even when she was standing by the cross, on<br />
which her only Son was dying. She believed that this was<br />
What place does Jesus have in your life?<br />
102 103<br />
© DAYENU<br />
last<br />
first<br />
second<br />
on the couch
THE HAPPY ONES<br />
Those who love<br />
<strong>JESUS</strong> SHOWED US THE WAY TO HAPP<strong>IN</strong>ESS <strong>IN</strong> THE SER-<br />
MON ON THE MOUNT. HIS WORDS “BLESSED ARE THE<br />
MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL OBTA<strong>IN</strong> MERCY” (MT 5:7)<br />
ENCOURAGE US TO LOVE OTHER PEOPLE. ONLY WHEN<br />
WE LOVE CAN WE DISCOVER THE MYSTERY OF HAPPI-<br />
NESS.<br />
Merciful – what does it mean?<br />
People tend to think that a merciful person is “a weakling”<br />
who starts crying the moment they see suffering. Sometimes,<br />
people think that mercy exists only in the sphere of<br />
emotions and feelings. However, when we look at Jesus and<br />
the saints, we can easily understand that the merciful person<br />
is the one who loves and therefore acts – reacts in a<br />
concrete way trying to fight the consequences of evil.<br />
Are charity events a manifestation of mercy?<br />
There are plenty of people in the world who suffer and need<br />
help. Fortunately, there are also many warm-hearted people<br />
who devote their time, strength and money to help the<br />
needy ones. However, what they do is not necessarily an act<br />
of mercy. We need to ask about their intentions. If they act<br />
out of their love for Jesus, then their actions are an example<br />
of mercy.<br />
Love everyone out of love for Me,<br />
even your greatest enemies,<br />
so that My mercy may be fully reflected in<br />
your heart.<br />
Diary, 1695<br />
Can we be merciful from time to<br />
time?<br />
It is not possible to love somebody in the<br />
morning and to stop loving them in the<br />
evening. If it happens, it means that this is<br />
not a true love. The same applies to mercy,<br />
which grows roots in people’s hearts so<br />
that it fills their thoughts, words and actions.<br />
Such people love and therefore act, out of mercy. The mercy<br />
becomes their lifestyle.<br />
Be always merciful<br />
as I am merciful.<br />
Diary, 1695<br />
What is the price of mercy?<br />
The original sin is a wound that we are all born with. It<br />
makes us prone to selfishness, to focusing on our needs<br />
more than on other people. However, if we become fascinated<br />
by Jesus, we want to follow Him and a desire arises in our<br />
hearts to love others as much as Jesus loves them. When<br />
we decide to turn to the merciful lifestyle, we declare war<br />
on our instincts and selfishness. Mercy comes at a price, it<br />
can be difficult since it requires us to choose what demands<br />
a greater effort.<br />
104<br />
105
Is every good deed really good?<br />
Generally speaking, prayer is a good thing. But what if we<br />
pray on an exam day for our teacher to get sick and stay<br />
home? It is good to help a friend who is short of money.<br />
But what if we lend him the money that we have stolen<br />
from our parents? It is a great thing to volunteer for a local<br />
organization. But what if somebody else needs to do our<br />
household chores for us? Any good deed needs to have<br />
good intentions (e.g. a prayer for somebody to be well), be<br />
performed only with good means (e.g. I lend somebody my<br />
own money) and in certain circumstances (e.g. I can help a<br />
local organization after fulfilling my duties first).<br />
Are there any situations when it is impossible<br />
to be merciful?<br />
In some circumstances, we feel at first glance that our<br />
hands are tied and we cannot do anything. It is easy to find<br />
an excuse then and go back to our own business. However,<br />
people with the vision of mercy will not give up that quickly.<br />
They will look for new ways, new ideas how to help a<br />
person in need. First, they will try to take some action. If<br />
this turns out to be impossible, they will try to help the<br />
person with the words of support, comfort or forgiveness.<br />
Sometimes, however, even this is not possible. Then we can<br />
always turn to prayer – yet another way to show our mercy.<br />
Who will take care of us?<br />
The experience of many people who chose to be merciful in<br />
their lives shows that when we give ourselves to others, we<br />
receive much more in return. Mercy makes us abandon the<br />
rather sad notion of self-sufficiency and the fearful focus on<br />
ourselves. It transfers us into a fascinating world of interpersonal<br />
relationships. It is in this world that we experience<br />
love and generosity. We see that when we give, we receive<br />
even more in return.<br />
It is more blessed to give<br />
than to receive.<br />
Ac 20:35<br />
Is giving money to a beggar an act of mercy?<br />
Walking down a busy street in a big city, we often see people<br />
asking us for money. How do we react? Some of us<br />
give them money knowing that we will not solve their<br />
problem. In fact, it will help them only for a while.<br />
Therefore, it is more important to stop by a<br />
person in need and start a conversation<br />
to come to know them better. Sometimes,<br />
a simple conversation is<br />
worth more than the money we<br />
could offer. It is also important<br />
to pray for these people.<br />
106 107
When somebody is hungry, do not give them a fish,<br />
give them a fishing rod and teach them to fish.<br />
ARE THERE ANY GLASSES THAT ALLOw US TO SEE<br />
wHAT IS GOOD?<br />
When we read on the Internet about a man who killed somebody,<br />
we tend to think that he is a cruel person, a dangerous<br />
criminal, possibly from a dysfunctional family. This might be<br />
true, but it is not the entire truth about him. It is extremely<br />
difficult to see his positive sides if we are confronted solely<br />
with the evil he has done. What we need is a pair of special<br />
“glasses” which would allow us to look at people the way<br />
God does. He is able to find what is good in us under many<br />
layers of evil. We can learn from Him to look at people this<br />
way. The merciful God does not pretend that He cannot see<br />
evil, but He focuses on what is good in us. In spite of our<br />
sins, He looks at us with love and can notice beauty in us.<br />
who did evil to us. In this way, we liberate ourselves from<br />
the burden of our pain, and we give a person who hurt us<br />
a chance to change since only the experience of mercy can<br />
thoroughly transform a person.<br />
We resemble God most<br />
when we forgive our neighbors.<br />
Diary, 1148<br />
wHY DO I HAVE TO bE MERCIFUL?<br />
Happy are those who can see how generous God has been<br />
towards them. Our lives, constant care, help in any situation,<br />
forgiveness of any sin – we receive it all from God<br />
for free! Happy are those who experience God’s mercy and<br />
show mercy to their brethren. They are happy also because<br />
through being merciful they become similar to God. “Be<br />
merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36).<br />
HOw TO bE MERCIFUL TOwARDS SOMEbODY wHO<br />
HAS HURT US?<br />
Whenever we say Our Father, we repeat the phrase “and<br />
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass<br />
against us.” Jesus consciously asked us to repeat these<br />
words in the most basic Christian prayer – He wants to remind<br />
us every day that we need forgiveness. God is always<br />
generous with forgiveness and expects us to be equally merciful<br />
towards other people. Mercy manifests itself best in<br />
our ability to forgive. And whether we forgive somebody is<br />
our conscious choice. We decide not to do evil to somebody<br />
108 109
CALL<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
FOR MERCY<br />
Praying for mercy for us<br />
and the whole world<br />
How can we pray for mercy?<br />
Whenever we praise God’s mercy, thank Him for His goodness,<br />
apologize to Him for our sins, or ask Him for help, we<br />
show Him our trust. If we follow His will while taking everyday<br />
decisions, we give Him concrete proof of our trust. And<br />
when we experience His mercy, a desire arises in our hearts<br />
to act in the same way towards other people. Trust and mercy<br />
are two straight ways which lead us to God and open us<br />
for His mercy.<br />
WE ALL NEED GOD’S MERCY. HE LIFTS US UP WHEN WE<br />
FALL. HE GIVES US STRENGTH TO LEAD A GOOD LIFE.<br />
HE GIVES US HOPE FOR HEAVEN. WE NEED TO PRAY<br />
BECAUSE IT IS <strong>IN</strong> THE PRAYER THAT WE CAN MEET<br />
THE MERCIFUL GOD. THIS MEET<strong>IN</strong>G TRANSFORMS US.<br />
THANKS TO OUR PRAYER, GOD TRANSFORMS THE LIFE<br />
OF OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL. IT HAS AN <strong>IN</strong>FLUENCE ON<br />
THE DEST<strong>IN</strong>Y OF THE WHOLE WORLD. WE KNOW ABOUT<br />
IT FROM ST. FAUST<strong>IN</strong>A’S DIARY. IT IS THROUGH HER THAT<br />
<strong>JESUS</strong> SHOWED US NEW WAYS OF MEET<strong>IN</strong>G HIM AND<br />
ASK<strong>IN</strong>G FOR MERCY.<br />
Sr. M. Gaudia Skass,<br />
Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza<br />
110 111
DO <strong>YOU</strong> KNOW<br />
WHO WAS<br />
THE GREATEST<br />
ADVOCATE<br />
OF DIV<strong>IN</strong>E<br />
MERCY?<br />
CONNECT<br />
THE BLACK DOTS<br />
TO F<strong>IN</strong>D OUT<br />
THE ANSWER
DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY<br />
IMAGE<br />
“<strong>JESUS</strong>, I TRUST<br />
<strong>IN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong>”<br />
114 115
WHAT IS<br />
THE STORY<br />
OF THIS IMAGE?<br />
The image of the Divine Mercy is the only portrait in the history<br />
of Christianity that was commissioned by Jesus Himself.<br />
Christ appeared to St. Faustina on 22 nd February 1931 during<br />
7.<br />
2.<br />
6.<br />
1.<br />
3.<br />
WHAT IS THE<br />
SYMBOLIC<br />
MEAN<strong>IN</strong>G OF<br />
THE PA<strong>IN</strong>-<br />
T<strong>IN</strong>G?<br />
her stay in the Polish city of Płock. In her Diary, the nun recorded<br />
everything she had seen, and her description served as<br />
a guide for the first image of Merciful Jesus, which was painted<br />
in 1934 in Vilnius, where it can be found to date. However,<br />
1. eyes<br />
the most renowned Divine Mercy image is displayed in the<br />
convent chapel of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady<br />
of Mercy at the Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Kraków-Łag-<br />
4.<br />
2. the right HAND,<br />
RAISED <strong>IN</strong> BLESS<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
iewniki. The miraculous image was painted by Polish painter<br />
Adolf Hyła.<br />
3. the left HAND<br />
ON HIS HEART<br />
The image of Merciful Jesus is not His “photograph”. Therefore,<br />
we can find different versions of this painting around the<br />
4. rays<br />
world. They all fulfill Christ’s desire, provided that they are<br />
painted in accordance with the description in the Diary.<br />
5. feet<br />
God bestows graces on those who pray before this image with<br />
trust and imitate Jesus by showing mercy to other people. Jesus<br />
said to St. Faustina, “I promise that the soul that will<br />
venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory<br />
over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the<br />
hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory” (Diary,<br />
48). Jesus fulfills His promises and we see miracles happen<br />
all over the world!<br />
5.<br />
6. white garment<br />
7. DARK<br />
BACKGROUND<br />
8. THE <strong>IN</strong>SCRIPTION<br />
“<strong>JESUS</strong>, I TRUST <strong>IN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong>”<br />
116 8.<br />
117
2. THE RIGHT HAND<br />
1. EYES<br />
Any encounter begins with exchanging looks. Jesus said to Sister<br />
Faustina, “My gaze from this image is like My gaze from<br />
the cross” (Diary, 326). What is the look of somebody who<br />
offered his life for us out of love? It is important to remember<br />
what happened on Golgotha. Anyone who looks at the painting<br />
and meets Christ’s gaze can experience the same feelings<br />
as people back then on Golgotha: love, acceptance, forgiveness,<br />
infinite care and mercy, which bridges the great abyss<br />
between the sinner and the Holy God.<br />
RAISED<br />
<strong>IN</strong> BLESS<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
Upon a closer look, we notice a<br />
nail wound on this hand. The One<br />
whom we condemned to death<br />
is raising His hand not to take revenge<br />
on us but to bless us. Jesus<br />
taught the same to Sister Faustina:<br />
“If someone causes you trouble,<br />
think what good you can do for<br />
the person who caused you to<br />
suffer” (Diary, 1760). Mercy is a<br />
love that we do not deserve. The<br />
experience of such love helps us<br />
get closer to God.<br />
Dear young people, at the Shrine in Kraków<br />
dedicated to the merciful Jesus, where He is depicted<br />
in the image venerated by the people of God,<br />
Jesus is waiting for you. (…)<br />
Do not be afraid to look into His eyes,<br />
full of infinite love for you.<br />
Open yourselves to His merciful gaze,<br />
so ready to forgive all your sins.<br />
Pope Francis<br />
Love your enemies,<br />
do good to those who hate you,<br />
bless those who curse you,<br />
pray for those who abuse you.<br />
Lk 6:27-28<br />
118 119
3. THE LEFT HAND<br />
ON HIS HEART<br />
This hand points at the most important element in the picture<br />
– the pierced heart of Jesus. It is in the heart that feelings,<br />
thoughts and decisions are born. It is there that the decision<br />
about love is made. In His heart, Jesus made a decision to offer<br />
His life for us.<br />
I DO NOT WANT TO PUNISH ACH<strong>IN</strong>G MANK<strong>IN</strong>D,<br />
BUT I DESIRE TO HEAL IT,<br />
PRESS<strong>IN</strong>G IT TO MY MERCIFUL HEART.<br />
Diary, 1588<br />
4. RAyS<br />
MY HEART OVERFLOWS WITH GREAT MERCY FOR<br />
SOULS, AND ESPECIALLY FOR POOR S<strong>IN</strong>NERS. IF<br />
ONLY THEY COULD UNDERSTAND THAT I AM THE<br />
BEST OF FATHERS TO THEM AND THAT IT IS FOR<br />
THEM THAT THE BLOOD AND WATER FLOWED FROM<br />
MY HEART (…)<br />
Diary, 367<br />
The left hand touches the heart, which we cannot see in the<br />
painting. Yet, we can see two rays streaming out of it. Jesus<br />
told Sister Faustina that “the pale ray stands for the Water<br />
which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the<br />
Blood which is the life of souls” (Diary, 299). In short, the<br />
two rays denote water and blood, which streamed out of<br />
Christ’s pierced heart. “The Water which makes souls righteous”<br />
is a symbol of the sacrament of baptism and confession,<br />
and of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, whose biblical symbol is<br />
water as well. “The Blood which is the life of the souls” symbolizes<br />
the Eucharist. Jesus Christ is present in the sacraments<br />
and it is through them that He shows us His greatest mercy:<br />
He forgives us our sins and gives Himself to us.<br />
5. FEET<br />
Christ’s feet also carry traces of His immense<br />
suffering. Though wounded by<br />
our sins, Jesus does not cease to look<br />
for us. He makes the first move towards<br />
us, like the loving father from the parable<br />
of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11-32). He<br />
does not wait for us to become holy, perfect and converted.<br />
He roams the world in search of the weak to help them come<br />
to Him by themselves.<br />
BUT WHILE HE WAS YET AT A DISTANCE,<br />
HIS FATHER SAW HIM AND HAD COMPASSION,<br />
AND RAN AND EMBRACED HIM AND KISSED HIM.<br />
Lk 15:20<br />
120 121
6. WHITE GARMENT<br />
Jesus is wearing a white garment, which symbolizes His resurrection.<br />
His body bears traces of suffering but the white robe<br />
illustrates His victory over death. These remarkable events<br />
from Christ’s life are the ultimate manifestation of the Divine<br />
Mercy towards man.<br />
7. DARK<br />
BACKGROUND<br />
The dark background behind the light figure of Jesus Christ is<br />
an accurate depiction of the circumstances in which Jesus appeared<br />
to Faustina in 1931 – she saw Him in the evening. However,<br />
it also carries a symbolic meaning in that it illustrates the<br />
darkness of our sins. And into this darkness – the sphere of<br />
our life filled with pain and fear – comes the resurrected Jesus<br />
– the conqueror of death – to bring us hope for forgiveness.<br />
I HAVE COME<br />
AS LIGHT<br />
<strong>IN</strong>TO THE WORLD,<br />
THAT WHOEVER<br />
BELIEVES <strong>IN</strong> ME<br />
MAY NOT REMA<strong>IN</strong><br />
CHRIST (…) HAS REVEALED <strong>IN</strong> HIS RESURRECTION<br />
THE FULLNESS OF THE LOVE THAT THE FATHER HAS FOR<br />
HIM AND, <strong>IN</strong> HIM, FOR ALL PEOPLE.<br />
St. John Paul II<br />
<strong>IN</strong> DARKNESS.<br />
Jn 12:46<br />
122 123
8. THE <strong>IN</strong>SCRIPTION<br />
“<strong>JESUS</strong>, I TRUST <strong>IN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong>”<br />
Jesus told St. Faustina that He wanted these words to<br />
be written on the painting. They open people’s hearts<br />
to the Divine Mercy. They are also an answer to His<br />
infinite love.<br />
COME TO HIM AND DO NOT BE AFRAID!<br />
COME TO HIM AND SAY FROM THE<br />
DEPTHS OF <strong>YOU</strong>R HEARTS:<br />
“<strong>JESUS</strong>, I TRUST <strong>IN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong>!”.<br />
LET <strong>YOU</strong>RSELVES BE TOUCHED<br />
BY HIS BOUNDLESS MERCY,<br />
SO THAT <strong>IN</strong> TURN <strong>YOU</strong> MAY BECOME<br />
APOSTLES OF MERCY BY <strong>YOU</strong>R ACTIONS,<br />
WORDS AND PRAYERS <strong>IN</strong> OUR WORLD,<br />
WOUNDED BY SELFISHNESS,<br />
HATRED AND SO MUCH DESPAIR.<br />
Pope Francis<br />
Sr. M. Gaudia Skass,<br />
Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza<br />
125
CHAPLET OF<br />
DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY<br />
126 127
For the sake of<br />
His sorrowful<br />
Passion…<br />
Pela sua dolorosa<br />
Paixão...<br />
PER LA SUA<br />
DOLOROSA<br />
PASSIONE...<br />
Por Su dolorosa<br />
Pasión…<br />
DURCH SE<strong>IN</strong><br />
SCHMERZHAFTES<br />
LEIDEN...<br />
Par Sa douloureuse passion…<br />
These are only several of many languages in<br />
which people throughout the world recite the<br />
Divine Mercy Chaplet, a special prayer given to<br />
us by Jesus Himself. And when we say this prayer<br />
with trust, miracles happen.<br />
WHAT IS THE CHAPLET OF THE DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY?<br />
It is a special prayer dictated by Jesus Himself. He is the author<br />
of the Chaplet. This prayer reminds us that Jesus loved<br />
us so much that He offered His life to free us from slavery<br />
to sin. It also makes us realize that we sorely need God’s<br />
mercy. We need it and the whole world needs it.<br />
How do we know about this prayer?<br />
St. Faustina recorded the words of the Chaplet in her Diary<br />
