#Maria Faustina

[dramoor]

“I must strive to make the interior of my soul a resting place for the Heart of Jesus.”

~St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

[thepastisalreadywritten]

In a series of revelations to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. 

Today, we know that feast as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Pope St. John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on 30 April 2000. 

The Lord expressed His will with regard to this feast in His very first revelation to St. Faustina.

The most comprehensive revelation can be found in her Diary entry 699:

"My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.

On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.

The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.

On that day, all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.

My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.

Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity.

The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness.

It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter.

Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy."

In all, St. Faustina recorded 14 revelations from Jesus concerning His desire for this feast. 

[foreverpraying]

Source of picture: https://lauramakabresku.tumblr.com

"Patience, prayer and silence – these are what give strength to the soul." St. Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT FAUSTINA KOWALSKA The Apostle of the Divine Mercy Feast Day: October 5

"Love endures everything. Love is stronger than death. Love fears nothing."

Saint Faustina is 'a gift from God for our times', great mystic, mistress of spiritual life, prophet, who reminded the biblical truth about merciful love of God for every human being and calls to proclaim it to the world through the testimony of life, deed, word and prayer.

Apostle of Divine Mercy, Prophet of Our Times, Great Mystic, Mistress of Spiritual Life – these are the epithets usually appended to the name of Sister Faustyna Kowalska, St. Faustyna (Faustina), of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. Sister Faustina is one of the Church’s most popular and widely known saints and the greatest mystics in the history of the Church.

Sister Faustina was born on August 25, 1905 in Głogowiec, Poland to Marianna and Stanisław Kowalski as the third of ten children. Two days later she was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of Świnice Warckie. At the age of nine, she made her first Holy Communion. She attended elementary school for merely three years and then she went to work as a housekeeper in various well–to–do families in Aleksandrów and Łódź. From the age of seven, she had felt the calling for religious vocation, but her parents would not give her permission to enter the convent. However, impelled by the vision of the Suffering Christ, in July 1924 she left for Warsaw to find a place. For another year she worked as a housekeeper to save some money for a modest monastic trousseau. On August 1, 1925, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw on Żytnia St.

She lived in the Congregation for thirteen years, staying in many houses, the longest time (she spent) in Kraków, Płock and Vilnius; working as a cook, shop assistant in baker's shop, gardener, and portress. She suffered from tuberculosis of the lungs and alimentary system and that is why for over 8 months stayed at the hospital in Kraków – Prądnik. Greater sufferings from those which were caused by tuberculosis, she offered as a voluntary sacrifice for sinners and as the Apostle of Divine Mercy. She experienced also many extraordinary graces such as: apparitions, ecstasies, the gift of bilocation, hidden stigmata, reading into human souls, the mystical betrothal and nuptials.

Sister Faustina's principal task was to pass on to the Church and world the Message of Mercy, a recapitulation of the Biblical truth of God's Merciful Love for every human being, and a calling to each of us to entrust our lives to Him and to actively love our neighbour. Jesus not only revealed the depth of His Mercy to St. Faustina, but also gave her new forms of worship: the picture inscribed, 'Jesus, I trust in You, the Feast of Divine Mercy, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the Prayer in the Hour of His Death on the Cross, the Hour of Mercy.' To each of these forms of worship, as well as to the preaching of the message of Mercy, He attached great promises, on condition that we care about the attitude of trust in God that is to fulfill His will and show mercy to our neighbours.

Sister Faustina died in Krakow on October 5, 1938, at the age of just thirty–three. Out of her charism and mystical experience grew the Apostolic Movement of the Divine Mercy which continues her mission, proclaiming the message of Mercy to the world through the testimony of life, deed, words and prayer. On April 18, 1993, the Holy Father John Paul II raised her to the glory of the altars and on April 30, 2000, numbered her among the saints of the Church. Her relics are in the Shrine of the Divine Mercy at Łagiewniki, Kraków.

The Holy Father John Paul II wrote that in the age of totalitarianisms Sister Faustina became the ambassador of the message that the only power strong enough to counteract their evil is the truth of God's Mercy. He called her Diary a Gospel of Mercy written from a 20th-century perspective, which has helped people to survive the extremely painful experiences of these times.

This message, Pope Benedict XVI has said: 'The message of Mercy as the Divine Power, as God putting a check on all the world’s evil, is indeed the chief message of our times.'

