Saint Faustina Kowalska, APOSTLE OF THE DIVINE MERCY (October 5), 
canonized
in Rome on the first Sunday after Easter, April 30, 2000 by the Holy 
Father
John Paul II.

Was born in 1905 in the village of Glogowiec near Lodz (Poland) as the 
third
of ten children in the family of Marianna and Stanislaw Kowalski. Saint
Faustina died in the odor of sanctity in Cracow on October 5, 1938 at 
the
age of 33.

Sister Faustina has been canonized in Rome on the first Sunday after 
Easter,
April 30, 2000 by the Holy Father John Paul II.

I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your 
living
reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of 
Your
unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never 
suspect
or judge from appearences, but look for what is beautiful in my 
neighbors'
souls and come to their rescue.

Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my
neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.

Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never
speak negatively of my nieghbor, but have a word of comfort and 
forgiveness
for all.

Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good 
deeds,
so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the 
more
difficult and toilsome tasks.

Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my
neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in 
the
service of my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may 
feel all
the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will 
be
sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will 
lock
myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own 
suffering
in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me (...).

O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself , for you can do all things. 
(163)

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy (on ordinary rosary beads)

Begin with:

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; 
Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily 
bread;
and forgive us our trepasses as we forgive those who trepass against 
us; and
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among
women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother 
of
God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I
believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by 
the
power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered 
under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified,died, and was buried. He descended to the
dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is 
seated
at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living 
and
the dead. I believe in Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the 
communion
of saints, the forgiveness of the sins, the resurrection of the body 
and the
life everlasting. Amen.

On the large bead before each decade:

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 10 small beads of each decade:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole
world.

Conclude with (after five decades):

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on 
the
whole world. (3 times)

Jesus dictated the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to Sister Faustina in 
Vilnius in
1935. In the revelations that followed He disclosed to her its value 
and
efficacy, as well as the promises He attached to it.

In this prayer we are offering "the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity" 
of
Jesus Christ to God the Father. We are uniting ourselves with His 
sacrifice
offered on the Cross for the salvation of the world. By offering God 
the
Father His "most dearly beloved Son", we are using the most convincing
argument with which to be heard. We are asking for mercy "for us and 
for the
whole world." The word "us" refers to the person reciting the chaplet 
and
those for whom he desires to offer it or for whom he should pray. The 
"whole
world" indicates all people living on earth and the souls in Purgatory. 
By
praying the words of this chaplet we are performing an act of love 
towards
our neighbor, which along with trust, is the indispensable condition 
for obt
aining graces.

Jesus promised, It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by 
saying
the chaplet (1541) and He added, if (it) ... be compatible with My 
will.
(1731)

The special promises pertain to the hour of death; that is, the grace 
of
happy and peaceful death. This grace may be obtained not only by those 
who
recite the chaplet with confidence and perseverance but also by the 
dying,
at whose bedside others will pray it.

Priests, Jesus said, will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of
salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to 
recite
this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. 
(687)
Jesus promised to grant grace to those who recite this prayer at least 
once
in their lifetime, providing it is said with an attitude of complete 
trust,
humility, and a sincere, deep sorrow for sin.

From her childhood she was distinguished by a love for prayer, 
diligence at
work, obedience and sensitivity for the poor. She attended not quite 
three
years of elementary schooling, and later, as a teenager, left her 
family
home to work as a domestic servant.

At the age of twenty she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our 
Lady
of Mercy in which, as Sister Maria Faustina, she spent thirteen years 
of her
life performing the duties of cook, gardener, and doorkeeper. Her life,
tough seemingly very ordinary, monotonous and drab, concealed in itself 
an
exceptionally profound union with God. From her childhood she desired 
to
become a great saint, and she consistently strove toward that goal, 
working
together with Jesus for the salvation of lost souls, even to the extent 
of
offering her life as a sacrifice for sinners. Therefore, her life as a
religious was marked with the stigma of suffering, but also with
extraordinary mistical graces.

The mission of Saint Faustina consists in:

reminding the world of the truth of our faith revealed in Holy 
Scripture
about the merciful love of God towards every human being, even the 
greatest
sinner; conveying new forms of devotion to Divine Mercy; initiating a 
great
movement of devotes and apostles of Divine Mercy who would lead people
toward the renoval of Christian life in the spirit of this devotion; in
other words, in the evangelical spirit of a childlike confidence in God 
and
an active love of neighbor. Worn out and weakened by tuberculosis and 
the
sufferings she bore in sacrifice for sinners, Saint Faustina died in 
the
odor of sanctity in Cracow on October 5, 1938 at the age of 33.

On the first Sunday after Easter, April 18, 1993, in St. Peter's Square 
in
Rome, Pope John Paul II declared her one of the community of the 
blessed. On
the following day during his general audience he said:

"God has spoken to us through the spiritual wealth of Blessed Sister
Faustina Kowalska. She left to the world the great message of Divine 
Mercy
and an incentive to complete self-surrender to the Creator. God endowed 
her
with a singular grace that enabled her to experience His mercy through
mystical encounter and by a special gift of contemplative prayer.

Blessed Sister Faustina, thank you for reminding the world of that 
great
mystery of Divine Mercy; that 'startling mystery', that inexpressive 
mystery
of the Father, which today every individual and the whole world need so 
very
much."

Sister Faustina has been canonized in Rome on the first Sunday after 
Easter,
April 30, 2000 by the Holy Father John Paul II.

Unsubscribe: seers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com URL to this page:
Subscribe:  joycelist-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seers