I recently had occasion to take a look at the shows I did with Ralph Martin on “The Choices We Face” on EWTN television a few years back. I decided to post the shows here in this blog post. I hope you get a chance to watch them. I know full well that time is precious and it’s difficult to make the time to sit down and watch something. However, if I may say so myself, I heartily recommend that you watch them. Ralph and I spoke about Saint Faustina and the message of Divine Mercy and how important it is in our day and time. We spoke a bit about my crazy path in life. We talked about Our Lady of Fatima’s important message to us.
I think these are shows that will help those who may be struggling in some way and for those who desire ways to help others to get to Heaven. Feel free to share this blog post with your loved ones.
Ralph is an amazing Host and had so much to say. Absolutely inspiring! Let me know your thoughts in the comments and if I can pray for you. God bless you!
Donna-Marie in Part One: “A Hard Life Redeemed.”
Donna-Marie with Ralph Martin in “Two Sides of Mercy.”
My two new books: “30 Marian Eucharistic Visits: Adoring Jesus with His Mother” (EWTN Publishing)
and “Diary of a Future Saint: Faustina’s Incredible Journey” (Marian Press) will air on EWTN television (in one 26-min. episode) on Sunday, Dec. 17th, 10 a.m. ET, with 3 re-airs, and it will be on “On Demand” as soon as the episode finishes the debut on Sunday a.m.
A quote below from my appearance on EWTN’s “Bookmark” show with regard to “30 Marian Eucharistic Visits.”
Diary of a Future Saint: Faustina’s Incredible Journey
“Young children are capable of great holiness. This book will help them get there!”
— Ralph Martin, S.T.D., Director of Graduate Theology Programs in the New Evangelization, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Archdiocese of Detroit
Finally, the inspiring story of Saint Faustina for young readers!
Far from a mere gathering of historic details, this is an engaging and readable biography. In her personal, conversational style, Donna-Marie is simply telling the story of one of her favorite saints. It’s a compelling story and, as it unfolds, she invites her readers to think about their own relationship with Christ, offering them practical ways to model their lives on Faustina’s. Though geared primarily for young people, this is perhaps the fullest and richest biography of Saint Faustina and will be a great blessing for young and old alike.
— Vinny Flynn, best-selling author of 7 Secrets of Divine Mercy
Book description:
Born Helena Kowalska, a simple Polish peasant farm girl at the dawn of the 20th century, Faustina was chosen by God to teach the world about His unfathomable Divine Mercy. Though mocked, ridiculed, and unbelieved, she earnestly followed Jesus’ commands, the Blessed Mother’s instructions, and saintly wisdom to tread an amazing mystical journey, filled to overflowing with gifts and graces to glorify God. She went on to become one of the world’s most popular saints. Befriend this lovable, down-to-earth saint through the work of celebrated author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, an authority on the life of St. Fasutina and master storyteller, who presents St. Faustina’s life in this page-turning novel for all ages.
***
Buy your autographed copy here: $15.95 U.S./ dollars plus shipping.
For purchasing when outside the United States, order here: $15.95 plus shipping
Longer book description:
In Diary of a Future Saint, an authority on the life of St. Faustina, master storyteller, and celebrated author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, brings to life the incredible story of one of the world’s most popular saints, and according to St. John Paul II, “the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time.”
This true biography reads like a page-turning novel and is written for ages ten and up. Helena Kowalska, once a poor Polish farm girl, whose family struggled during the years of World War I, perseveringly navigated many obstacles to follow her call to religious life. Even her pious parents stood in her way. One day, after a shocking visit from Jesus, Whom appeared covered in blood, the startled young aspirant fled to the nearby church, eventually eloping with Jesus in order to finally enter the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland during the 1930s.
Crossing over the threshold to religious life was an arduous journey for Helena, whom experienced crippling blows when doors shut in her face by the congregations that deemed her undesirable. With less than three years of formal education under her belt, Helena was considered to be no-one special, from a low rung of society. Therefore, when the door at the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy finally opened to her, the Sisters placed Helena in the “second choir” or class of nuns, responsible for the domestic duties.