on 13 th September 1935 in Vilnius. Two years later, the first<br />
pictures with the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy were printed<br />
in Kraków. Shortly afterwards, Divine Mercy images spread<br />
all over the world.<br />
What is most important in this prayer?<br />
It is trust. To trust is to agree to anything that God wants<br />
for us and the world and to believe that what He wants is<br />
best for us. To ask with trust also means to wait patiently<br />
with the faith that God will answer our prayer at the best<br />
moment and in the best possible way.<br />
In what circumstances did Jesus dictate the<br />
Chaplet to St. Faustina?<br />
“In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw an Angel, the<br />
executor of divine wrath. He was clothed in a dazzling robe,<br />
his face gloriously bright, a cloud beneath his feet. From<br />
the cloud, bolts of thunder and flashes of lightning were<br />
springing into his hands; and from his hand they were going<br />
forth, and only then were they striking the earth. When I<br />
saw this sign of divine wrath which was about to strike the<br />
earth (…) I began to implore the Angel to hold off for a few<br />
moments, and the world would do penance. But my plea<br />
128 129
was a mere nothing in the face of the divine anger. (…) At<br />
that very moment I felt in my soul the power of Jesus’ grace,<br />
which dwells in my soul. (…) I found myself pleading with<br />
God for the world with words heard interiorly” (Diary, 474).<br />
And these “words heard interiorly” were what we know today<br />
as the Chaplet. “As I was praying in this manner, I saw<br />
the Angel’s helplessness: he could not carry out the just<br />
punishment which was rightly due for sins. Never before<br />
had I prayed with such inner power as I did then.” (Diary,<br />
474).<br />
What time of the day should we say the Chaplet?<br />
Many people associate the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy<br />
with 3pm, the Hour of Mercy. However, Jesus has never said<br />
what time we should recite the prayer. He only asked Sister<br />
Faustina to say it frequently. As a matter of fact, we can say<br />
this prayer any time day or night!<br />
3pm<br />
THE HOUR OF MERCY<br />
Did Jesus make any special promises regarding<br />
the Chaplet?<br />
Jesus promised that to those who say the Chaplet He would<br />
grant anything they ask for (that is anything in compliance<br />
with God’s will). He wants to give us everything we need,<br />
everything we ask for! But the words of the Chaplet do<br />
not work miracles the moment we utter them. In fact, they<br />
prompt us to change our lives. What God expects from us<br />
is our trust and mercy shown to our neighbors. The Chaplet<br />
can be likened to a double door through which we can enter<br />
the treasury of God’s promises and receive everything!<br />
Jesus also promised the grace of happy and peaceful death<br />
(“happy” means in the state of the sanctifying grace and<br />
without anxiety and fear) to those who would recite the<br />
Chaplet throughout their lives. This promise is also given to<br />
the dying by whose side somebody will recite this prayer.<br />
In Poland, you can receive a plenary indulgence (under the<br />
usual conditions) for reciting the Chaplet in a church or a<br />
chapel.<br />
When this chaplet is said by the<br />
bedside of a dying person, God’s<br />
anger is placated, unfathomable<br />
mercy envelops the soul (…).<br />
Diary, 811<br />
131<br />
IT PLEASES ME TO GRANT EVERYTH<strong>IN</strong>G THEY ASK<br />
OF ME BY SAY<strong>IN</strong>G THE CHAPLET. Diary, 1541
wHAT DO wE ACTUALLY SAY <strong>IN</strong> THE CHAPLET?<br />
ETERNAL FATHER…<br />
From the very beginning of the prayer, we address God<br />
as our Father. And when we say to Him “Father! Dad!”,<br />
we invoke His merciful love. In this way, we proclaim<br />
that He is a good, loving Father, who waits for all his children,<br />
even the lost ones. He waits for every one of us.<br />
… I offer You the body and blood…<br />
Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord<br />
Jesus Christ… These words remind us of Jesus Christ’s<br />
real presence in the Eucharist. He offers Himself to His<br />
Father for the salvation of the world. We can consciously<br />
join His self-offering. When we recite the words of the<br />
Chaplet, we refer to our role in the Eucharist, where we<br />
make a spiritual offering while the priest celebrates the<br />
sacrament at the altar.<br />
… In atonement for our sins, and those of<br />
the whole world<br />
Do we have anything that we could offer God to expiate<br />
our sins? Could we perform any good works to compensate<br />
for our evil deeds? Without Christ’s help, we are<br />
not able to offer anything to God.<br />
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion…<br />
These few words remind us how greatly Jesus suffered<br />
for our sins. We stand before the Father and invoke<br />
Christ’s redemptive offering to ask God for mercy. The<br />
sorrowful Passion of Christ is the ultimate manifestation<br />
of God’s mercy. “For God so loved the world that<br />
he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes<br />
in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).<br />
… Have mercy on us and on the whole world<br />
We repeat this phrase many times because we know<br />
that we all sorely need Lord’s mercy. We are aware of<br />
our sins and weaknesses and therefore we are pleading<br />
for mercy. We are praying not only for forgiveness of<br />
our sins but also for anything that would help us lead<br />
a better life. As we ask God for His mercy, we proclaim<br />
our faith in His tender love, goodness and care for every<br />
one of us. We pray for mercy not only for ourselves and<br />
our families, but for the whole world. This prayer opens<br />
up our hearts – we stop concentrating on ourselves and<br />
begin to notice other people’s needs. In the Chaplet, we<br />
pray for the whole world: for the living and the dead.<br />
Sr. M. Gaudia Skass,<br />
Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza<br />
“For the wages of sin is death”<br />
(Rom 6:23). Yet, we do not die<br />
since Jesus took upon Himself<br />
our sins and our death. It was<br />
Him that paid our debt. And this<br />
prayer reminds us thereof.<br />
132 133
THE HOUR OF<br />
MERCY
There is more merit to<br />
1 hour<br />
of meditation on<br />
My sorrowful Passion<br />
than there is to a whole year<br />
of flagellation that draws blood.<br />
Diary, 369<br />
Ecce Homo, Adam Chmielowski (Brother Albert)<br />
Museum of the Ecce Homo Sanctuary of St. Brother Albert in Kraków
Each day there is a moment during the day<br />
that reminds us of Divine Mercy. It reminds<br />
us of the event which changed the course of<br />
history. It is the hour in which Jesus sacrificed<br />
His life for us showing us the greatest mercy.<br />
That is why 3 o’clock is called the Hour of<br />
Mercy.<br />
wHY SHOULD wE PRAY AT 3PM?<br />
When we love someone, we want to be with them forever,<br />
especially if they suffer. At the Hour of Mercy we are with<br />
Jesus in His greatest suffering: when he was suffering and<br />
dying on the cross. He asks us through St. Sister Faustina to<br />
meet Him in prayer every day at the time of his agony.<br />
AS OFTEN AS <strong>YOU</strong> HEAR THE CLOCK STRIKE<br />
THE THIRD HOUR<br />
IMMERSE <strong>YOU</strong>RSELF COMPLETELY <strong>IN</strong> MY MERCY<br />
ADOR<strong>IN</strong>G AND GLORIFY<strong>IN</strong>G IT;<br />
<strong>IN</strong>VOKE ITS OMNIPOTENCE FOR THE wHOLE wORLD,<br />
AND PARTICULARLY FOR POOR S<strong>IN</strong>NERS.<br />
Diary, 1572<br />
DO wE NEED TO PRAY FOR THE wHOLE HOUR?<br />
A prayer at the Hour of Mercy is the prayer at the time of Jesus’s<br />
dying and a brief prayer at 3pm exactly is sufficient. Regardless<br />
of where we are, when we check the time and see<br />
it is 3pm, all that is required is a moment of contemplation,<br />
a few words to Jesus expressing trust in His great mercy.<br />
AT THREE O’CLOCK<br />
IMPLORE MY MERCY,<br />
ESPECIALLY FOR S<strong>IN</strong>NERS, AND,<br />
IF ONLY FOR A bRIEF MOMENT, IMMERSE<br />
<strong>YOU</strong>RSELF <strong>IN</strong> MY PASSION, PARTICULARLY<br />
<strong>IN</strong> MY AbANDONMENT AT THE MOMENT OF AGONY.<br />
Diary, 1320<br />
DO wE NEED TO PRAY THE CHAPLET OF DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MER-<br />
CY AT 3PM?<br />
In St. Sister Faustina’s Diary it is not indicated that Jesus<br />
asks us to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at the Hour of<br />
Mercy. Of course we can say the Chaplet at 3pm, as we can<br />
at any time of the day or night. If we pray the Chaplet at<br />
another time, then we do not have to make the prayer of<br />
the Hour of Mercy.<br />
We can join those two prayers and after contemplating<br />
Jesus’s suffering at 3pm, the Chaplet should be prayed.<br />
This is how we pray at the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in<br />
Kraków-Łagiewniki and other places.<br />
HOw TO PRAY AT THE HOUR OF MERCY?<br />
At this special moment of meeting with Jesus, you can visualize<br />
standing at the cross. You can thank Jesus for His great<br />
love, for His merciful comapssion of our weakness, and for<br />
138 139
forgiving us our sins. We know that the sacrifice of His life<br />
has opened up for us the whole divine treasury. By calling<br />
on the merits of His suffering, we can ask for anything believing<br />
we are going to receive what is best.<br />
DOES <strong>JESUS</strong> MAKE ANY SPECIAL PROMISES <strong>IN</strong> CON-<br />
NECTION wITH THE HOUR OF MERCY?<br />
On the cross Jesus gave us everything, he gave us Himself.<br />
Likewise at each meeting at the Hour of Mercy He offers us<br />
a great deal more. He promised that we can request anything<br />
for ourselves and others. He will grant this request for<br />
us if it is within God’s will for our lives.<br />
<strong>IN</strong> THIS HOUR I wILL REFUSE NOTH<strong>IN</strong>G TO THE SOUL<br />
THAT MAKES A REQUEST OF ME <strong>IN</strong> VIRTUE OF MY<br />
PASSION.<br />
Diary, 1320<br />
TRY <strong>YOU</strong>R bEST TO MAKE THE STATIONS OF THE<br />
CROSS <strong>IN</strong> THIS HOUR (…);<br />
AND IF <strong>YOU</strong> ARE NOT AbLE TO MAKE THE STATIONS<br />
OF THE CROSS,<br />
THEN AT LEAST STEP <strong>IN</strong>TO THE CHAPEL<br />
FOR A MOMENT<br />
AND ADORE, <strong>IN</strong> THE bLESSED SACRAMENT,<br />
MY HEART, wHICH IS FULL OF MERCY;<br />
AND SHOULD <strong>YOU</strong> bE UNAbLE<br />
TO STEP <strong>IN</strong>TO THE CHAPEL,<br />
IMMERSE <strong>YOU</strong>RSELF <strong>IN</strong> PRAYER THERE, wHERE <strong>YOU</strong><br />
HAPPEN TO bE, IF ONLY FOR A bRIEF <strong>IN</strong>STANT.<br />
Diary, 1572<br />
ExAMPLES OF <strong>IN</strong>SPIRATION FOR PRAYERS AT THE<br />
HOUR OF MERCY<br />
Picture yourself at Golgotha. You are standing by the Cross.<br />
You are looking at Jesus, who is dying out of love for you.<br />
Your eyes meet. What do you wish to say to Him? In your<br />
mind, you can stand by the cross with all your weakness,<br />
with your sin, with your pain. You can tell Him about anything,<br />
because He is God who knows suffering and can understand<br />
your pain. Without accusation, without judgment,<br />
he reaches out with his pierced hand from the cross to help<br />
you rise.<br />
Take the cross in your hand. Contemplate Jesus’s loneliness<br />
at the time He most needed someone’s presence, understanding,<br />
and love. Contemplate His loneliness in many<br />
brothers and sisters suffering, abandoned, and ridiculed.<br />
Talk to Him about your loneliness. Try to notice in the sea<br />
of suffering His great Divine Mercy.<br />
Sr. M. Gaudia Skass,<br />
Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza<br />
140<br />
141
FEAST<br />
OF DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY<br />
142 143
THE GRACES<br />
OF MY MERCY<br />
ARE DRAwN<br />
bY MEANS OF<br />
ONE<br />
VESSEL ONLY,<br />
AND THAT IS<br />
TRUST<br />
Diary, 1578<br />
144 145
GOD IS ALWAYS MERCIFUL.<br />
EVERY DAY,<br />
NO MATTER WHERE WE ARE,<br />
HE SHOWS US HIS LOVE.<br />
HE WANTED, HOWEVER,<br />
A SPECIAL DAY<br />
WHEN WE PRAISE HIS MERCY.<br />
A DAY <strong>IN</strong> WHICH<br />
EVERY S<strong>IN</strong>NER – I.E. EACH OF US –<br />
HAS A CHANCE<br />
TO LEAVE THEIR PAST<br />
<strong>IN</strong> THE ARMS<br />
OF THE MERCIFUL GOD<br />
AND START EVERYTH<strong>IN</strong>G ANEW.<br />
When is this special day?<br />
The Feast of Divine Mercy is celebrated on the first Sunday<br />
after Easter, the last day of the Octave of Easter.<br />
Whose idea was it?<br />
St. Sister Faustina wrote down in her Diary the words of<br />
Jesus asking us to celebrate this feast 14 times. It was Jesus<br />
who stated the exact time and manner of celebrating Divine<br />
Mercy.<br />
Who established this feast?<br />
St. John Paul II devoted his life to the continuation of the<br />
mission of St. Sister Faustina. On the day of her canonization,<br />
30 th April 2000, he announced the Feast of Divine<br />
Mercy for the whole Church, fulfilling Jesus’s wish.<br />
146 147
Why does Jesus want this feast?<br />
The merciful God is present in our history. He can see our<br />
struggle and the sins that destroy us. He tries to rescue us in<br />
any possible way and that is why He has given us the Feast<br />
of Mercy.<br />
I DESIRE THAT THE FEAST OF MERCY BE A<br />
REFUGE AND SHELTER FOR ALL SOULS, AND<br />
ESPECIALLY FOR POOR S<strong>IN</strong>NERS.<br />
Diary, 699<br />
Are there any general promises made by Jesus<br />
in connection with the Feast of Mercy?<br />
On the Feast of Mercy, God wants to give us anything we<br />
trustfully ask of Him. He also wants to give us things that<br />
are going to be good for us! He also promises a special grace:<br />
“the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment”, which<br />
means on that day our hearts can become pure, like on the<br />
day of our baptism. The only thing that one needs to do is to<br />
be in a state of divine grace (after confession and detached<br />
from the sin) and receive Jesus in Holy Communion. We can<br />
also expect in our daily life that if we try to trust in God and<br />
show mercy to others, we can expect Jesus’s promises to be<br />
fulfilled and our hearts will be open to receive great graces.<br />
ON THAT DAY THE VERY DEPTHS<br />
OF MY TENDER MERCY ARE OPEN.<br />
I POUR OUT A WHOLE OCEAN OF<br />
MY GRACES UPON THOSE SOULS<br />
WHO APPROACH THE FOUNT OF MY<br />
MERCY. THE SOUL THAT WILL GO TO<br />
CONFESSION AND RECEIVE HOLY<br />
COMMUNION SHALL OBTA<strong>IN</strong> COM-<br />
PLETE FORGIVENESS OF S<strong>IN</strong>S AND<br />
PUNISHMENT.<br />
Diary, 699<br />
148 149
How to prepare to this feast?<br />
This special day is the day of God’s great generosity. To<br />
have one’s heart open and prepared to receive all graces<br />
offered by Him, one needs to prepare well for it. Jesus<br />
himself suggested beginning a novena on Good Friday<br />
which involves saying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for<br />
nine days.<br />
BY THIS NOVENA, I WILL GRANT EVERY POSSIBLE<br />
GRACE TO SOULS.<br />
Diary, 796<br />
How to extend this celebration?<br />
This day is a great undertaking for the whole Church.<br />
Seeing the merciful love of God makes us want to share<br />
the goodness of our Father in heaven with others.<br />
Jesus asks that we spread the message of mercy which<br />
He passed on to St. Faustina, not only on the Feast of<br />
Mercy, but also every day of our lives. Great graces are<br />
promised to those who undertake this task.<br />
SOULS THAT SPREAD<br />
THE HONOUR OF MY MERCY<br />
I SHIELD THROUGH THEIR<br />
ENTIRE LIVES<br />
AS A TENDER MOTHER<br />
HER <strong>IN</strong>FANT,<br />
AND AT THE HOUR OF DEATH<br />
I WILL NOT BE A JUDGE FOR THEM,<br />
BUT THE MERCIFUL SAVIOUR.<br />
Diary, 1075<br />
Sr. M. Gaudia Skass,<br />
Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza<br />
150
THE SHR<strong>IN</strong>E OF<br />
DIV<strong>IN</strong>E MERCY<br />
152 153
The merciful God is everywhere. We can pray to<br />
Him anywhere. Why is it then that every year<br />
around 2 million pilgrims from over 90 countries<br />
come to the Shrine of Divine Mercy in<br />
Kraków?<br />
Among them there are those who have been deeply touched<br />
by St. Faustina’s Diary. Others were touched by a testament<br />
of someone who had received a special grace at this place<br />
and they wanted to come here too. Still others are brought<br />
to the Shrine in the hope of God’s miraculous intervention<br />
into their entangled lives. There are many reasons but behind<br />
each of them there is desire for God.<br />
I HAVE COME TO<br />
ŁAGIEWNIKI (...).<br />
I AM CONV<strong>IN</strong>CED THAT<br />
THIS IS THE SPECIAL<br />
PLACE CHOSEN BY GOD<br />
TO SOW THE GRACE<br />
OF HIS MERCY.<br />
St. John Paul II<br />
Why is this place so special?<br />
The convent in the district of Łagiewniki in Kraków used to<br />
be one of many homes of the Congregation of the Sisters<br />
of Our Lady of Mercy. The sisters prayed here, worked, and<br />
praised the Lord in their daily lives. At some point this daily<br />
life became a place where God’s special grace was at work<br />
– St. Faustina Kowalska joined the Congregation in Kraków.<br />
Ever since then, the convent in Łagiewniki has been a site of<br />
numerous revelations that are important for us and for the<br />
whole world. It is from this place that the message of Divine<br />
Mercy has spread over all continents. Jesus chose this place<br />
so that here people can experience His presence and grace<br />
in a special way.<br />
Where to go first?<br />
The history of this place started with the convent chapel,<br />
which is the heart of the Shrine. This is where St. Faustina<br />
prayed, this is where she saw Jesus and spoke to Him<br />
on many occasions. The painting of Merciful Jesus by Adolf<br />
Hyła has hung in the chapel since World War II. In the 1960’s,<br />
Sister Faustina’s remains were moved here. Very soon the<br />
chapel became the site of many miracles. People come from<br />
all over the world to pray here and receive many graces and<br />
experience God’s presence in a special way.<br />
Why is the Shrine called the world centre for<br />
veneration of Divine Mercy?<br />
In 1938, St. Faustina passed away in the convent in Kraków.<br />
People from all over the world make pilgrimages to her<br />
tomb. Thanks to her they learn the message of Divine Mercy,<br />
which changes their lives. Here they pray before the<br />
painting of the Merciful Jesus renowned for bestowing grac-<br />
154 155
es; visitors to the Shrine have taken holy cards and copies<br />
of the painting to the most distant corners of the world.<br />
Through these acts, they experience God’s merciful love;<br />
they join St. Faustina’s mission by spreading the message of<br />
Mercy to everyone. The greatest accomplishments of this<br />
mission are owed to St. John Paul II. In the 1980’s, it was<br />
