# Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska and the Divine Mercy
*2017-10-05*

> In honor of the feast day of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Bill Young leads a prayer of the Divine Mercy Chaplet and discusses the profound graces associated with this devotion.

## The Legacy of Saint Faustina

Today is October 5th, the feast day of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. For those unfamiliar with her, she is best known for the apparitions given to her by our Lord Jesus Christ, which brought us the feast of Divine Mercy Sunday, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Novena to Divine Mercy, and the beautiful image of our Lord with the rays and the words, 'Jesus, I trust in you.' Sister Faustina is one of the greatest saints of our time, and I encourage everyone to become familiar with her life and message.

## Praying the Chaplet and Novena

In honor of Saint Faustina, we pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and begin day one of the Novena. I offer these prayers for my family, my friends, and those sinners in great need. 

We begin with the opening prayer: 'O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in you.' Following the Apostles' Creed, the Our Father, and the Hail Mary, we move through the five decades. At each decade, we offer the prayer: 'Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.' On the small beads, we pray: 'For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.' We conclude with the Trisagion: 'Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.'

## The Promise of Divine Mercy

The Lord revealed this powerful prayer to Saint Faustina for everyone to use. He promised extraordinary graces to those who recite it, especially when prayed as a novena in the nine days leading up to the Feast of Mercy. Our Lord told Saint Faustina that whoever recites this chaplet will receive great mercy at the hour of death. He promised that when this prayer is said in the presence of a dying person, He will stand between the Father and that person—not as a judge, but as a merciful Savior. Even the most hardened sinner, if they recite this chaplet only once, can receive graces from His infinite mercy.

## A Testimony of Hope

I want to share a story about a painter I once hired. He had a cross on his bumper, and when I gave him my business card featuring the Divine Mercy image, he told me about his aunt. While she was dying in the hospital, her family was praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet for her. At 2:45 PM, she flatlined. For fifteen minutes, it seemed she was gone. But exactly at 3:00 PM—the hour of Divine Mercy—her heart started beating again for a short time. It was a powerful sign that Jesus came to her in her final moments, not to judge her, but to help her.

## Interceding for the Lost

This world needs the Lord more than ever, and we must spread the word of Divine Mercy because Jesus came for everyone, especially sinners. I personally ask for the intercession of Saint Faustina for my own son, a prodigal son who is currently away from the Church. Though he rejects the Lord at the moment, I have faith that deep down he loves Him. We pray that the hardest of sinners may find their way back to the open gate of heaven through the merciful heart of Jesus.

*No matter how hardened a sinner may be, the infinite mercy of Jesus is available to all who trust in Him through the intercession of Saint Faustina.*