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The Mystery of Divine Mercy. In the Diary of Saint Faustina

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The Mystery of Divine Mercy. In the Diary of Saint Faustina
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The mercy of God, in the writings of Saint Sister Faustina, is an attribute that refers to the Holy Trinity in its entirety: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not only the incarnate Son of God. Divine Mercy, source that springs from the mystery of the Holy Trinity, I trust in You (Diary 949). In other prayers composed by Sister Faustina the following expressions can be found: Adored be you, Unique in the Holy Trinity, merciful God (Diario1742); Be adored, O Holy Trinity, now and always, be praised in all Your works and in all Your creatures. May the greatness of Your mercy, O God, be admired and glorified (Diary5); Oh Holy Host, in which is the mercy of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit towards us and, especially, towards the poor sinners (Diario355).

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This mercy of God, with regard to the scope of its meaning according to biblical expressions, corresponds to the Hebrew term hesed that appears in the Old Testament, or with the term eleos of the New Testament. It is the true faithful love, kindness and compassion of God. It has the features of paternal love: a faithful love, which adopts people through filiation (Diary 1745, 1819) and which cares for all creation with its tender concern (Diary 244, 288, 361, 438, 522, 525, 1692). In the biblical context, we must not only refer to the terms: hesed and eleos, but also to the term rahamim, when referring to the deepest motivation of the love of God, a love that has features of motherly love. In his conversations with Jesus, Sister Faustina heard many times about the wombs “of mercy,” My wombs are filled with mercy that is poured out on everything I have created (Diary 1784); Everything that exists has come from the bowels of My mercy (Diary 699). Everything that exists is enclosed in the bowels of My mercy more deeply than a child in the mother’s womb (Diary 421, 1076). Rejoice, all creatures – he wrote – because you are closer to God in his infinite mercy than the newborn child from the heart of his mother (Diary 423). About maternal mercy, Jesus spoke at the same time that he gave a promise to all the apostles of Divine Mercy: To the souls who spread devotion to My mercy, I protect them throughout their lives like a loving mother (Diary1075).

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The Mercy of God in the writings of Sister Faustina is described as: «inconceivable, inscrutable, ineffable, inexpressible, inexhaustible, infinite, unattainable, which surprises the human mind and the angels.» Regarding the greatness of God’s mercy she also suggests terms such as „omnipotent, powerful and unlimited”. To express the greatness of the mystery of God’s mercy beyond words, Sister Faustina also uses a variety of images, analogies and metaphors. She often spoke of the “abyss,” or the “ocean of mercy,” “sea of ​​mercy,” or “depth of mercy.” When she wanted to emphasize the life-giving power of mercy, she used the metaphor of “fountain, spring or stream.” She also used the metaphor of “fire” and “flame” to express the ardor of God’s love for man and man’s love for God. Jesus clearly referred to “the flames of mercy” when he told Sister Faustina how they consumed him (Diario50, 177, 1190, 1520). Sister Faustina affirmed that Mercy is “the greatest attribute of God” (cf. Diario949), just as she had first heard Jesus say: she Proclaims that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hands are crowned by mercy (Diary 301).
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Father Prof. Ignacio Rozycki explains that mercy, as an attribute of God in a dogmatic sense, is equal to the other divine attributes but when it comes to the manifestations of his action in the world, Mercy is really greater than the other attributes, since the effects of this action are greater. With such a distinction regarding the concept of Mercy as an attribute of God, and its action, Saint Sister Faustina fully agrees when she states: Mercy is the flower of love: God is love and mercy is his action, in love it engenders, it is manifested in mercy (Diary 651). In her texts, this distinction between mercy as an attribute of God equal to his nature, and mercy as an action, in relation to man, is seen very clearly.

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n the writings of Saint Sister Faustina there are no comments or references to biblical texts, but very original expressions appear, which shed new light on the theology of mercy. One such original thought is one that defines God as the One who is “Love and Mercy itself” (Diary, 1074, 1273, 1486, see also 281), or a quote from Jesus, who says of himself that he is the “King of Mercy” (Diary 83, 88,367). Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures do such expressions appear. Sister Saint Faustina explains the inexhaustible character of God’s mercy, or rather, its expansion to the extent that it goes out to meet man and bends over human misery to lift man up, just as Jesus says in the Diary : I am love and Mercy Itself; There is no misery that can be measured with My mercy, nor does misery exhaust it, since from the moment My mercy is given it increases. The soul that trusts in My mercy is the happiest because I Myself take care of it. (Diario1273). The meaning of these words is the following: the greater the sin, the greater the need for mercy, that is, the more mercy will be poured out, since it increases as it is given.