Yet, it was there among the pots and pans, the dirty laundry, the vegetable gardens, and beggars at the gate where Jesus communed with His little bride. Helena, whom was later named Sister Maria Faustina, would flourish in the spiritual life hidden behind a cloak of humility. Saint Faustina received many graces and gifts (such as a hidden stigmata, visions, revelations, the gift of contemplation, bilocation, levitation, reading human souls, a gift of prophesy, deep knowledge of God’s mercy and of the Blessed Trinity, and mystical espousal). However, she never let on to anyone, with the exception of her directors, that Jesus Himself was instructing her to tell the world about His unfathomable Divine Mercy.
Divine Mercy is not a new revelation, for God has always been merciful. Yet, Heaven saw fit that Divine Mercy would be revealed in a new way. On the evening of February 22, 1931, Sr. Faustina was in her cell when Jesus appeared to her in the image of the Divine Mercy, which took her breath away! Jesus gave her explicit instructions in propagating His image and His promises to those who venerate the image. The young visionary also communed with the Blessed Mother, whom also guided her.
Early in religious life, Sr. Faustina’s Guardian Angel escorted her to Purgatory where she learned the need to pray for the holy souls. She also experienced Hell and all its chasms and observed many unspeakable torments. She learned that almost all souls perishing in Hell were ones who did not believe in Hell’s existence while on Earth. Sister Faustina had many enthralling experiences with holy angels and dreaded demons. Jesus asked Sr. Faustina to record her experiences, which she hand wrote in notebooks. Today, St. Faustina’s writings are known as the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska.
Saint Faustina’s Diary is God’s loving message of Divine Mercy for our world. Though Helena Kowalska was considered to be insignificant and uneducated, she was obedient to God’s designs on her soul and eventually raised to the altar as a canonized saint, Jesus’ “Secretary and Apostle of Divine Mercy.” Faustina’s humble faith and trust in God gives us great hope for our own lives.
I had the blessing and pleasure of chatting once again with Chris Sparks on “Sparks of Mercy” podcast. We discussed a tough topic. You can read the episode details below.
EPISODE DETAILS
It may be the hardest teaching Christ ever gave us: “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Lk 5:44). How do we live it? With her customary cheerfulness and down to earth practicality, author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle takes the impossible into the realm of the commonsensical, offering practical advice on living loving mercy toward our enemies and so transforming our modern world. To order “Divine Mercy in a Woman’s Life: Milestones Along The Way” visit ShopMercy.org.
You can tune in at any time to listen to this recording. I suggest you get yourself a beverage and pull up a chair. It’s a 40 minute (or so) podcast.
Remember to start your Divine Mercy Novena on Good Friday! You can click here to go to the Marian’s website for all of the prayers. I will try to post Youtube videos throughout the novena. Pray for me please and I will be praying for you!
I presented a Divine Mercy Women’s Retreat Day at St. John the Evangelist parish in Agawam, Mass. last October. I gave two talks on Divine Mercy in a woman’s life with St. Faustina as our guide and conducted a workshop in which the women could share of their hearts — their struggles and joys, and how they have navigated various issues, to whom they looked to and for whom they spiritually mother — and just so much more.
It was so wonderful to spend precious time with the women gathered there. Springfield Diocese’s “Real to Reel” television show interviewed me and some of the beautiful women who attended the event. You can see the interview below.
Click on the video below to watch
Watch the entire show or scroll to the timer at the 11:52 point and it will end at about 19:30.
The month of November for Catholics is supposed to be a time to prayerfully remember the holy souls in Purgatory. These souls in Purgatory are being purified to be able to get to Heaven. Their sins were forgiven before they had died, but they had not yet done penance for their sins. After we die, we can no longer pray for ourselves. The souls in Purgatory rely on, and earnestly hope for our prayers.
On the feast of All Souls, the other day, I visited a local cemetery to pray for the holy souls. It was a grey chilly day. I parked my car and got out and made my way around the cemetery, praying and observing the many grave sites. I saw some graves of little babes, just one or a few days old and laid to rest by their loving families. I saw many very simple graves and countless ornate ones too. Each person has a story. Every person is loved by God. These souls have finished their pilgrimage on earth and many are awaiting the everlasting happiness of Heaven. We need to pray for them.
Saint Faustina’s mission to save souls
In addition to her great mission to propagate the message of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina Kowalska, a great mystic of the twentieth century had a mission to save souls. In her Diary, the young Sister Faustina recounted a profound experience she had very soon after entering Religious life which touched her to the core of her being. She had asked Jesus for whom she should pray. Our Lord told her that He would tell her on the following night. Below, you’ll see this explained in the excerpt from my book and also from the Diary.