he who called the Shrine “the capital of Divine Mercy.” He<br />
was aware of how special this place was. He used to go to<br />
Łagiewniki during World War II, when he worked at a nearby<br />
quarry. Later on, he often prayed here as a priest and then as<br />
the bishop of Kraków. As Pope, he beatified and canonized<br />
Sister Faustina and established the Feast of Divine Mercy<br />
(on the second Sunday of Easter) for the whole Church. Later,<br />
he made two pilgrimages to the Shrine of Divine Mercy<br />
GOD, MERCIFUL FATHER (...)<br />
BEND DOWN TO US S<strong>IN</strong>-<br />
NERS, HEAL OUR WEAK-<br />
NESS, CONQUER ALL EVIL,<br />
AND GRANT THAT ALL THE<br />
PEOPLES OF THE EARTH MAY<br />
EXPERIENCE <strong>YOU</strong>R MERCY.<br />
<strong>IN</strong> <strong>YOU</strong>, THE TRIUNE GOD,<br />
MAY THEY EVER F<strong>IN</strong>D THE<br />
SOURCE OF HOPE.<br />
St. John Paul II<br />
in Kraków and, during his last pilgrimage, he consecrated<br />
the Basilica and entrusted the whole world to Divine Mercy.<br />
What other important places are worth visiting<br />
at the Shrine?<br />
Near the convent chapel, there is the Basilica building with<br />
its tower visible from many spots in Kraków and nearby areas.<br />
Confession is held at the Basilica daily from morning<br />
until evening and many people take this opportunity to go<br />
to confession. In the lower part of the Basilica, people come<br />
to pray at the chapels, which have interior décor that has<br />
been developed by artists from several countries. The Italian,<br />
Hungarian, Ukrainian, Slovak and German chapels show<br />
that, through St. Sister Faustina, Jesus passed His message<br />
of mercy to the whole world. Next to the Basilica, there is<br />
the Chapel of Perpetual Adoration where the prayer for<br />
mercy for the world and each human being has been in continuous<br />
progress since 2005.<br />
Sr. M. Gaudia Skass,<br />
Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza<br />
Sr. M. Gaudia Skass – sister from the Congregation of the Sisters of<br />
Our Lady of Mercy, graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts<br />
(department of painting), proclaims Divine Mercy in many different<br />
ways, some examples can be found on the Internet, including on the<br />
YouTube channel Faustyna 2016.<br />
Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza – sister from the Congregation of the Sisters<br />
of Our Lady of Mercy, trained musician and teacher, has been<br />
serving the Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Kraków for a few years.<br />
156 157
THE WAY OF<br />
MERCY<br />
MEDITATION<br />
158 159
1<br />
WHAT MAN OF <strong>YOU</strong>, HAV<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
A HUNDRED SHEEP, IF HE HAS LOST<br />
?<br />
OF THEM,<br />
DOES NOT LEAVE THE N<strong>IN</strong>ETY-N<strong>IN</strong>E<br />
<strong>IN</strong> THE WILDERNESS,<br />
AND GO AFTER THE ONE<br />
WHICH IS LOST, UNTIL HE F<strong>IN</strong>DS IT?<br />
Lk 15:4<br />
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The spread of the devotion of the Divine Mercy has resulted<br />
in new forms of worship. One of them is “The<br />
Way of Mercy”, in which we meditate on the life of Jesus,<br />
discovering the truth that Jesus manifests God’s<br />
mercy from the moment of His incarnation up to His<br />
ascension into Heaven and offering us the opportunity<br />
of eternal life. Below you will find one of the forms in<br />
which “The Way of Mercy” can be celebrated.<br />
MEDITATION 1<br />
Merciful Jesus Comes To Do the Will of the Father<br />
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,<br />
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body<br />
have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings<br />
you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have<br />
come to do your will, O God,’ as it is written of me in the roll<br />
of the book.” (Heb 10:5-7)<br />
Opening Prayer<br />
Merciful Jesus, we are about to walk a unique way, the Way of<br />
Mercy. We want to follow Your steps and contemplate Your<br />
words: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”<br />
We are going to reflect on the events recorded in the Gospel<br />
which demonstrate how merciful You are. We want to become<br />
like You, Lord Jesus.<br />
On this Way of Mercy, we are accompanied by Mary and the<br />
Apostles of the Divine Mercy: St. Faustina and St. John Paul II.<br />
Lord Jesus Christ, we are following Your footprints that You<br />
left when You proclaimed Father’s love, healed the sick, cast<br />
out demons, forgave sins, raised the dead to life and when You<br />
offered Your life for our salvation.<br />
Fill us with Your Spirit for the time of this prayer. May Your<br />
Spirit reveal to us the beauty of Your merciful love: starting<br />
from the moment of Your conception in the womb of the Virgin<br />
Mary, through your youthful years and adulthood, when<br />
you set off from Nazareth with the mission of mercy, ending<br />
with Golgotha and the joyful day of Your resurrection.<br />
162<br />
Merciful Jesus, I adore God’s mercy in the mystery of Your<br />
incarnation, when You became man in Mary’s womb. You were<br />
obedient to the Father and came to earth to bring salvation to<br />
everyone. St. Faustina wanted to fulfil God’s will in her life. She<br />
said, “I want to live in the spirit of faith. I accept everything<br />
that comes my way as given me by the loving will of God,<br />
who sincerely desires my happiness” (Diary, 1549).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for becoming man and showing me how<br />
I can entrust myself to God and accept His will. Please help<br />
me recognize what God wants from me in my everyday life.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 2<br />
Merciful Jesus Becomes Close To Humanity<br />
And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.<br />
And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped<br />
him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because<br />
there was no place for them in the inn. And in that region<br />
there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over<br />
their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to<br />
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and<br />
they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be<br />
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not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy<br />
which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day<br />
in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And<br />
this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in<br />
swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Lk 2:6-12)<br />
Merciful Jesus, by Your birth in poverty You became closer<br />
to us. Sister Faustina wrote in her Diary: „When I arrived at<br />
Midnight Mass, from the very beginning I steeped myself<br />
in deep recollection, during which time I saw the stable of<br />
Bethlehem filled with great radiance. (…) after a while, I<br />
was left alone with the Infant Jesus who stretched out His<br />
little hands to me, and I understood that I was to take Him<br />
in my arms. Jesus pressed His head against my heart and<br />
gave me to know, by His profound gaze, how good He found<br />
it to be next to my heart” (Diary, 1442).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your birth in Bethlehem. Help me<br />
experience Your presence and love. May Your care and love<br />
be felt by those who are deprived of family home, warmth,<br />
presence of another person, safety or peace. Please come to<br />
my heart as You came to earth in Bethlehem.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 3<br />
Jesus Proclaims the Mission of Mercy<br />
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up;<br />
and he went to the synagogue, as was his custom, on the<br />
Sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given<br />
to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book<br />
and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the<br />
Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good<br />
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the<br />
captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty<br />
those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of<br />
the Lord.” And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant,<br />
and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue<br />
were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this<br />
Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke<br />
well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded<br />
out of his mouth; and they said, “Is not this Joseph’s<br />
son?” (Lk 4:16-22)<br />
Merciful Jesus, in the synagogue in Nazareth, You read the<br />
words from the book of the prophet Isaiah, who anticipated<br />
Your mission of mercy among people. You came to tell us that<br />
God is good and merciful. Sister Faustina wrote down Your<br />
words: “I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy”<br />
(Diary, 687). “My mercy is greater than your sins and<br />
those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of<br />
my goodness?” (Diary, 1485).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for healing the sick, opening the eyes<br />
of the blind, breaking the fetters of evil, restoring freedom<br />
to the enslaved, bringing hope to the sorrowful. Help me give<br />
testimony to Your love. I want to proclaim Your mercy to the<br />
164 165
world through my good deeds and prayer so that I can make<br />
the doubtful believe, the resigned regain their hope, and the<br />
lonely and rejected receive love.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 4<br />
Jesus Looks For Sinners on the Peripheries of Life<br />
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near<br />
to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured,<br />
saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So<br />
he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred<br />
sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the<br />
ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is<br />
lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on<br />
his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls<br />
together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them,<br />
‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which<br />
was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy<br />
in heaven over one sinner who repents than over<br />
ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”<br />
(Lk 15:1-7)<br />
Merciful Jesus, You are a friend to every one<br />
of us, and You unceasingly look for those who<br />
have gone astray in their lives. Sister Faustina reminds<br />
us about Your words: “(…) be willing to talk<br />
openly with your God of mercy who wants to speak<br />
words of pardon and lavish his graces on you. How dear<br />
your soul is to Me! (…) I never reject a contrite heart.<br />
Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy.<br />
(…) You will give me pleasure if you hand over to me all<br />
166<br />
your troubles and griefs. I shall heap upon you the treasures<br />
of My grace” (Diary, 1485).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for letting me give all my sins and weaknesses<br />
to You. Take me into Your arms like a lost sheep and<br />
hug me. Help me trust in You.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 5<br />
Jesus Shows His Compassion to the Hungry<br />
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion<br />
on the crowd, because they have been with me now<br />
three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to<br />
send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” And the<br />
disciples said to him, “Where are we to get bread enough in<br />
the desert to feed so great a crowd?” And Jesus said to them,<br />
“How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few<br />
small fish.” And commanding the crowd to sit down on the<br />
ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having<br />
given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples,<br />
and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate<br />
and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of<br />
the broken pieces left over. Those who ate were four thousand<br />
men, besides women and children. (Mt 15:32-39)<br />
Merciful Jesus, You give me everything I need. You know all<br />
my needs, even the simplest ones in everyday life, but You<br />
also wait for my deeds of mercy. Sister Faustina recorded in<br />
her Diary: “Jesus came to the main entrance today, under<br />
the guise of a poor young man. This young man, emaciated,<br />
barefoot and bareheaded, and with his clothes in tatters,<br />
167
was frozen because the day was cold and rainy. He asked<br />
for something hot to eat. (…) As I was taking the bowl from<br />
him, he gave me to know that He was the Lord of heaven<br />
and earth. (…) I heard these words in my soul: My daughter,<br />
the blessings of the poor who bless me as they leave this<br />
gate have reached My ears. (…) and this is why I came down<br />
from My throne – to taste the fruits of your mercy” (Diary,<br />
1312). “From that moment on, there was stirred up in my<br />
heart an even purer love toward the poor and the needy”<br />
(Diary, 1313).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to me in every person I meet.<br />
Teach me not to be indifferent towards the needy. Help me<br />
understand that the things I can offer them are not as important<br />
as me spending time and sharing Your love with them.<br />
Lord Jesus, whatever I do for another person, I do for You.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 6<br />
Jesus Show His Mercy To The Suffering<br />
While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full<br />
of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and<br />
begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And<br />
he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I will;<br />
be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And he<br />
charged him to tell no one; but “go and show yourself to<br />
the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses<br />
commanded, for a proof to the people.” But so much the<br />
more the report went abroad concerning him; and great multitudes<br />
gathered to hear and to be healed of their infirmities.<br />
But he withdrew to the wilderness and prayed. (Lk 5:12-16)<br />
Merciful Jesus, You show compassion towards the suffering. In<br />
the Gospel, we can find many stories about Your encounters<br />
with the physically and spiritually sick, the blind, the deaf, the<br />
paralyzed and those possessed by demon. Sister Faustina recorded<br />
Your words directed at a suffering soul: „I see that you<br />
suffer much and that you do not have even the strength to<br />
converse with me. So I will speak to you. Even though your<br />
sufferings were very great, do not lose heart or give in to<br />
despondency. (…) Tell me about everything, be sincere in<br />
dealing with Me, reveal all the wounds of your heart. I will<br />
heal them, and your suffering will become a source of your<br />
sanctification” (Diary, 1487).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your compassion. Please help me remember<br />
these words when I feel depressed. Help me discover<br />
Your presence when I am struck by an unexpected illness or<br />
when I experience painful events or rejection. Teach me how<br />
to be compassionate and stand by those who suffer.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 7<br />
Jesus Forgives Sins By The Power Of His Mercy<br />
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you<br />
see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water<br />
for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and<br />
wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the<br />
time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not<br />
anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with<br />
ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are<br />
forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little,<br />
loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”<br />
168 169
Then those who were at table with him began to say among<br />
themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he<br />
said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”<br />
(Lk 7:44-50)<br />
Merciful Jesus, I am dear and precious in Your eyes. Whenever<br />
I fall, I can always count on Your forgiveness. Sister Faustina<br />
wrote down Your words in her Diary: “I perform works of<br />
mercy in every soul. The greater the sinner, the greater the<br />
right he has to My mercy” (Diary, 723). “Know that as often<br />
as you come to Me, humbling yourself and asking My<br />
forgiveness, I pour out a superabundance of graces on your<br />
soul, and your imperfection vanishes before My eyes, and<br />
I see only your love and your humility. You lose nothing but<br />
gain much…” (Diary, 1293).<br />
Jesus, thank You for not allowing my wrongdoings close the<br />
path to You. Help me cherish Your mercy, which forgives my<br />
sins. Help me to never doubt Your love and Your readiness to<br />
forgive my sins. Please strengthen my faith that it is You who<br />
waits for me in the confessional to forgive my sins and hug me<br />
lovingly to Your Heart.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 8<br />
Jesus Reveals God’s Tenderness and Patience<br />
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father,<br />
I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer<br />
worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired<br />
servants.” And he arose and came to his father. But while he<br />
was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion,<br />
and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son<br />
said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before<br />
you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the<br />
father said to his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and<br />
put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his<br />
feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and<br />
make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he<br />
was lost, and is found.” And they began to make merry. (Lk<br />
15:18-24)<br />
Merciful Jesus, thank You for telling me about the Father. I really<br />
need to know that God is my Father, that He is a father<br />
who loves me and always waits for me. Sister Faustina wrote<br />
down Your words: “My Heart overflows with great mercy for<br />
souls, and especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand<br />
that I am the best of Fathers to them (…)” (Diary,<br />
367). “With My mercy, I pursue sinners along all their paths,<br />
and My Heart rejoices when they return to Me. I forget the<br />