Source: The Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy (Lakeville, MA)

[catholic-saint-tournament]

MODERN SAINTS ROUND 1 WINNERS/ROUND 2 BRACKET

St Therese of Lisieux vs St Padre Pio

St Maximilian Kolbe vs St John Bosco

St Arnold Janssen vs St Edith Stein

St Maria Goretti vs St Charles Lwanga

St Oscar Romero vs St Bernadette Soubirous

St Faustina Kowalska vs St Katharine Drexel

St Gemma Galgani vs St John Henry Newman

St Mark Ji Tianxiang vs Sts Louis and Zelie Martin

[mariaportadoceu]

Orações pelas almas do Purgatório

Sugestão: Após rezar o Ofício das Almas Benditas do Purgatório, rezar o Salmo Clamavi de Profundis:

"Dos profundos abismos clamei a Vós, Senhor. Ouvi, Senhor, a minha oração. Dai ouvidos atentos à voz de minha súplica. Se observardes, Senhor, as minhas maldades, quem, Senhor, poderá subsistir? Mas em Vós se acha a propiciação, e pela Vossa Lei, pus em Vós, Senhor, minha confiança. A minha alma está confiada na Sua Palavra. A minha alma espera no Senhor. Desde a vigília da manhã até a noite, espera Israel no Senhor. Porque no Senhor está a misericórdia e nele há copiosa redenção. E ele mesmo remirá Israel de todas as suas iniquidades."

"[Dai-lhes, Senhor, o eterno descanso,

Entre os esplendores da luz perpétua.

Descansem em paz. Amém.]"

(Pela recitação piedosa do Salmo "De Profundis" e do Versículo "Dai-lhes Senhor..." em sufrágio das almas do Purgatório, pode-se ganhar uma indulgência de três anos; e de cinco anos, em cada dia do mês de Novembro; uma indulgência plenária, pela recitação diária durante o mês inteiro, nas condições de costume.).(S,Penit.De 20/11/1940).

(Pela simples recitação do Versículo, ganha-se, cada vez, a indulgência de 300 dias). (S.Pio X, 13/02/1906).

O que diz Diário de Santa Faustina sobre o Purgatório:

"Vi o anjo da Guarda que disse que o seguisse”, escreveu no ano 1926. “Em um momento me encontrei em um lugar nebuloso, cheio de fogo e havia ali uma multidão de almas sofrendo. Estas almas estavam orando com grande fervor, mas sem eficácia para elas mesmas; somente nós podemos ajudá-las. As chamas que as queimavam, não me tocavam. Meu anjo da guarda não me abandonou em nenhum momento. “Perguntei a estas almas qual era o seu maior tormento. E me responderam de maneira unânime que o maior tormento era a saudade de Deus”.

“Vi a Mãe de Deus que visitava as almas no purgatório. As almas a chamam de “A Estrela do Mar”. Ela dá a eles alívio. Desejava falar mais com elas; no entanto meu anjo da guarda sinalizou para eu sair. Saímos daquele cárcere de sofrimento. [Ouvi uma voz interior] que me disse: minha misericórdia não deseja isso, mas a justiça o exige. A partir daquele momento me uni estreitamente as almas que sofrem”."

[portraitsofsaints]

Happy Feast Day

Saint Faustina

Feast day: October 5

Patron of Mercy

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska was born in Glogowiec, Poland in 1905. The third of ten children from a poor family, she had little formal education. After applying to various convents in Warsaw, she was finally accepted by the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. For years Saint Faustina received revelations and visits from Christ. On Good Friday 1937, Christ appeared to her and dictated to her the prayers that He wished her to pray in a novena from Good Friday through the Octave of Easter, now known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Saint Faustina died in 1938, in Krakow, Poland, of tuberculosis.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase. (website)

[angeltreasure]

Catholicism Masterlist

NOTE:::: Items highlighted in red are my favorites for learning Catholicism.