Our friend Saint Faustina earnestly prayed for souls. Souls even visited her to ask for her fervent prayers. Often, the humble mystic knew when someone was dying and she prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet for them. All throughout her Diary, we can learn about her many encounters with the souls in need of prayer.
Purgatory: a place of suffering and transformation
Helen was very familiar with interior suffering, but now in the convent, she would also taste the cup of physical suffering. At times, she felt deeply tormented mentally and spiritually over the humiliations and pain that she experienced at the hands of some of the sisters and her superiors. The pain from these interior torments sometimes caused her to suffer physically. As Helen matured in the spiritual life, she realized the great power in redemptive suffering — in offering her suffering to God and asking Him to use it for His glory. She would later write, “Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystalized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love” (Diary, 57). She also learned she could suffer her Purgatory while on earth, and that she should work hard to help free souls from Purgatory.
A few weeks after Helen went through the interior trial of feeling tempted to leave the congregation, she became physically rundown due to a variety of things, including spiritual conflicts that weighed upon her. When Helen was at the point of exhaustion, her superior decided to send her to Skolimow, near Warsaw, to the congregation’s rented summer country home. The home was used for the sisters living in Warsaw and the girls in their charge. There, Helen would get a much-needed rest, doing only the light work of cooking for the other sisters and looking after one convalescing nun.
In Skolimow, this young postulant experienced an incredibly profound mystical vision that involved her guardian angel. Helen had asked Jesus for whom she should pray. Jesus said He would reveal it on the following night. Helen was shown the souls in Purgatory. Her guardian angel appeared and instructed her to follow him. “In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls” (Diary, 20). Later, she explained her visit to Purgatory. Though she observed the souls praying fervently, Helen was made to know that their prayers could not be of any use for themselves. They needed prayers from others to aid them. Helen asked the souls what was their greatest torment. It was their longing for God. The souls were assured that they would indeed be with God in Heaven in eternal happiness, but first, they needed to be purified.
Helen also observed that the Blessed Mother, called the “Star of the Sea” by the Holy Souls, visited them and brought them “refreshment.” No doubt Mother Mary brought great hope and comfort to the souls. Her guardian angel escorted her out of Purgatory, and she heard an interior voice, “My Mercy does not want this but justice demands it” (Diary, 20). Helen was deeply impacted by this visit, and afterwards prayed earnestly for souls. Some souls would actually visit her, seeking prayers. We will discuss this more later on …
Here’s how St. Faustina penned the experience in her Diary:
“I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. My Guardian Angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God. I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory. The souls call her ‘The Star of the Sea.’ She brings them refreshment. I wanted to talk with them some more, but my Guardian Angel beckoned me to leave. We went out of that prison of suffering. [I heard an interior voice] which said, ‘My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it.’ Since that time, I am in closer communion with the suffering souls (Diary, 20).”
Praying for the holy souls
With regard to praying for the souls in Purgatory in this month of November, Marian Father, Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC suggested, to “pay attention to what’s going on in nature, and let that consideration move your thoughts to the suffering of the souls in purgatory.”
“In other words,” he added, “as November progresses and the days become shorter and colder, as the landscape becomes barren and desolate, we can allow the somber atmosphere to gather our minds and hearts to focus on the suffering of the souls in purgatory. They also experience a kind of dark-cold barrenness and desolation that far surpasses what we endure on earth, and we should try to be mindful of their plight.”
Saint Faustina loved the holy souls so much that she asked the Lord for three special requests on the very profound day of her perpetual vows. She said, “Jesus, I know that today You will refuse me nothing.” She made her first two requests and then for her third request she said: “Jesus, I plead with You for the souls that are most in need of prayer. I plead for the dying; be merciful to them. I also beg You, Jesus, to free all souls from PURGATORY.”
I paused right there
A few days ago on the feast of All Souls, as I was meandering through the cemetery, praying for the holy souls, I came across this blank headstone. I couldn’t find a name on it anywhere. I paused and prayed right there for that person. Though, I do not know their name or anything about them, I will continue to pray for that special soul and all of the souls in Purgatory.
Please remember the holy souls in Purgatory. Try to get into a prayerful habit of praying for them in the morning and in the evening. Visit cemeteries, especially in the month of November to pray for the holy souls.