bitterness with which they fed My Heart and rejoice at their<br />
return” (Diary, 1728).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your open arms, in which I can feel<br />
safe and loved. Please help me never doubt that God is tender<br />
and merciful, that He always waits for my return. I have the<br />
170 171
est Father in the world, whose Heart is always open for me.<br />
In His eyes, I am precious and unique. I am His beloved child.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 9<br />
Jesus Raises the Dead to Life<br />
Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him,<br />
fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here,<br />
my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her<br />
weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping,<br />
he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; and he said,<br />
“Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come<br />
and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved<br />
him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the<br />
eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then<br />
Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave,<br />
and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”<br />
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by<br />
this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four<br />
days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you would<br />
believe you would see the glory of God?” So they took away<br />
the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father,<br />
I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always<br />
hear me, but I have said this on account of the people standing<br />
by, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he<br />
had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Laz’arus, come<br />
out.” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound<br />
with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said<br />
to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (Jn 11:32-44)<br />
Merciful Jesus, You have the power to bring the dead to life.<br />
Not only do You bring those who have suffered a physical<br />
death to life, but You also bring those who suffer a spiritual<br />
death from their sins back to life. You said to St. Faustina that<br />
the greatest miracles take place in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.<br />
You told her, “To avail oneself of this miracle, it is<br />
not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage (…) it suffices<br />
to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to<br />
reveal to him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy<br />
will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying<br />
corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no<br />
[hope of] restoration and everything would already be lost,<br />
it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores<br />
that soul in full” (Diary, 1448).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your mercy, which gives me a new<br />
life. Please help me see Your presence in everyday situations,<br />
especially where there is no solution from a human standpoint.<br />
Please teach me to trust in Your mercy, which helps me<br />
and which gives me hope in the situations that are hopeless<br />
to a human mind. Give me a strong faith so that I may believe<br />
that, for You, everything is possible.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 10<br />
Jesus leaves His disciples the Testament of Mercy<br />
This is my commandment, that you love one another as<br />
I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that<br />
a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if<br />
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you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants,<br />
for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but<br />
I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my<br />
Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me,<br />
but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and<br />
bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever<br />
you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. This I<br />
command you, to love one another. If the world hates you,<br />
know that it has hated me before it hated you. (Jn 15:12-18)<br />
Merciful Jesus, You are always present among us in the Eucharist.<br />
You remind us that we should love one another as You<br />
have loved us. Sister Faustina was with You in the Cenacle,<br />
the room where the Last Supper took place, during one of<br />
her prayers. She wrote, “During this hour of prayer, Jesus<br />
allowed me to enter the Cenacle (…). I was most deeply<br />
moved when, before the Consecration, Jesus raised His<br />
eyes to heaven and entered into a mysterious conversation<br />
with His Father. It is only in eternity that we shall really<br />
understand that moment. His eyes were like two flames;<br />
His face was radiant, white as snow; His whole personage<br />
full of majesty, His soul full of longing. At the moment of<br />
Consecration, love rested satiated – the sacrifice fully consummated.<br />
Now only the external ceremony of death will<br />
be carried out – external destruction; the essence (of it) is<br />
in the Cenacle” (Diary, 684).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to me in every Eucharist and<br />
strengthening me with Your presence. I am not able to offer<br />
my life for my friends yet, but I can learn from You how to give<br />
others my prayers, presence, and service. May every Eucharist<br />
change my everyday life so that I can become more merciful<br />
and more like You.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 11<br />
Jesus Reveals the Difficult Beauty of Mercy<br />
Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers<br />
plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and clothed<br />
him in a purple robe; they came up to him, saying, “Hail, King<br />
of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went<br />
out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing him out<br />
to you, that you may know that I find no crime in him.” So<br />
Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple<br />
robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” When the chief<br />
priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify<br />
him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves<br />
and crucify him, for I find no crime in him.” (Jn 19:1-6)<br />
Merciful Jesus, Your suffering shows me how much You love<br />
me. You want me to love other people in the same way. St.<br />
Faustina recorded Your words: “Have great love for those<br />
who cause you suffering. Do good to those who hate you.<br />
(…) It is not always within your power to control your feelings.<br />
You will recognize that you have love if, after having<br />
experienced annoyance and contradiction, you do not lose<br />
your peace, but pray for those who have made you suffer<br />
and wish them well” (Diary, 1628).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for suffering for me. Please teach me to<br />
love those who I struggle to love. Help me understand true<br />
forgiveness and give me courage to forgive. Teach me how to<br />
174 175
pray for those who have hurt me and those whom I have ever<br />
hurt in my life.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 12<br />
Jesus Gives Us Mary as the Mother of Mercy<br />
So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus<br />
were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of<br />
Clopas, and Mary Mag’dalene. When Jesus saw his mother,<br />
and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to<br />
his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the<br />
disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple<br />
took her to his own home. (Jn 19:25-27)<br />
Merciful Jesus, thank You for giving me Your Mother, who<br />
always takes care of me. St. Faustina received the grace of<br />
seeing Mary and talking to Her. She wrote, “Then I saw the<br />
Blessed Virgin, unspeakably beautiful. She came down<br />
from the altar to my kneeler, held me close to herself<br />
and said to me, I am Mother to you all, thanks to the<br />
unfathomable mercy of God. Most pleasing to Me is<br />
that soul which faithfully carries out the will of God”<br />
(Diary, 449).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for giving me Your Mother, Mary. Please<br />
help me grow closer to her and love her. She knows the mystery<br />
of the Divine Mercy best since she knows Your Heart.<br />
I can learn from her how to be merciful, how to trust God, and<br />
how to fulfil His will.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 13<br />
Jesus Opens the Fountain of Mercy to Us<br />
Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the<br />
bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that<br />
Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their<br />
legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.<br />
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of<br />
the other who had been crucified with him; but when they<br />
came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did<br />
not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side<br />
with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.<br />
He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and<br />
he knows that he tells the truth – that you also may believe.<br />
For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled,<br />
“Not a bone of him shall be broken.” (Jn 19:31-36)<br />
Merciful Jesus, You offered Your life on the cross out of love<br />
for me. You often told St. Faustina about Your great love:<br />
“I have opened My Heart as a living fountain of mercy. Let all<br />
souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy<br />
with great trust” (Diary, 1520). “For you I descended from<br />
heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the<br />
cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance,<br />
thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then,<br />
with trust to draw graces from this fountain” (Diary, 1485).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your cross. Please let me never forget<br />
the way to Golgotha. It is there that the fountain of mercy<br />
springs up. You are mercy, Jesus. Hide me and my loved ones<br />
in Your pierced Heart. Teach me to always defend the sign of<br />
the Cross as the sign that shows us how much You love us.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
176 177
MEDITATION 14<br />
Jesus Brings Mercy in His Holy Wounds<br />
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not<br />
with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him,<br />
“We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see<br />
in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in<br />
the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will<br />
not believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were again in the<br />
house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but<br />
Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with<br />
you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see<br />
my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do<br />
not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My<br />
Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “You have believed because<br />
you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not<br />
seen and yet believe.” (Jn 20:24-29)<br />
Merciful Jesus, You rose from the dead and brought peace<br />
to us all. This truth is illustrated in the image that You asked<br />
St. Faustina to paint. You showed me your wounds, which<br />
are a cure for my soul and spoke to me through St. Faustina<br />
by saying, “From all My wounds, like from streams, mercy<br />
flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain<br />
of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces<br />
for souls” (Diary, 1190). “Listen, My child, to what I desire<br />
to tell you. Come close to My wounds and draw from the<br />
Fountain of Life whatever your heart desires” (Diary, 1485).<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your resurrection. Grant me a strong<br />
faith in Your victory over death and in Your resurrection. I worship<br />
Your holy wounds, which are the signs of Your merciful<br />
love for me. Help me share with others the love which You<br />
pour into my heart. Although I cannot see You with my eyes,<br />
I believe in Your presence and that You wait for me in any<br />
person in need.<br />
HYMN: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.<br />
MEDITATION 15<br />
Jesus Will Come To Reward the Merciful<br />
Then the King will say to those at his right hand, “Come,<br />
O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for<br />
you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry<br />
and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink,<br />
I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you<br />
clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison<br />
and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him,<br />
“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty<br />
and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and<br />
welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we<br />
see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will<br />
answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the<br />
least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” (Mt 25:34-40)<br />
Pope Francis reminds us that the love Jesus teaches us is based<br />
on deeds. There is no Christianity without merciful deeds.<br />
Theoretical lessons about mercy, or new philosophies are<br />
not nearly as important as concrete gestures of love. “Dear<br />
brothers and sisters, this is how the Church is Mother, by<br />
teaching her children works of mercy. She learned this manner<br />
from Jesus, she learned that this is what’s essential for<br />
salvation. It’s not enough to love those who love us. Jesus<br />
says that pagans do this. It’s not enough to do good to those<br />
who do good to us. To change the world for the better it is<br />
178 179
necessary to do good to those who are not able to return<br />
the favour, as the Father has done with us, by giving us Jesus.<br />
How much have we paid for our redemption? Nothing,<br />
totally free! Doing good without expecting anything in return.<br />
This is what the Father did with us and we must do<br />
the same. Do good and carry on! How beautiful it is to live<br />
in the Church, in our Mother Church who teaches us these<br />
things which Jesus taught us. Let us thank the Lord, who has<br />
given us the grace of having the Church as Mother, she who<br />
teaches us the way of mercy, which is the way of life. Let us<br />
thank the Lord.” (Pope Francis, General Audience, 10 th September<br />
2014)<br />
Closing prayer<br />
Lord Jesus, thank You for the time we have spent together<br />
walking the Way of Mercy. We believe that there is only<br />
one aim of this journey, that is to fix our gaze on You, Merciful<br />
Jesus, so that we can become like You. We want our<br />
hands, feet, hearts, thoughts and desires to be merciful like<br />
Yours. May it happen, Lord. Amen.<br />
Sr. M. Salwatricze Musiał,<br />
Fr. Marek Hajdyła<br />
Sr. M. Salwatricze Musiał – sister from the Congregation of the<br />
Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy; born in Kraków; utilized her education<br />
in theological-pedagogical studies in her work with girls at the<br />
House of Mercy and with pilgrims arriving in Łagiewniki; involved in<br />
the formation of the international “Faustinum” Association and the<br />
Apostolic Movement of the Divine Mercy; in her missionary service<br />
in America, Africa and the Middle East, she led catechesis for children<br />
and young people, ministered to the sick, soldiers, and prisoners; she<br />
is currently working at the Divine Mercy Spirituality Center in Rome.<br />
Fr. Marek Hajdyła – director of the Central Events Department of<br />
the Organizational Committee of the World Youth Day 2016, the parish<br />
priest of the Church of St. Jadwiga the Queen in Kraków.<br />
180 181
Tell aching mankind to snuggle<br />
close to My merciful Heart,<br />
and I will fill it with peace.<br />
Tell [all people] My daughter<br />
that I am Love and Mercy itself.<br />
Diary, 1074
184<br />
CONFESSION<br />
THE SACRAMENT<br />
OF MERCY
THOSE<br />
wHO ARE wELL<br />
HAVE NO NEED<br />
OF A PHYSICIAN,<br />
PRESCRIPTION<br />
Provider<br />
Patient<br />
Word of the Lord<br />
Bible<br />
wYD<br />
2016<br />
KRAKÓw<br />
bUT THOSE wHO ARE SICK<br />
Come to me, all who labor and<br />
are heavy laden,<br />
and I will give you rest<br />
Mt 11:28<br />
Mt 9:12<br />
signature
188<br />
The whole Bible<br />
tells us about<br />
God’s mercy,<br />
which can be characterized<br />
as a true,<br />
beautiful,<br />
perfect,<br />
tender<br />
and self-denying<br />
love of the Father<br />
to His children.<br />
One of the liturgical prayers says that God’s almighty power<br />
expresses itself best in His forgiveness and pity for us, that is,<br />
His power is best expressed in His mercy. The whole Bible tells<br />
us about God’s mercy, which can be characterized as a true,<br />
beautiful, perfect, tender and self-denying love of the Father<br />
to His children. This is the fatherly love towards the child who<br />
has gone away from the father’s home and, as noted by Pope<br />
Francis, “has squandered his freedom on false idols, illusions<br />
of happiness, and has lost everything.” But, as the Pope adds,<br />
“God does not forget us, the Father never abandons us.<br />
He is a patient father, always waiting for us! He respects<br />
our freedom, but he remains faithful forever. And when<br />
we come back to Him, he welcomes us like children into<br />
His house, for He never ceases, not for one instant, to wait<br />
for us with love. And His heart rejoices over every child<br />
who returns. He is celebrating because there is joy. God<br />
has this joy when one of us sinners goes to Him and asks<br />
His forgiveness.”<br />
OUR ReTURN<br />
TO THe lOV<strong>IN</strong>G FATHeR<br />
TAKeS PlAce <strong>IN</strong> THe SAcRAmeNT<br />
OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION.<br />
Before we discuss the sacrament of confession, we need to<br />
ask ourselves the question “What is sin?” and realize that it is<br />
the biggest tragedy that can ever happen in our lives. However,<br />
to fully understand the tragedy of sin and God’s forgiveness<br />
as the only way to return to Him, we need to realize first who<br />
God is, how much He loves us and how beautiful life is if God is<br />
in it and we are obedient to Him, our Father. This truth is best<br />
illustrated in the biblical story of Eden and the fall of Adam<br />
and Eve. Undoubtedly, we can all identify ourselves with them.