Books for Learning Catholicism:

The Word on Fire Bible

Catechism of the Catholic Church second edition (pdf here)

Catholic Faith Handbook For Youth by Brian Singer-Towns and other contributors (pdf here)

Books About Prayer:

The Liturgy of the Hours by Word on Fire

The Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis de Montfort

The Rosary for the Holy Souls in Purgatory by Susan Tassone

10 Wonders of the Rosary by Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC

The Memorare Moment by Rev. Francis Joseph Hoffman

Blessed Sacrament Prayer Book edited by Bart Tesoriero

Heart of the Christian Life: Thoughts on Holy Mass by Pope Benedict XVI

Meet the Witnesses of the Miracle of the Sun by John M. Haffert

Our Father: Spiritual Reflections by Pope Francis

The Prayers & Personal Devotions of Mother Angelica, introduced & edited by Raymond Arroyo

Books About Saints:

Lives of the Saints: For Everyday in the Year by Fr. Alban Butler

Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in My Soul by St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

Send Me Your Guardian Angel by Fr. Alessio Parente

Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco: From Saint John Bosco's Biographical Memoirs by St. John Bosco

Saint Charbel by Paul Daher

Mornings With St. Thérèse by St. Thérèse Editor: Patricia Treece 

The Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort

The Confession of St. Patrick by St. Patrick

Saint Rafqa the Lebanese Nun (1832-1914) Teacher of the Generations and Patron Saint of the Suffers Father Elias Hanna (L.M.O.)

Rediscover the Saints by Matthew Kelly

Other Books:

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

7 Secrets of Confession by Vinny Flynn

Our Grounds for Hope by Archbishop Fulton Sheen

How to Share Your Faith by Bishop Robert Barron

How to Discern God’s Will for Your Life by Bishop Robert Barron

An Exorcist Tells His Story by Gabriele Amorth

This Is My Body by Bishop Robert Barron

Apps:

EWTN

Relevant Radio

Formed

iBreviary

CatholicTV

Mass Times for Travel

Websites:

EWTN

Relevant Radio

The Divine Mercy

Word on Fire

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

Some social media:

Bishop Robert Barron

Divine Mercy

Breaking in the Habit

Sensus Fidelium

EWTN

Sacred Music:

Harpa Dei

Floriani

Groups:

The Association of Marian Helpers

Rosary Confraternity

Brown Scapular

Adoration Sodality of the Most Blessed Sacrament

What really happens at a Catholic Mass, short film

— —- —— — —- —— — —- —— — —- ——

This is by no means a complete list because I keep reading more books and finding new resources as a pilgrim in this life. Maybe you’ll find something here to help you grow in faith. May God bless you abundantly.

[catholicsapphic]

“The more I come to know the greatness of God, the more joyful I become that He is as He is. And I rejoice immensely in His greatness and am delighted that I am so little because, since I am so little He carries me in His arms and holds me close to His Heart”

- Divine Mercy in My Soul, the diaries of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

[beloved-of-john]

"We expect to obtain everything promised us by Jesus in spite of all our wretchedness. For Jesus is our Hope: through His merciful Heart, as through an open gate, we pass through to Heaven."

Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

[letsbeapoemtogether]

Now, rest your head on my heart, and draw from it strength and power for these sufferings because you will find neither relief nor help nor comfort anywhere else.

Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul

[flipflopflying]

SOME PIXELLY DRAWINGS OF SAINTS

Francis Solanus, Bibiana, Bernadette, Athanasius of Alexandria, Rita of Cascia, Charles de Foucauld, Rafqa, Pio of Pietrelcina, Moses the Black, Eulalia of Barcelona.

Valentine, Maximilian Kolbe, Clare of Assisi, Devasahayam Pillai, Thomas Aquinas, Dymphna, Faustina Kowalska, Maria Goretti, Quiteria, John the Baptist.

Judas Thaddeus, Teresa of Ávila, Joan of Arc, Óscar Romero, Francis of Assisi, Martín de Porres, Rosa of Lima, Juan Diego Cuāuhtlatoātzin, Kateri Tekakwitha, Catherine of Siena.

[catholicpriestmedia]

"Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Pray for Us!" #SaintoftheDay #OraProNobis

📷 Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska via #Wikipedia. #Catholic_Priest #CatholicPriestMedia #CanvaPro

[mireoceu]

Oração para alcançar graças pela intercessão de Santa Faustina

Ó Jesus, que fizestes de Santa Faustina uma grande devota da Vossa infinita misericórdia, concede-me, por sua intercessão, se isto for conforme a Vossa Santíssima vontade, a graça…, que Vos peço(...) Eu, pecador, não sou digno da Vossa misericórdia, mas olhe o espírito de sacrifício de Santa Irmã Faustina e gratifique as suas virtudes, escutando as súplicas que através dela Vos apresento com confiança.

