Feast Day: October 5
St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy, was born Helena Kowalska in Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of ten children in a poor and deeply Catholic family.
From a young age, Faustina felt called to religious life. In 1925, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and took the religious name Sister Maria Faustina. In the convent, she performed humble duties as a cook, gardener, and porter, carrying out her ordinary responsibilities with great love and humility.
St. Faustina received profound spiritual experiences and recorded them in her Diary. She testified that Jesus entrusted her with a special message of Divine Mercy for the whole world.
On February 22, 1931, Faustina recorded a vision of Jesus as the King of Divine Mercy, with rays of red and pale light flowing from His heart. Jesus asked that an image be painted according to the vision, with the words:
“Jesus, I trust in You.”
Through St. Faustina, devotion to Divine Mercy spread throughout the Catholic Church, including the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Hour of Mercy at 3 p.m., and the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday.
St. Faustina died in Kraków on October 5, 1938, at only 33 years of age. Pope John Paul II canonized her on April 30, 2000, and on that same occasion proclaimed the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.
In 2020, Pope Francis inscribed St. Faustina in the General Roman Calendar, making October 5 her optional memorial throughout the universal Church.
What Can We Learn From St. Faustina?
St. Faustina teaches us to place our complete trust in Jesus and to never despair of God’s mercy. She reminds us that Christ desires us to turn away from sin, seek His forgiveness, and trust in His merciful Heart.
Her life also teaches us that holiness can be found in ordinary duties when they are offered to God with love.
Let us pray today for the grace to say with confidence:
Jesus, I trust in You!
Prayer to St. Faustina
Heavenly Father,
You entrusted St. Faustina with spreading the message of Your Divine Mercy.
Through her intercession,
help us to trust in Your mercy,
to turn away from sin,
to seek Your forgiveness,
and to show mercy and charity to others.
St. Faustina,
Apostle of Divine Mercy,
pray for us and lead us closer to the merciful Heart of Jesus.
Jesus, I trust in You!
Amen.
St. Faustina Kowalska, pray for us!
Leave us your prayers…