“You are not my Father<br />
anymore, and I am not<br />
Your child”<br />
Now the serpent was more subtle<br />
than any other wild creature that the<br />
Lord God had made.<br />
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and<br />
that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be<br />
desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she<br />
also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of<br />
both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and<br />
they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.<br />
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden<br />
in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves<br />
from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of<br />
the garden.<br />
He said to the woman,<br />
{ }<br />
And the woman said to the serpent,<br />
{<br />
Did God say, “You shall not eat of any<br />
tree of the garden”?<br />
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of<br />
the garden; but God said, “You shall not<br />
eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the<br />
midst of the garden, neither shall you<br />
touch it, lest you die.”<br />
But the serpent said to the woman,<br />
{ }<br />
You will not die. For God knows that<br />
when you eat of it your eyes will be<br />
opened, and you will be like God, knowing<br />
good and evil.<br />
{<br />
But the Lord God called to the man, and said to<br />
him,<br />
And he said,<br />
He said,<br />
{ }<br />
{ }<br />
The man said,<br />
Where are you?<br />
{ }<br />
I heard the sound of you in the garden,<br />
and I was afraid, because I was naked;<br />
and I hid myself.<br />
Who told you that you were naked?<br />
Have you eaten of the tree of which<br />
I commanded you not to eat?<br />
{ }<br />
The woman whom you gave to be with<br />
me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and<br />
I ate.<br />
190 191
tHen tHe Lord God said to tHe woman,<br />
What is this that you have done?<br />
{ }<br />
tHe woman said,<br />
The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.<br />
{ }<br />
tHe Lord God said to tHe serpent,<br />
Because you have done this, cursed are<br />
you above all cattle, and above all wild<br />
animals; upon your belly you shall go, and<br />
dust you shall eat all the days of your life.<br />
(Gen 3:1-14)<br />
{ }<br />
The book of Genesis says that Adam was created in the<br />
image of God and after God’s likeness. It means that man<br />
resembles God; consequently, he will only be happy if he gives<br />
himself to others by loving others. Man will feel fulfilled if he<br />
builds strong relationships with other people as the three persons<br />
of God commune with one another: the Father, the Son<br />
and the Holy Spirit. Man also resembles God in his freedom<br />
and intellect. The truth about man being a reflection of God is<br />
amply illustrated in another passage from the Book of Genesis,<br />
where Adam becomes the father of Seth, a son in his own<br />
likeness, after his image (cf. Gen 5:3). The passage features the<br />
same expressions as the ones used to indicate the resemblance<br />
between God and His creation, Adam.<br />
To be in somebody’s likeness and after somebody’s image<br />
means to be somebody’s son. By saying that<br />
<strong>IN</strong><br />
GOD’S<br />
MAN<br />
wAS CREATED<br />
LIKENESS<br />
AND AFTER HIS IMAGE,<br />
THE bOOK OF GENESIS TELLS US<br />
THAT MAN<br />
IS THE CHILD OF GOD, AND GOD IS HIS FATHER.<br />
192 193
SABBATH<br />
In the story of Creation, God rested on the seventh<br />
day. This day is called by Jews “Sabbath”. On this<br />
day, we celebrate the fact that God entered a covenant<br />
with man, making him His child and part of<br />
His family.<br />
When God made the covenant with Adam, He had<br />
to set some conditions since a covenant is a type of<br />
th<br />
contract in which two parties commit themselves to<br />
observing specific rules. God promised Adam absolute<br />
happiness, eternal life filled with love because He<br />
day<br />
loved him.<br />
AND TO SAY “I LOVE <strong>YOU</strong>”<br />
MEANS TO EXPRESS THE WISH<br />
“I WANT <strong>YOU</strong> TO LIVE ETERNALLY.”<br />
This strong father-child relationship is emphasized many<br />
times in the Bible by means of covenants that God makes<br />
between Himself and man. In the old times, when somebody<br />
entered a covenant with another person, it meant that he made<br />
this person a part of his family. To make a covenant means to<br />
say “You belong to my family, we are of one blood.”<br />
From man, God demanded obedience. Not because He was<br />
a tyrant or a totalitarian ruler but because the obedience guaranteed<br />
man’s happiness. Therefore, God gave man a garden<br />
and some tasks related to it. Adam was supposed to till (Hebrew<br />
‘abodah’) and keep it (Hebrew ‘shamar’). It is important<br />
to point out that back in the ancient times these tasks were<br />
assigned to the firstborn son. He was supposed to cultivate his<br />
father’s land and keep the livestock. God entrusted man with<br />
what a father would entrust his firstborn son. He was only for-<br />
194 195
idden from doing one thing. He was not allowed to eat fruit<br />
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Observing these<br />
conditions guaranteed continuity of the covenant and being a<br />
member of God’s family. However, Adam broke the covenant<br />
and committed sin.<br />
Why did Adam succumb to Satan’s temptation and commit<br />
sin if he had everything he needed and was absolutely happy?<br />
After all, God gave him everything in the garden and made him<br />
His son. Why did Adam break the covenant with God despite<br />
all the gifts he received from Him? There are different possible<br />
answers. Maybe he was selfish and wanted to have more for<br />
himself. Satan said, “There is one thing that you did not receive<br />
from God and I will give it to you: you will come to know good<br />
and evil. There is a tree that God left only for Himself, He does<br />
not want to give it to you, but you will get it from me.” Maybe<br />
this explains the sin of the first man? And maybe the answer<br />
can be found in the subtlety of the Hebrew words used to<br />
recount the story of Creation and the original sin?<br />
Important linguistic subtleties can be found in God’s warning<br />
against the consequences of eating fruit from the tree of the<br />
knowledge of good and evil. God said to Adam that he would<br />
die if he tried this fruit. However, it is extremely difficult to<br />
translate the Hebrew expression used at this point in the Bible<br />
without a lengthy footnote. What the Hebrew version literally<br />
says is that Adam will “die-die” if he picks fruit of that tree.<br />
Another literal translation would be “you will die of death”.<br />
What does it mean, then? In Hebrew, it is possible to form<br />
comparatives of adjectives and nouns to emphasize that something<br />
is the best or most remarkable. For example, there is a<br />
book in the Bible the name of which is literally translated into<br />
English as “the Song of Songs”, i.e. the most beautiful and extraordinary<br />
song, better than any other. Similarly, a particularly<br />
dramatic death would be referred to as “death-death”<br />
or with the phrase “you will die-die”.<br />
In their comments on this fragment of the Bible, Jewish<br />
rabbis explain that God wanted to make man aware<br />
of the two kinds of death: physical death, i.e. death<br />
of the body,<br />
AND THE SPIRITUAL DEATH,<br />
I.E. A MUCH WORSE ONE, WHICH SEPARATES MAN<br />
FROM THE FATHER, ALIENATES HIM FROM GOD,<br />
THE SOURCE OF LIFE.<br />
When man decided to pick fruit from the tree of knowledge<br />
of good and evil, he suffered the worst death, the<br />
spiritual one.<br />
Satan enters the stage with a show of lies and illusions. From<br />
the very beginning, there is no truth in what he says since he<br />
starts the conversation by asking, “Did God say, ‘You shall not<br />
eat of any tree of the garden’?” (Gen 3:1). After a while he lies<br />
again, “If you eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good<br />
and evil, you will not die” (cf. Gen 3:4). And God said, “You will<br />
die.” Then Satan tells another lie, “For God knows that when<br />
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,<br />
knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5). Herein lies the essence of<br />
any sin: man decides to take God’s place. Committing sin is<br />
like telling God, “You are not my God anymore, I am the god<br />
now.” And the problem is that the place we have robbed God<br />
of belongs only to Him and we do not know how to act once<br />
we are there. Whenever we try playing God, it ends in a disaster<br />
for us.<br />
196 197
Committing<br />
sin is<br />
like<br />
telling<br />
God,<br />
“You<br />
are not<br />
my God<br />
anymore,<br />
I am<br />
the god<br />
now.<br />
The moment Eve tries to take God’s place,<br />
the look in her eyes changes and – as we<br />
read in the Book of Genesis – she begins to<br />
notice that “the tree was good for food, and<br />
that it was a delight to the eyes” (Gen 3:6).<br />
Before the meeting with the serpent, Adam<br />
and Eve did not see anything special or attractive<br />
in that tree. But after the conversation<br />
with Satan, their eyes open and they<br />
see that the fruit of that tree is good for<br />
food and delicious and it will bring them the<br />
knowledge promised by the serpent. That is<br />
why they choose to eat it.<br />
Of course, we could ask, “What is wrong<br />
about it? After all, it might be a good thing<br />
to know good and evil! If we know good<br />
and evil, we can distinguish between them,<br />
choose good and resist evil. So what is devilish<br />
about it?” The answer is that God did<br />
not want any evil to exist in the world. Satan<br />
tries to make Adam and Eve believe that<br />
God does not want them to taste fruit of<br />
that tree because He wants to leave it only<br />
for Himself. This is not true. God does not<br />
want man to come to know evil since He<br />
only wants us to experience good things.<br />
Evil is not a creation of God, it was not<br />
meant for man. But Satan is cunning and<br />
tries to tell man, “You will know both good<br />
and evil.” He does not say, “You will be completely<br />
evil, you will only commit sins. You<br />
will stumble through the swamp of sin. You<br />
will be a moral degenerate.” He does<br />
not say anything like that! What he is<br />
trying to say is, “Generally, be good but<br />
allow some evil in your life from time<br />
to time. Do something bad sometimes. Introduce<br />
evil into your life and mix it with good.” He<br />
knows perfectly well that hardly anybody would succumb to<br />
such a temptation. Therefore, he expects us to do both good<br />
and evil in our life.<br />
To confuse man even more, Satan starts to present Adam<br />
and Eve anything that is evil as good. He is well aware that<br />
no sane person would choose evil, which debases and destroys<br />
us. Nobody consciously chooses something that is bad<br />
for them. We choose evil because it seems good, because we<br />
think we can benefit from it. The devilish temptation presents<br />
evil as something pleasant, as delicious fruit. Evil seems very<br />
innocent, then. Satan says to Eve that their eyes will be open.<br />
Yet what happens is quite the opposite. Adam becomes completely<br />
blind because he stops seeing what he saw before, he<br />
stops seeing that God loves him boundlessly, that God wants<br />
the best for him, that God is thinking all the time what to do<br />
to make Adam happy.<br />
We also need to look from a different angle at the conversation<br />
between the serpent and Eve. Actually, we need to<br />
note that there was no conversation between the serpent and<br />
Adam. Adam does not even exchange a word with Satan. It<br />
is only Eve that talks to him. Adam is silent, he doesn’t say a<br />
word although it is his duty to guard the garden from undesirable<br />
guests, one of whom is undoubtedly Satan.<br />
What made Adam stop protecting the garden? The Hebrew<br />
word nahash, which is translated in this fragment of the Bible<br />
as “the serpent”, occurs later in the Bible as well. However, in<br />
198 199
other instances, the word is translated in some English versions<br />
as “dragon” or “sea monster”. So, in fact, Adam meets<br />
face to face with a dragon, which might sound more serious<br />
than a meeting with “a serpent”. It is possible, then, to imagine<br />
Adam standing there petrified at the serpent which makes him<br />
think of a dragon, or even a sea monster.<br />
ADAm meeTS FAce TO FAce<br />
wITH A DRAGON<br />
What does Adam actually<br />
do in this situation? He<br />
stops loving. In other words, he<br />
prefers submitting himself to the<br />
serpent and following Satan’s directions<br />
to obeying the covenant<br />
that God made with him, to<br />
protecting Eve and the garden<br />
from undesirable guests. He<br />
is concentrated on himself, on<br />
his safety, desires and stops<br />
thinking about anything else.<br />
breaking the covenant with<br />
God results in the loss of<br />
the godly life and the deathdeath,<br />
i.e. the life which is not<br />
a life anymore. Adam<br />
loses sight of the<br />
Creator and Eve<br />
and, in this way,<br />
he breaks the covenant and enters death-death. To break the<br />
covenant with God means to break the close bond with the<br />
Father. When we commit sin, we are telling God, “You are not<br />
my Father anymore, and I am not Your son.” We are telling the<br />
Father who created us and gave us His world to live in that we<br />
do not want to live here anymore, that we want to follow our<br />
own rules. The last word of the sinner is always “I am god.”<br />
We say, “I am taking your place now”, to God, the highest of all<br />
authorities, who deserves worship, primacy, respect, obedience<br />
and love. This is the actual evil behind any sin – the dethronement<br />
of God, telling Him that we do not desire His love anymore,<br />
that we do not want Him to be our Father.<br />
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Mercy – the tender love of God<br />
Luckily, sin does not have the last word. The last word<br />
belongs to God. When we say to God, “You are not my Father”,<br />
He shows us His fatherly love through His beloved<br />
Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. His love is illustrated by another<br />
biblical story – the parable of the Good Samaritan.<br />
The parable proves that God is not indifferent to us. In fact,<br />
He is genuinely interested in us. His mercy does not allow<br />
Him to pass by our lives, our suffering and the greatest tragedy<br />
of our life – our sins. He will do everything to heal our<br />
wounds, raise us when we fall and bring joy back to our<br />
lives. He will do everything to let us experience His mercy<br />