Pai nosso… , Ave Maria… , Glória ao Pai…

Santa Faustina, rogai por nós.

[catholic-saint-tournament]

POLLS OPEN NOW!!! VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!

Modern Saint Bracket Announcement

Instead of waiting until Sunday, the modern bracket will open immediately after the post-schism bracket is over. This is the modern bracket, which will be followed by a final four, and then there will be even MORE polls (losers' brackets, Marian apparitions, we're going all summer baby.)

Catholic Saint Tournament Modern Bracket Round 1 Pairings:

St Therese of Lisieux vs St Elizabeth Ann Seton

St Padre Pio (of Pietrelcina) vs St Charles de Foucauld

St Maximilian Kolbe vs St Benilde Romancon

St John Bosco vs St John Neumann

St Mother Teresa (of Calcutta) vs St Arnold Janssen

St Jacinta Marto vs St Edith Stein

St Maria Goretti vs St Marianne Cope

St Charles Lwanga (& co) vs St John Vianney

St Oscar Romero vs St Josemaria Escriva

St Bernadette vs St Damian of Molokai

St Faustina vs St Catherine Laboure

St Mary MacKillop vs St Katharine Drexel

St Gemma Galgani vs St Frances Xavier Cabrini

St John Henry Cardinal Newman vs Pope St John Paul II

Pope St John XXIII vs St Mark Ji Tianxiang

St Francisco Marto vs Sts Louis & Zelie Martin (package deal)

You can still submit nominations for beatified folks, propaganda for your favorite saints, or other thoughts in the ask box! Or suggestions for future polls, questions, etc.

May the best saint win!

[blueiscoool]

Getty to Acquire Ancient Portrait Bust of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius

First documented in 1851, the bust was previously unknown to scholars or the public.

The J. Paul Getty Museum is set to acquire an over-life-size ancient Roman marble bust of the emperor Antoninus Pius (ruled AD 138–161).

The work was purchased at auction in December; its final acquisition is subject to an export license being granted by the Arts Council England.

A prime example of Antoninus Pius’s main portrait type, the bust was created sometime after he ascended the throne in AD 138. With minor variations, this portrait type remained the emperor’s official image throughout his reign until AD 161. Carved from a single block of fine-grained white marble, the bust shows the emperor as a mature man with distinct facial features, a full, neatly trimmed beard, and thick curly hair. He wears a tunic, a cuirass (body armor), and a fringed paludamentum (a general’s cloak) folded in half and pinned at his right shoulder. “This exquisitely sculpted and remarkably preserved portrait ranks among the finest of more than 100 versions of Antoninus’s image that have survived from antiquity,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “The bust adds a new highlight to the series of high-quality imperial portraits at the Getty Villa, including the full-length statue of Antoninus’ wife Faustina the Elder, and the busts of Augustus, Germanicus, Caligula, and Commodus.”

Born in Lanuvium to a family that had migrated to Italy from Nemausus in southern Gaul (today’s Nîmes in France), Antoninus was not groomed to become emperor. At the advanced age of 51, following a career as governor of the province of Asia and as Roman senator, he was adopted by Emperor Hadrian to be his successor. Antoninus’ long and exceptionally peaceful reign brought great prosperity to the Roman Empire, and the economy, culture, and artistic production flourished. The emperor started the dynasty of the Antonines, which lasted for more than two generations and ended with the death of Commodus in AD 192.

“Many objects in our collection were made in the Antonine period, as it is known today, including portraits, mythological sculptures, sarcophagi, and numerous other works,” says Jens Daehner, associate curator of antiquities at the Getty Museum. “The bust of Antoninus provides a firmly dated visual reference for what characterized Roman aesthetics during that period. On display in our galleries, the bust will convey to visitors how, for example, Antonine sculptors carved drapery folds, used drills to give texture to hair, or incised the eyes of their sitters.”

The marble bust was acquired in 1851 in Naples, Italy, by Robert Martin Berkeley (1823–1897), who brought it to his estate at Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, in England. It remained there with his heirs until it was offered at auction late last year at Sotheby’s, London. Although documented in the estate’s archive, the bust was previously unknown to the public or scholars. Once acquired, the bust of Antoninus Pius will go on display in the Getty Villa’s Later Roman Sculpture gallery with its selection of other Antonine period portraits.