Saint Sister Faustina shows us the merciful love of God from the perspective of the history of the world and humanity, that is, from the creation of angels, the earth and man, passing through the Incarnation of the Son of God and all the work of salvation, the institution of the Church, with all the richness of the graces necessary for the life of man and to achieve holiness, until we reach the eschatological realities, that is, until the final destiny of man who has been created for live in communion with God in glory, with all the saved. For this reason, the «Diary», although it is not a theological study on the mystery of the Mercy of God, nevertheless, gives the possibility of knowing it in an orderly manner according to the key: the work of creation, salvation and the glory. It is, therefore, a kind of commentary on the Bible, written from the perspective of the author’s mystical experience, and for that reason, it shows us this truth of faith in such a suggestive way. Due to its originality and the extraordinary depth of knowledge of the mystery of God’s Mercy, it constitutes an additional source for a theology of mercy.
2. Called to proclaim Divine Mercy

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The prophetic message of Saint Sister Faustina not only allows us to delve deeper into the mystery of the Mercy of God, not only does it contribute in the history of the Church this new devotion to the Divine Mercy according to the new forms of worship, but it also includes a call to preach this truth of faith with force.
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In the “Diary” of Saint Sister Faustina, many times we find this exhortation of Jesus, like an urgent call: Speak to the world about My mercy, about My love. (…) My daughter, do whatever is in your power to spread devotion to My mercy. I will make up for what you lack. Tell suffering humanity to embrace My merciful Heart and I will fill it with peace. Say, My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy themselves (Diary 1074). Jesus not only addressed this call to Sister Faustina to proclaim to the world the mystery of Divine Mercy, but through her, he addresses it to all priests (Diary 50, 1521) and to all believers (Diary 48, 742, 1075, 1225, 1572). God wanted the Church to welcome this call again: he demanded that there be a congregation – wrote Saint Faustina – that would proclaim Divine Mercy and implore it for the world (Diary 436). As for this “congregation” – as Saint Faustina made it clear – it was a single great work in the Church, made up of people with various vocations (contemplative orders, active congregations, and lay faithful), who would adopt the task of making God’s merciful love present in the world, through the testimony of life, in a spirit of trust towards God and mercy towards others, through action, word and prayer.
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Jesus attaches great importance to this task of proclaiming God’s Mercy to the world, since he links to it great promises for all those who carry it out. To the souls who spread devotion to My mercy, I protect them throughout their lives as a loving mother protects her newborn child and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them but a merciful Savior (Diary 1075). To the priests who proclaim and praise My mercy, I will give them prodigious strength and I will anoint their words and shake the hearts to which they speak (Diary 1521). The proclamation of the mystery of God’s mercy must help sinners so that they can return to and the righteous to achieve greater perfection. This task will also – according to the words of Jesus – prepare the world for his second coming. Secretary of My mercy, he writes, speak to the souls of this great mercy of Mine, because the terrible day is near, the day of My justice (Diary 965). Jesus exhorts the world to take advantage of his Mercy, while the time of mercy lasts, since he will not be able to continue doing so when the day of justice arrives, on the last day. Once established, it is the day of justice – the Virgin Mary told Sister Faustina – the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before that day. He speaks to the souls of that great mercy, while there is a time to grant mercy (Diary 635). Regarding the role of the prophetic message of Mercy, Pope John Paul II asked, when consecrating the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy during his last pilgrimage to his homeland (August 17, 2002): That this message be spread from this place to all of our beloved country and the world. Hopefully the firm promise of the Lord Jesus will be fulfilled: from here must come “the spark that will prepare the world for his last coming” (cf. Diary, 1732, ed. It., P. 568). It is necessary to light this spark of God’s grace. It is necessary to transmit this fire of mercy to the world. In the mercy of God the world will find peace, and man, happiness.

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The message of Mercy transmitted by Saint Sister Faustina is part of the biblical line that is aimed at showing us the mystery of God’s mercy and is also inscribed in the Magisterium of the Church. However, in the writings of Sister Faustina, there are original elements, and above all, what is most surprising is the depth with which this great mystery of faith is revealed to us, which, thanks to the mystical experience of Saint Faustina, can be revealed to the Church and the world. It should be noted that Sister Faustina does not limit the mystery of God’s Mercy solely to the work of Redemption, to the fact of freeing man from sin, but according to her, it also encompasses the entire work of creation. She also shows it as an attribute of the Holy Trinity in its entirety, which, in all its action “ad extra” is guided precisely by mercy. All the works of God are crowned with mercy, which means that every creature owes its existence to mercy and all goods in the order of nature and grace exist thanks to the merciful love of God.
Sr.
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