through Jesus Christ.<br />
LOAD<strong>IN</strong>G...<br />
Jesus replied,<br />
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he<br />
fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and<br />
departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest<br />
was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed<br />
by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came<br />
to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But<br />
a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and<br />
when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and<br />
bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set<br />
him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took<br />
care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and<br />
gave them to the innkeeper, saying, “Take care of him; and<br />
whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come<br />
back.” (Lk 10:30-35)<br />
„<br />
© DAYENU<br />
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All too often, we find it difficult to understand the parable<br />
of the Good Samaritan because we tend to compare ourselves<br />
to the Good Samaritan and ask ourselves, “Am I like<br />
him?” We ask ourselves how we would react if we passed<br />
by a wounded man. Would we stop? Would we bandage his<br />
wounds? Undoubtedly, these are very important questions.<br />
After all, Jesus encourages the lawyer whom he told the<br />
parable, and us all, to go and act like the Good Samaritan.<br />
But who is actually the Samaritan from Christ’s parable?<br />
The Greek Fathers of the Church explain that we should not<br />
identify ourselves with the Good Samaritan. In fact, we are<br />
epitomized by the man who has been robbed, beaten and<br />
left half dead by the road. We need to identify ourselves<br />
with him and see Jesus as the Good Samaritan. We are<br />
lying by the road as a result of our sins.<br />
The parable says that the man was going down from Jerusalem<br />
to Jericho. As noted by the Fathers of the Church, the<br />
fact that the man was travelling between these two towns<br />
has a deeply symbolic meaning. Jerusalem was the religious<br />
center of Israel, the holy city, the place of the presence of<br />
God. The fact that the man was going down from Jerusalem<br />
means that he was going away from God’s presence and he<br />
began to plunge into sin. He was on his way to Jericho. The<br />
way leading from Jerusalem to Jericho is very steep. The<br />
man is going down, he is plunging further and further<br />
into the abyss of his sins. Finally, he arrives in Jericho,<br />
one of the lowest cities in the world (270 meters below<br />
sea level).<br />
JERUSALEM743 m.a.s.l.<br />
The parable shows us what happens to a man who has<br />
committed a sin, which plunges him further and further into<br />
an abyss. The sin strips him of his dignity so that now he is<br />
lying completely naked by the road. In the long run, sin robs<br />
us of our freedom and enslaves us. In the ancient times,<br />
a naked man must have been a slave because free people<br />
wore clothes. We become slaves because we are not able to<br />
resign from our sin anymore. Even when we do not want to<br />
sin again, we fall again and again.<br />
A priest and a Levite – the people who are theoretically<br />
devoted to God – pass by the man. But if they really knew<br />
God, they would know that He was merciful and they would<br />
show their mercy to the naked man. Eventually, a Samaritan<br />
checks whether the man is alive. He is travelling so he must<br />
be in a hurry but he stops by the beaten man. He could check<br />
if he was alive and leave him with the hope that somebody<br />
else would take care of him. He could think about his own<br />
safety – “If this man was beaten here, those who attacked<br />
him must be still somewhere around and can assault me<br />
as well.” But the Samaritan does not look for excuses. He<br />
decides to help the man. He binds up his wounds, disinfects<br />
them with wine and soothes them with oil. He could leave<br />
him at this point if he wanted. But he sets the man on his<br />
animal, which means that, from now on, he himself needs to<br />
walk and takes him to an inn. Now, he could say, “I have done<br />
my bit, take care of him now, I am leaving.” But he chooses<br />
to stay with him all night to take care of him, and in the<br />
morning, he gives money to the innkeeper and says, “Take<br />
JERICHO<br />
270 m.b.s.l.
care of him, I will pay for everything.” In this way, he shows<br />
the stranger his great tenderness and mercy.<br />
The most difficult thing to understand in this parable is<br />
that the Good Samaritan shows his mercy to a Jew. Samaritans<br />
and Jews hated each other. The hatred between them<br />
was so intense that when a Samaritan drank water from a<br />
cup, a Jew could not even touch this cup because he considered<br />
it unclean.<br />
And who is that man lying by the road? It is you,<br />
wounded by your sin. You are this enemy of God. You are<br />
an enemy of Jesus, for whom He shows so much love and<br />
tenderness. Now you might be thinking to yourself, “How is<br />
it possible? I am His friend.” But are you sure?<br />
Do you know that it is because of your and my sins<br />
that Jesus died? I killed Jesus with my sin! It is my fault.<br />
When I come to a confessional and confess all my sins, I acknowledge<br />
that with them I killed the Son of God. This is my<br />
responsibility. But God forgives us for killing His beloved<br />
Son. We are all equal in this respect. There are no light or<br />
unimportant sins. If you know that Jesus died for your sins,<br />
how can you say that you do not sin, that you do not have<br />
anything to confess? Is somebody who is guilty of another<br />
person’s death their friend or enemy? When you face God<br />
knowing that His beloved Son died for your sins, are you not<br />
His enemy? And what is His attitude towards you, the one<br />
who is guilty of His Son’s death? He shows you tenderness,<br />
love and care. When you come to confession, God binds up<br />
your wounds because He knows that you have been defeated<br />
by sin. He soothes your pain with oil and disinfects your<br />
wounds with wine. He grants you anew His grace restoring<br />
your dignity as the child of God and freeing you from<br />
slavery. Then, He takes you in His arms, brings you to an inn<br />
to feed you with His Body and Blood.<br />
Finally, He tells you,<br />
“I LOVE <strong>YOU</strong>.<br />
I DO NOT REMEMBER WHAT <strong>YOU</strong> DID ANYMORE.<br />
I HAVE FORGIVEN <strong>YOU</strong>.<br />
ENJOY <strong>YOU</strong>R LIFE TO THE FULLEST!”<br />
This is God’s mercy, which manifests itself in Jesus Christ,<br />
epitomized by the Good Samaritan.<br />
The Sacrament of Mercy<br />
The parable of the Good Samaritan reflects what happens<br />
in the sacrament of mercy. It is through confession<br />
that we turn from God’s enemy to God’s beloved child.<br />
Through our sins, whether they were actions or words,<br />
we show God that He is not our God anymore. He is not<br />
our Father and we do not want to be his children anymore.<br />
Now, in the sacrament of mercy, we become again God’s<br />
dear children. He forgives our trespasses, hugs us to His<br />
heart, and gives us a new lease of life. In the sacrament of<br />
confession, God also grants us eternal life so that we can<br />
stay close to Him forever. Pope Francis wrote about it as<br />
follows: “It is so wonderful to feel the merciful embrace<br />
of the Father in the sacrament of Reconciliation, to discover<br />
that the confessional is a place of mercy, and to<br />
206 207
allow ourselves to be touched by the merciful love of<br />
the Lord who always forgives us!”<br />
Why do I need confession?<br />
Why do I need to go to confession to receive God’s forgiveness?<br />
Why do I have to come to a priest and tell him about<br />
the bad things that I have done? Is it not enough to kneel<br />
down in the church and talk to God in my heart with a deep<br />
sense of regret? No, it is not enough because God’s usual<br />
way of acting in the Church, in which our sins are justified<br />
and forgiven, is the sacrament of penance and reconciliation.<br />
Two thousand years ago, Jesus was healing people,<br />
touching them, raising them up and telling them, “I forgive<br />
you your sins.” As stated by St. Leo the Great, a pope from<br />
the 5 th century, “What was visible in our Redeemer has now<br />
passed into His Mysteries” (Sermones, 74, 2: PL 54, 398A). It<br />
means that two thousand years ago Jesus was healing and<br />
forgiving people in person, and nowadays He heals us and<br />
forgives us by means of the sacraments.<br />
Where should we confess our sins?<br />
The best place for confession is the sacred space of the<br />
church and the confessional. Of course, it can happen that<br />
we confess our sins in a different place, e.g. in a parish<br />
house or in a different place devoted to God. This way the<br />
sacrament of reconciliation takes place within the community<br />
of the Church. It means that when we kneel down in<br />
front of God, we ask our brothers and sisters to pray for<br />
us and seek reconciliation with them as well because, with<br />
our sins, we have hurt the whole Church. My sin is not my<br />
private thing. We are all mysteriously<br />
interconnected. Therefore, in the sacrament<br />
of confession, we reconcile ourselves<br />
with both God and the whole<br />
community of the Church.<br />
Why is the Sacrament of Reconciliation<br />
a Ritual?<br />
When we come to confession, we follow<br />
a special ritual. Though it might<br />
look artificial at first sight, this process<br />
of confession proves very helpful. For<br />
the confessor, it is important that the<br />
penitent starts by saying a couple of<br />
words about themselves, his/her age<br />
and his/her status in life (whether he/<br />
she is a layperson, a priest, a friar or<br />
a sister, whether he/she is married or<br />
single etc.). It is also essential to mention<br />
the time of his/her last confession<br />
and whether he/she received the absolution.<br />
With small variations between<br />
individual cultures, the confession of<br />
sins ends with the special formula with<br />
which the penitent expresses sorrow<br />
for his/her sins and resolves to amend<br />
his/her life. We ask God to forgive us<br />
our sins through the ministry of the<br />
priest who hears our confession and<br />
grants us absolution. By means of this<br />
short process, we declare to God that<br />
208 209
we have fulfilled all the necessary conditions for a valid<br />
confession, which are traditionally referred to as the five<br />
things necessary (steps) for a good confession.<br />
How to confess our sins?<br />
During the sacrament of reconciliation, we have to confess<br />
all mortal sins. Mortal sins are sins of grave matter<br />
committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.<br />
We commit a mortal sin when we know that a given act<br />
is a sin and we make a free choice to commit it. When all<br />
these factors are fulfilled, we speak of a mortal sin. While<br />
confessing mortal sins, the penitent needs to be precise so<br />
that the priest can understand what sin we refer to. The<br />
penitent needs to indicate how many times, how often, and<br />
in what circumstances he/she committed a sin. Of course,<br />
we do not need to give an exact number of the sins which<br />
we commit regularly. It suffices to state the frequency the<br />
sin has been committed since your last reconciliation. However,<br />
you need to be more precise in the case of grave sins.<br />
Also, we should describe what the sin consisted of (which<br />
does not mean, however, that we have to recount in detail<br />
the very act of committing the sin).<br />
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Examination of conscience – recognize the<br />
truth about yourself<br />
The first step to a good confession is the examination of<br />
conscience. A well-conducted examination of conscience is<br />
already half of the success. What is the examination of<br />
conscience? I like imagining a mirror where I can compare<br />
myself to Jesus Christ. It is a mirror which shows<br />
me the whole truth about myself. It clearly shows what<br />
is evil in myself, what I need to reject and what I need to<br />
change in my life. However, this mirror also reflects my<br />
beauty and good qualities. It reflects how I imitate<br />
Jesus in my life. The examination of<br />
conscience does not consist in focusing<br />
solely on your sins and weaknesses.<br />
Its goal is to recognize the truth<br />
about yourself, which makes<br />
this step of preparing for confession<br />
a truly liberating experience.<br />
The examination of conscience<br />
is a form of judgment that we<br />
pronounce on ourselves. It is our<br />
conscience and mind that pass this<br />
judgment. It is important to understand<br />
what is meant by “judgment” in<br />
this sense. St. John of the Cross said, “As we<br />
prepare to leave this life, we will be judged in love”<br />
(Words of Light and Love, 57). During the examination of<br />
conscience, we judge ourselves in love of God. Therefore,<br />
we examine our conscience with the power from the Holy<br />
Spirit, which turns this step of the preparation for the confession<br />
into a prayer.<br />
EXAM<strong>IN</strong>ATION OF<br />
CONSCIENCE<br />
IS RECOGNIZ<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
THE LIBERAT<strong>IN</strong>G<br />
TRUTH.<br />
211
To examine your conscience, you can use an examination<br />
of conscience that is found in a prayer book or in other materials.<br />
These reflections are meant to help you see where<br />
you have loved God and others well and where you have<br />
failed to love God and love your neighbour since your last<br />
confession (you will find such help in this booklet as well).<br />
Do not put off the examination of conscience until the time<br />
of confession. Give yourself time to reflect on your actions.<br />
One thing that you can do is make an examination<br />
of conscience a part of your daily prayers. For example, you<br />
can do an examination of conscience during your evening<br />
prayers. This allows you to reflect on how many good things<br />
you have managed to do and in what circumstances you<br />
have sinned during your day.<br />
Ignatius of Loyola, one of the greatest experts on examinations<br />
of consciences in the history of the Church,<br />
believed that the examination of conscience should begin<br />
with thanksgiving. We need to discover the presence<br />
of God in our lives and realize how God’s grace has assisted<br />
us. St. Ignatius said that we should not move to analyzing<br />
our sins without giving thanks first. The examination<br />
of conscience is not meant to help us see our sins! No, I am<br />
not mistaken. The examination helps us see the truth about<br />
ourselves. Our sins constitute only part of the truth about<br />
us. Nobody in the world is totally evil. We need to be able<br />
to see both good and evil in ourselves. It is only in the light<br />
of God’s presence and His love that you can see how sin<br />
separates you from God and how much you hurt Him with<br />
your trespasses.<br />
I am sorry that I have taken God’s place<br />
During confession, we express contrition, or sorrow, for<br />
our sins. It is the second step of a good confession. We<br />
often have a problem here as we tend to treat this act of<br />
contrition on an emotional level. However, contrition is not<br />
an emotion that we experience, but has more to do with<br />
our will and reason, because we can consciously make different<br />
choices than those dictated by emotions. We tend<br />
to associate contrition with the sphere of feelings because<br />
of expressions like “feel sorrow.” But in this case, it is not<br />
important if we feel sorrow; it is essential that we express<br />
our contrition. There is a big difference between feeling and<br />
expressing this sorrow, this contrition.<br />
We distinguish between perfect and imperfect contrition.<br />
Perfect contrition is a repentance for sin that is motivated<br />
by my love for God or, to be more precise, by God’s<br />
love for me. I regret that I have offended God with my sin.<br />
I know that with my sin I have taken the place of God in my<br />
life, I “eclipsed” Him, I robbed Him of His glory and position<br />
which He deserves, I have hurt Him and broken the bond between<br />
us. I regret because I have hurt Him who loves me so<br />
much. This is the perfect contrition. By contrast, the imperfect<br />
contrition is the sorrow that I feel because of the consequences<br />
of my sin or because I am afraid of the punishment<br />
for my sin and that I can miss my eternal prize, Heaven. The<br />
imperfect contrition is sufficient to be granted absolution.<br />
Do your best to amend your life<br />
During the sacrament of confession, we also resolve to<br />
change our lives. However, it is not enough to make a resolution<br />
in the confessional. God expects us to do our best<br />
212 213
to improve our lives. To do that, we need to realize that we<br />
have done evil and know why it happened (the examination<br />
of conscience). Only then can we consider what to do<br />
in order to eliminate this sin from our lives. For example,<br />
if we see that we do not devote any time to God, we need<br />
to allocate ourselves a set time each day to pray. Otherwise,<br />
the promise we make at the confessional is empty.<br />
If we do not know what to change in our lives, it means<br />
that we have not given it enough thought and, in fact, we<br />
have not resolved to change. The promise to amend our<br />
lives requires actions, not words.<br />
Spiritual paralysis<br />
You might forget some of your sins during confession. Do<br />
not worry about it. God knows your heart and your sorrow.<br />
He also forgives you the sins that have escaped your<br />
memory during confession or the examination of your conscience.<br />
If you forgot to mention a grave sin, declare it at<br />
the next confession. Of course, there is a fundamental difference<br />
between “I don’t remember” and “I didn’t say”. A<br />
conscious concealment of sins makes the confession invalid<br />
and despite the formal absolution your sins are not forgiven<br />
because you have not declared all of them. There is still<br />
a sin which separates you from God. A conscious concealment<br />
of sins can paralyze your soul for a long time.<br />
This paralysis may result from the fact that you are afraid<br />
to uncover the truth about yourself and acknowledge your<br />
sins. Maybe at some point in your life, you were so ashamed<br />
of certain sins that you have not confessed them at the confessional.<br />
Today you are spiritually paralyzed. Was it in your<br />
childhood? Or in your youth? Or maybe recently? Later,<br />
even though you wanted to declare your sin and the<br />
fact that you had concealed it, you were even more<br />
ashamed. Now, you are ashamed of the sin itself and<br />
the fact that you have concealed it. You think, “What<br />
will the priest think of me?”, “What is my confession<br />
going to look like now?” You put off your confession<br />
and the years pass by. You try to erase the memory<br />
that you concealed your sin but your spiritual<br />
paralysis is still there. You are paralyzed regardless<br />
of whether you think about your sin or not. It keeps<br />
coming back to your mind and heart, bringing along<br />
even more evil.<br />
Unfortunately, you can also be paralyzed by sin if<br />
you were treated unfairly by your confessor. Your<br />
paralysis was born out of the sin of your confessor,<br />
who, instead of bringing you God’s mercy with his<br />
service, inflicted wounds on your heart which have<br />
stayed with you for years. Maybe you felt completely<br />
ignored, maybe he did not show you any kindness,<br />
maybe he only raised his voice and was shouting at<br />
you or even insulting you. Maybe he tackled some<br />
difficult issues without tact and Christ’s tenderness.<br />
Such an attitude, whether it was intentional or not,<br />
may have paralyzed you for years and stopped you<br />
from going to confession because you were not<br />
ready or willing to talk to a priest about your sins.<br />
Remember that you can tell God the whole truth<br />
about yourself. You do not need to fear, His mercy is<br />
incomparably bigger than your greatest sin. God will<br />
always welcome you and forgive you anything if you<br />
choose to come to Him.<br />
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Penance is not a punishment for sins<br />
After a thorough examination of conscience and a<br />
sincere confession, you need to find a new direction<br />
to follow in your life. First, you have to make<br />
amends for your sins before God and your neighbours<br />
by completing your penance. Therefore, you<br />
should do your best to compensate for the harm<br />
that your sin caused to another person. For example,<br />
you should give back the things that you stole or<br />
restore the good name of the person you defamed.<br />
More often than not, the will to make amends for<br />
our sins arises spontaneously in our hearts. You will<br />
also be given penance by your confessor. It is meant<br />
to bring you closer to Jesus, who died for all our<br />
sins. Penance may take the form of prayer, offering,<br />
works of mercy, fasting, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices,<br />
service of neighbour or any concrete form<br />
meant to restore what your sin destroyed. Penance<br />
gives you a chance to make amends for your sins,<br />
grow in grace and regain your spiritual health. The<br />
confessor imposes it on you to make you look at<br />
yourself and the consequences of your sins together<br />
with God. Try to restore what your sin destroyed<br />
and, at the same time, believe that God will help<br />
you because you alone are not able to go back to<br />
all the people you hurt and all the places where you<br />
committed your sins.<br />
Absolution<br />
Finally comes the most important element of the sacrament:<br />
the formula of absolution.<br />
God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection<br />
of his Son has reconciled the world to Himself<br />
and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of<br />
sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give<br />
you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins<br />
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy<br />
Spirit.<br />
It is important to remember who forgives our sins in the<br />
sacrament of reconciliation. It is God, our Father, and not the<br />
priest in the confessional. It is God, against whom we sinned,<br />
that grants us absolution. In this sense, it is important that<br />
He is our Father. Who is father? The father is somebody<br />
who not only loves the child, takes care of it and supports<br />
it, but, first and foremost, gives life to the child. The absolution<br />
of sins is the moment when God gives birth to us, in<br />
other words He bestows upon us His own life as if He was<br />
saying, “Live My life, I want you to live like Me, follow My<br />
ideas for your happiness, participate in My nature and in My<br />
life.” How does this birth take place? It happens through the<br />
Son of God, who died for us. He gave His life for us. At the<br />
confessional, we are kneeling in front of Jesus Christ, who<br />
says to us: “Live, and I will die, I will offer My life for you, so<br />
that you can live it.”<br />
We are forgiven by the power of the Holy Spirit, who first<br />
revealed the truth about ourselves, showed us our sin and<br />
inspired repentance and sorrow in us. The Holy Spirit infused<br />
my heart with the grace of forgiveness that flows from the<br />
217
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is illustrated by the<br />
gesture the priest makes when he pronounces the words of<br />
absolution. In this gesture, the priest raises his open hand<br />
over the penitent to invoke the power of the Holy Spirit<br />
(Greek epiclesis). Interestingly enough, the same gesture<br />
is made by the priest during every Mass, when bread and<br />
wine change into the actual Body and Blood of Christ. The<br />
priest raises his hands over bread and wine asking God to<br />
send down the Holy Spirit upon the gifts to change them.<br />
The presence of this gesture in both the confession and the<br />
Eucharist demonstrates a link between the two sacraments.<br />
In fact, the sacrament of reconciliation serves as the gateway<br />
to the Eucharist, or the Holy Communion with God. The<br />
raised hand also symbolizes a father who puts his hand on<br />
the head of his little child to make him or her feel saved and<br />
loved. This gesture also illustrates the truth about the relationship<br />
between the Father and the Son, who are united by<br />
mutual Love – the Holy Spirit. This love of the Father for His<br />
Son is bestowed upon us, “adoptive” children of God, who,<br />
through penance, become reunited with God. We can also<br />
say that during the confession God embraces us with the<br />
power of the Holy Spirit. Imagine, God hugs you and tells<br />
you, “You are my child.”<br />
Confession is not psychotherapy<br />
God loves us. Therefore, He forgives us and bestows peace<br />
upon us. However, here, the word “peace” does not denote<br />
an emotional state when we feel well because the load is<br />
off our mind. Of course, we can feel like that, but this sort<br />
of peace is not the most important consequence of a valid<br />
and good confession. In fact, the sacrament of reconciliation<br />
brings us a sort of peace which can be described with the<br />
Hebrew word shalom, or the inner harmony, completeness.<br />
We achieve this harmony because we experience God’s forgiveness<br />
and know that we cannot be accused before God<br />
for our sins and that we will be saved. Now, we can stand in<br />
front of God as His servants, human beings created by the<br />
Father. He is our God, we are His humble servants with our<br />
hearts full of gratitude for everything that He did for us.<br />
Confession is not a form of psychotherapy, although this<br />
sacrament does help and heal us on the psychological level<br />
as well. The primary goal of reconciliation is not for us to<br />
feel better, remove the burden of our sins, or “spring-clean”<br />
our conscience. All this takes place secondary to the fact<br />
that reconciliation makes us realize anew that God is our<br />
Father, and we are His children, who are reborn to life – to<br />
the life that we lost through our sins. In other words, the<br />
sacrament of confession raises us from death caused by our<br />
sins back to life.<br />
Do not put off your confession until you are perfectly prepared.<br />
Despite your fear, doubts, and shame, let yourself be<br />
embraced by God’s love.<br />
218 219
DON’T WAIT!<br />
STAND UP<br />
AND COME TO THE FATHER,<br />
WHO WAITS FOR <strong>YOU</strong><br />
<strong>IN</strong> FRONT OF HIS HOUSE<br />
WITH HIS ARMS OUTSTRETCHED<br />
TO EMBRACE <strong>YOU</strong>,<br />
FORGIVE <strong>YOU</strong>,<br />
GRANT <strong>YOU</strong><br />
A NEW LIFE<br />
AND TELL <strong>YOU</strong>,<br />
“I LOVE <strong>YOU</strong>!<br />
REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENED,<br />
<strong>YOU</strong> ARE MY CHILD<br />
AND I LOVE <strong>YOU</strong><br />
VERY MUCH.”<br />
Fr. Krzysztof Porosło<br />
Fr. Krzysztof Porosło – a priest in the Archdiocese of<br />
Kraków, student of dogmatic theology at the Theological Faculty<br />
of the University of Navarra in Pamplona (Spain), author<br />
and editor of several books on liturgy and the Bible; recordings<br />
of his sermons and spiritual exercises are available on the<br />
website www.baptysterium.pl.<br />
i died<br />
SO <strong>YOU</strong> CAN LIVE<br />
221
© DAYENU<br />
paid
BUT THAT <strong>YOU</strong> MAY KNOW<br />
THAT THE SON OF MAN<br />
HAS AUTHORITY ON EARTH<br />
TO FORGIVE S<strong>IN</strong>S –<br />
HE THEN SAID TO THE PARALYTIC<br />
“RISE,<br />
TAKE UP <strong>YOU</strong>R BED<br />
AND GO HOME.”<br />
AND HE ROSE<br />
AND WENT HOME.<br />
Mt 9:6-7<br />
225
Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the<br />
least of these my brethren, you did it to me.<br />
(Mt 25:40)<br />
(Diary, 723)<br />
THE GREATER<br />
THE S<strong>IN</strong>NER,<br />
THE GREATER<br />
THE RIGHT<br />
HE HAS<br />
TO MY MERCY<br />
TAKE AS MUCH AS <strong>YOU</strong> LIKE<br />
This is my commandment, that you love one<br />
another as I have loved you. (Jn 15:12)<br />
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your<br />
heavenly Father also will forgive you.<br />
(Mt 6:14)<br />
He who knows how to forgive prepares for<br />
himself many graces from God. As often as<br />
I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive<br />
with all my heart. (Diary, 390)<br />
He who trusts in My mercy will not perish, for all his<br />
affairs are Mine, and his enemies will be shattered at<br />
the base of My footstool. (Diary, 723)<br />
The soul that trusts in My mercy is most fortunate,<br />
because I Myself take care of it.<br />
(Diary, 1273)<br />
I desire that the whole world know My infinite<br />
mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those<br />
souls who trust in My mercy. (Diary, 687)
HOW DO I<br />
CONFESS?<br />
228 229
COME NOW,<br />
LET US REASON<br />
TOGETHER,<br />
SAYS THE LORD: THOUGH <strong>YOU</strong>R S<strong>IN</strong>S<br />
ARE LIKE SCARLET, THEY SHALL BE<br />
AS WHITE AS SNOW;<br />
THOUGH THEY ARE RED LIKE CRIMSON,<br />
THEY SHALL BECOME LIKE WOOL.<br />
Is 1:18<br />
COLOUR A PICTURE OF <strong>YOU</strong>R SOUL.<br />
LET AREAS WITH SNOWFLAKES<br />
BE WHITE.
CONDITIONS<br />
FOR A GOOD<br />
5CONFESSION<br />
1.<br />
2.<br />
3.<br />
4.<br />
5.<br />
EXAM<strong>IN</strong>ATION OF CONSCIENCE:<br />
RECOGNIZE THE TRUTH ABOUT<br />
<strong>YOU</strong>RSELF.<br />
CONTRITION: EXPRESS SORROW<br />
FOR REJECT<strong>IN</strong>G THE GREATEST LOVE<br />
<strong>IN</strong> THE WORLD.<br />
STRONG RESOLUTION: DO <strong>YOU</strong>R<br />
BEST TO STAY AWAY FROM S<strong>IN</strong>.<br />
S<strong>IN</strong>CERE CONFESSION: CONFESS ALL<br />
<strong>YOU</strong>R S<strong>IN</strong>S.<br />
SATISFACTION: TRY TO REPAIR <strong>IN</strong>JU-<br />
RIES CAUSED BY <strong>YOU</strong>R S<strong>IN</strong>.<br />
233
EXAM<strong>IN</strong>ATION OF CONSCIENCE<br />
BASED ON THE SPIRITUAL<br />
WORKS OF MERCY<br />
1. To Admonish Sinners<br />
For me to chastise someone else for their sins, I need to know<br />
that I am a sinner myself.<br />
• Am I aware of it?<br />
• Can I reprimand myself?<br />
• Am I humble?<br />
• Is salvation my biggest goal?<br />
• Do I want my friends to go to heaven?<br />
• Is God the one who connects us?<br />
• Am I able to maintain a dignified attitude if someone does something bad,<br />
does not respect values, or dismisses God?<br />
• Am I able to speak out?<br />
• Am I courageous in defending my beliefs and morals?<br />
• Am I able to rebuke in a calm way, without pride?<br />
• Does evil influence my desires to fit in with others?<br />
• Do I spread beauty?<br />
• Do I believe with all my strength that love, faith and hope will triumph?<br />
2. To Instruct The Ignorant<br />
To teach the ignorant I myself need formation in faith and<br />
religious knowledge.<br />
• Do I care about my formation?<br />
• Do I frequently read the Bible, catechism, religious books and religious<br />
news?<br />
• Do I invite others to reflect with me on these values?<br />
• Am I patient when someone is less talented than myself?<br />
• Am I patient with someone who has limited knowledge or intelligence?<br />
• Am I able to explain, describe, or teach something patiently?<br />
• Am I patient with myself if I do not succeed in something or if something<br />
humiliates me?<br />
• Can I be happy for someone who knows more, is more talented or is<br />
more mature than me?<br />
3. To Counsel The Doubtful<br />
• How do I behave when I have doubts about my faith?<br />
• Do I readily leave God behind or do I seek Him even more?<br />
• Do I pray for faith?<br />
• Do I only trust in God or do I trust in superstitions, fortune telling, magic,<br />
horoscopes, or non-Christian spiritualism?<br />
• Do I excessively seek more money, power, connections or human gratification?<br />
• Do I use profanities or swear words?<br />
• Am I rude to others?<br />
• Am I concerned about people who have difficulties with faith?<br />
• Do I share my faith and desire of God with them?<br />
• Do I pray for them or offer advice to them through the grace that God<br />
gives me to spread His Gospel?<br />
• Do I treat my own and others’ faith seriously?<br />
• Does faith empower my life or is it just an addition to it?<br />
4. To Comfort The Afflicted<br />
• When I experience sadness, does the truth about Christ, who also suffers<br />
out of love for the Father and for mankind, console me?<br />
• Am I full of hope when I have difficulties, or do I quickly resort to complaining<br />
and whining?<br />
• Do I endure difficulties patiently?<br />
• Am I able to bear difficulties with love or do I run away from the issue<br />
and respond to it with despair?<br />
• When I am upset, do I become unbearable, unsociable, miserable, or<br />
angry with everything?<br />
• Do I bear difficult moments with trust?<br />
234 235
• Do I kindly and patiently explain to the saddened and distraught the<br />
point of their difficulties?<br />
• Am I able to be with people who need someone’s presence?<br />
• Am I able to be helpless like Mary standing by the cross of Jesus, but still<br />
remain with someone?<br />
• Am I sensitive to suffering, tears, pain, tragedy, and mourning?<br />
5. To Bear Wrongs Patiently<br />
• Am I aware that I can be hurt just as Jesus was wounded so many times?<br />
• Am I patient with myself?<br />
• Am I able to bear my failures and trials calmly?<br />
• Do I keep an appropriate distance from problems?<br />
• When I deal with problems, do I avoid being too hot-blooded, emotional,<br />
argumentative, malicious, or ironic?<br />
• Do I avoid mud-slinging and gossiping?<br />
• Do I resist the desire in my heart to seek revenge?<br />
• Am I able to use good over evil?<br />
• Do I protect myself and others against being hurt by those who treat us<br />
injustly?<br />
• If possible, do I discipline those who treat me unjustly and in this way<br />
teach him/her to take responsibility?<br />
• Do I discipline him/her in a humane, composed and merciful manner?<br />
• Do I pray for those who treat me unjustly so that they might come to<br />
know the love that God has for them better?<br />
• Do I hurt others through words or actions?<br />
• Do I humiliate others, causing them to suffer or die?<br />
• Do I hurt myself and others with suicidal thoughts or attempts to take my<br />
own life?<br />
6. To Forgive Offences Willingly<br />
• Am I a person of peace?<br />
• Do I forgive wholeheartedly?<br />
• Do I think about how much Christ has forgiven me?<br />
• Do I think that God is willing to forgive and does not get tired of doing so?<br />
• Do I consider how my sin against God is greater than someone else’s sin<br />
against me?<br />
• Do I avoid proclaiming any harm done to me?<br />
• Am I aware that some harm may have been done involuntarily?<br />
• Am I able to notice that someone is suffering because they have done<br />
something they did not mean to do?<br />
• Do I believe in the good intentions of others?<br />
• Do I cause harm to myself by not believing in others’ good intentions?<br />
• Do I recognize that others may be experiencing frustration, disappointment,<br />
or other emotions that result in them having a bad day?<br />
• Do I seek reparation by resorting to insult?<br />
• Do I avoid defaming other people?<br />
7. To Pray For The Living And The Dead<br />
• A prayer is the most intimate expression of spiritual love. Do I pray<br />
enough?<br />
• Do I set aside time for God every day?<br />
• Do I treasure my prayer or do I say it in a hurry just to appease my conscience?<br />
• Am I faithful to the Eucharist every Sunday and in my daily prayer?<br />
• Do I respect my prayer to God, i.e. praying in a position that expresses respect,<br />
dressing appropriately for church, maintaining silence once I’m there,<br />
kneeling in front of the Blessed Sacrament, etc.?<br />
• Do I remember in my prayers the Church, people close to me, family, and<br />
friends?<br />
• Do I remember those in need?<br />
• Do I pray for the deceased?<br />
• Do I help them by gaining and offering to them indulgences made available<br />
through the Church?<br />
• Do I know how to of obtain indulgences for the deceased?<br />
• Do I offer masses for the dead?<br />
236 237
SAY SOMETH<strong>IN</strong>G NICE TODAY<br />
to the first 5 people you meet<br />
Don’t just<br />
stand<br />
there like<br />
a sheep<br />
238 239
EXAM<strong>IN</strong>ATION OF CONSCIENCE<br />
BASED ON THE CORPORAL<br />
WORKS OF MERCY<br />
1. To Feed The Hungry<br />
• Do I remember that food is God’s gift?<br />
• Do I have an appropriate diet?<br />
• Do I eat in moderation (not too much / too little)?<br />
• Do I avoid wasting food?<br />
• Do I fast?<br />
• Am I able to deny myself things during Lent?<br />
• Do I observe the spirit of fasting during fast days (in particular on<br />
Fridays)?<br />
• Do I give alms?<br />
• Do I support charitable institutions?<br />
• Do I directly support poor people I know?<br />
• Do I live in sumptuousness, possessing goods excessively?<br />
• Do I feed those hungry for love with a good word, attention, respect, or<br />
time given to them?<br />
2. To Give Drink To The Thirsty<br />
• Do I have respect for water as a resource belonging to all people?<br />
• Do I avoid wasting it?<br />
• Do I mindlessly contaminate water/the environment?<br />
• Do I abuse alcohol?<br />
• Do I encourage others to abuse alcohol?<br />
• Do I respect it if someone refuses to have another drink?<br />
• Do I respect those who do not drink at all?<br />
• Do I notice those who thirst not only for water but also for peace, goodness,<br />
or a smile?<br />
3. To Clothe The Naked<br />
In today’s world, nakedness is very visible through pornography<br />
and eroticism.<br />
• Do I use such materials?<br />
• Can I be trusted with the protection of someone’s purity?<br />
• Do I respect the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit?<br />
• Do I succumb, willingly and without a fight, to impure thoughts about my<br />
own body (contempt, hatred, excessive cult of the body, masturbation)<br />
or someone else’s body (sexual relationships before or outside marriage,<br />
mutual fondling, rape, prostitution, licentiousness)?<br />
• Am I merciful towards myself in the genuine struggle with my weaknesses<br />
in respect of purity?<br />
• Do I continue to trust while facing temptations and trials regarding<br />
purity?<br />
• Do I realize that Jesus is my greatest purity?<br />
• Do I respect virginity?<br />
• Do I respect celibacy, the single state for the sake of the Heavenly Kingdom?<br />
• Do I desire to have a pure heart?<br />
• Do I realize that sexuality is a delicate gift of God?<br />
• Do I respect my own sexuality?<br />
• Do I shape it?<br />
• Am I sensitive towards my own and others’ sexuality?<br />
• Do I dress appropriately?<br />
• Do dress suggestively?<br />
• Do I respect my own health and life?<br />
• Do I care about those in need by donating wearable clothes and shoes to<br />
them?<br />
240 241
© DAYENU<br />
CLOTHE<br />
the prodigal son
4. To Shelter The Homeless<br />
• Do I take care of my home by its cleanliness and appropriate décor?<br />
• Am I always open to receive people close to me by being tidy at home?<br />
• Do I receive pilgrims?<br />
• Do I respect the sharing of meals with people close to me?<br />
• Am I ashamed to talk to someone who is homeless, destitute, or dirty?<br />
• Do I take care of the home of my heart?<br />
• Am I considerate, kind, and helpful?<br />
• How do I speak to people?<br />
• Do I humiliate people by my own certain style, perfectionism, or excessive<br />
attention to detail?<br />
• Am I open to life which needs the home of love?<br />
• Do I respect life from the time of conception to natural death?<br />
5. To Visit The Prisoner<br />
• Am I enslaved by an addiction through my own choice?<br />
• Am I a free person?<br />
• Am I independent of someone else’s bad behaviour and style?<br />
• Am free from other dependencies?<br />
• Am I entangled in problems of violence, alcohol abuse, or tobacco use?<br />
• Do I use drugs?<br />
• Do I empathize with those who are unable to overcome addictions?<br />
• Do I console them with merciful love?<br />
• Do I overwhelm them with my “flawlessness”?<br />
• Do I hold prisoners in hatred in my own mind?<br />
• Do I treat them as losers?<br />
• Do I console them, lift their spirit?<br />
• Do I pray for them?<br />
• Do I visit them in prison?<br />
• Do I treat the elderly and vulnerable well?<br />
• Am I happy to give up my seat for people who are unwell?<br />
• Do I remember that those suffering embody Jesus for me?<br />
• Do I remember that in the sick and suffering I can touch Jesus’s wounds?<br />
• Do I frequently touch them?<br />
• Do I consider the elderly and the sick useless?<br />
• Do I see how suffering could be redemptive?<br />
• Do I reject euthanasia?<br />
7. To Bury The Dead<br />
• Do I think about my death?<br />
• Am I always prepared for it?<br />
• Do I always strive to be in a state of holy grace?<br />
• Do I frequent the sacrament of reconciliation soon after committing<br />
a sin?<br />
• Do I realize that continuing to live in sin is what hurts Jesus the most?<br />
• Am I prepared every day for my life to come to an end?<br />
• Do I offer a last service to the deceased by arranging their funeral and<br />
burial place out of love?<br />
• Do I treat human remains with respect?<br />
• Do I take care of the graves of people close to me?<br />
• Do I visit them frequently?<br />
• Do I realize that a cemetery is a place of remembrance and reflection?<br />
• Do I believe in the communion of saints, resurrection of the body, and<br />
life everlasting?<br />
6. To Visit The Sick<br />
• When was the last time I went to visit someone ill, lonely, or elderly in<br />
hospital or in a care home?<br />
• Do I forget about these people?<br />
244 245
I AM GIV<strong>IN</strong>G <strong>YOU</strong><br />
3 wAYS<br />
of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:<br />
I wANT TO bECOME A SA<strong>IN</strong>T,<br />
and I trust that God’s mercy can make a saint<br />
even out of such misery as I am.<br />
(Diary, 1333)<br />
1.<br />
by deed<br />
2.<br />
3.<br />
by word<br />
by prayer<br />
0<br />
(Diary, 742)<br />
# HOLY<br />
I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise<br />
out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your<br />
neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink<br />
from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.<br />
(Diary, 742)<br />
This is your halo –<br />
which you can cut out and proudly display.<br />
246 247
E <strong>YOU</strong> THEREFORE PERFECT,<br />
AS ALSO <strong>YOU</strong>R HEAVENLY FATHER<br />
IS PERFECT.<br />
Mt 5:48<br />
Father Werenfried with pig<br />
IT bEGAN wITH RECONCILIATION, AND wITH bACON<br />
Dear Friends,<br />
We must be perfect. Is that hard, or easy? It becomes easier<br />
when we understand that perfection, holiness, consists in mercy.<br />
The first step is to allow ourselves to be looked at, forgiven, and<br />
loved by Jesus. Then we can take this merciful love to others.<br />
Then we can even become capable of loving our enemies. For<br />
divine Love knows no limits.<br />
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) began<br />
with reconciliation, and with bacon. It was an act of heroic and<br />
merciful love, after World War II, when people forgave their former<br />
enemies and saved countless, uprooted refugees from starvation<br />
with gifts of bacon. The strength to do so came from God.<br />
Today ACN helps those in need with around 6,000 projects<br />
annually, in 140 different countries. Through the priests, religious,<br />
catechists and enthusiastic youth volunteers of the Church ACN<br />
seeks to bring the Merciful Love of God to every corner of our<br />
earth. “Deed, Word and Prayer“ – this is the guiding motto of<br />
ACN. The world needs our holiness, which is made visible through<br />
mercy. There is so much need and poverty in the world. Billions<br />
of people still do not know the love of God. At the same time,<br />
hundreds of thousands are persecuted and killed for their faith<br />
in Jesus. They all need our help, our voices and our prayers. “For<br />
even the strongest faith is of no avail without deeds” (Diary, 742).<br />
Like the Apostles, we are all called to go out into the whole<br />
world and become fishers of men. To catch fish, we need bait.<br />
Jesus offered his own Heart as the bait on the hook. What can<br />
we offer?<br />
PEOPLE ARE MUCH BETTER THAN WE TH<strong>IN</strong>K.<br />
THEY ARE ONLY AWAIT<strong>IN</strong>G THE BURN<strong>IN</strong>G WORD<br />
THAT SETS THEIR HEARTS ON FIRE.<br />
Fr. werenfried van Straaten, founder of AcN<br />
AID TO THE CHURCH <strong>IN</strong> NEED<br />
WWW.ACN-<strong>IN</strong>TL.ORG<br />
WWW.CHANNELSOFMERCY.ORG<br />
248 249
Notes<br />
Notes
Notes<br />
Notes
Notes<br />
Notes
Original Title: Jezus ufa tobie. Inna książka o Bożym Miłosierdziu<br />
© Copyright by Archdiocese of Kraków & Wydawnictwo św. Stanisław BM<br />
Publishing Co., Kraków 2016, all rights reserved<br />
© Copyright for the English translation by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the<br />
Republic of Poland, 2016<br />
Imprimatur of the original (Polish): Kraków Metropolitan Curia, no: 832/2016<br />
Licensing: Fr. dr Stanisław Szczepaniec<br />
Consultations: Paul Edward Jarzembowski, Betsy Joan Palmer, United States<br />
Conference of Catholic Bishops<br />
Grafic Design: Dorota Paciorek DAYENU<br />
Illustrations and Cover Design: Monika Szybiak<br />
Layout: Kinga Kostka<br />
Typesetting: Agnieszka Kluzik<br />
Technical Editing: Agnieszka Lipińska<br />
Proofreading: ExLibro Translations Agency<br />
Photos: www.istockphoto.com/pl, Marcin Mazur, Piotr Drabik, Zygmunt Put<br />
Images used in the book: Adam Chmielowski – Ecce Homo, Rembrandt –<br />
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Pompeo Batoni – The Return of the Prodigal<br />
Son, Caravaggio – The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Mateo Cerezo – Ecce Homo,<br />
Giuseppe Molteni – Confession, Joos van Cleve – The Virgin and Child with Angels,<br />
Christ Pantocrator, Pan Jezus Pięciorański (Five Holy Wounds)<br />
Adolf Hyła, The Miracle-Famous Image of Merciful Jesus, The Shrine of Divine<br />
Mercy in Kraków Łagiewniki © Copyright by The Congregation of the Sisters<br />
of Our Lady of Mercy<br />
Message for the XXXI WYD and fragments of writings of Pope Francis and<br />
fragments of writings of St. John Paul II © Copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana<br />
Quotes from the Diary of St. Sister M. Faustina Kowalska used with permission<br />
ofthe Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. Stockbridge, MA<br />
USA<br />
Holy Bible quoted according to: The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version,<br />
Second Catholic Edition (2006) & The New American Bible, Revised Edition<br />
ISBN: 978-83-7422-754-4<br />
Issue: 90,000 copies<br />
Printing: Drukarnia Bałtycka Sp. z o.o.<br />
Printed in Poland. Kraków 2016