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, please help them and help us. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
[Since writing this blog post, I have since written another. It’s about adopting a Forgotten Soul and you can see it here.]
I recently visited with Ralph Martin President of Renewal Ministries on his EWTN television show: “The Choices We Face” to discuss Divine Mercy, St. Faustina, and my book 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina: A Year of Grace and Mercy. We also chatted about my life a bit which you can see in the first show. In this 2nd show we also discussed Our Lady of Fatima, the shepherd children, and so much more. You can see the show below. I hope that you enjoy it. God bless you!
We are in the midst of praying our Novena to Divine Mercy and Divine Mercy Sunday is rapidly approaching. With most all churches closed right now due to the worldwide pandemic, how do we prepare? How can we receive the special blessings and indulgences?
I will get to that shortly.
First, I’ll share something from last year’s Divine Mercy Sunday at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusettes. I was invited to give a speech about St. Faustina and Divine Mercy to an audience of about 20,000. It was a frigid day in the Berkshires. Nevertheless, I felt unbelievably blessed to be there and to share about my friend St. Faustina, once a simple freckle-faced Polish farm girl who was called by God to tell the world about God’s unfathomable Divine Mercy.
Those of us on the stage there, where the main altar is situated were using hand warmers to prevent frostbite. I was wearing many layers, two coats, big clunky boots, and gloves and a hat. Yet, I and others were still shivering in the cold. Nonetheless, the bitter cold couldn’t deter us—God’s graces seemed just about palpable on that special day.
You can see the image of St. John Vianney in front of the podium. That is because the relic of the esteemed Saint’s heart had made its way to the Shrine at that time. It’s on that pedestal on the right. What a blessing to be so near to it and have the chance to venerate it earlier.
As Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC finished up his speech, I quickly shed one of my coats, and after I was introduced to the audience, I quickly approached the podium.
Fr. Chris Alar, MIC tells us not to be discouraged.
This year, Divine Mercy Sunday will be very different from those we have experienced in the past. However, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC tells us not to be discouraged and not to worry. He gives us concrete straightforward instructions and helps us by telling us what we can do differently this Sunday (April 19, 2020) to make it a most important day in our life n receiving the Extraordinary Promise Jesus offers us on Divine Mercy Sunday.
Fr. Chris Alar, MIC instructs:
Do these three things on Divine Mercy Sunday with the intention to turn away from sin in your life:
Make an Act of Contrition
Since you are unable to get to Confession, make an Act of Contrition, instead. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Among the penitent’s acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is ‘sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again’” (1451).
You thereby will be completely forgiven of all sins, even “mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (Catechism, 1452).
Make a Spiritual Communion
Since churches are closed and you cannot receive Holy Communion, make a Spiritual Communion instead, asking God to come into your heart as if you received Him sacramentally — Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. For instance, you can say this:
Act of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Blessed Sacrament.
I love You above all things and I desire You in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
As though You were already there,
I embrace You and unite myself to You;
permit not that I should ever be separated from You.
Amen.
Again, do this act of trust with the intent to return to the sacrament of Holy Communion as soon as possible.
Say a prayer like this:
Lord Jesus Christ, You promised St. Faustina that the soul that has been to Confession [I’m unable, but I made an Act of Contrition] and the soul that receives Holy Communion [I’m unable, but I made a Spiritual Communion] will receive the complete forgiveness of all sins and punishment. Please, Lord Jesus Christ, give me this grace.
But there’s much more that he has to tell us, and I encourage you to read the entire post here. As well, please watch the video below and feel free to share this blog post far and wide.
As well, please watch Fr. Alar’s video below. Please also share this post to help others to prepare for Divine Mercy Sunday.
Enjoy the video:
Watch Fr. Chris Alar, MIC.
Finally, I’d like to also tell you that Fr. Gordon MacRae, a priest prisoner
posted about my book 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina: A Year of Grace and Mercyin his blog post today: “Divine Mercy in a Global Pandemic.” You can read it here.
I decided to share this talk at this time of uncertainty
In this time of uncertainty due to the Cover-19 pandemic, I think it’s time to watch this video once again. I gave this talk last Divine Mercy Sunday at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy to an audience of 20,000 or so. It was a freezing cold day necessitating many layers of clothing and hand warmers just before my talk. The priests up on the platform and the others of us there were passing them around to try to prevent frostbite! Despite the challenges of rain, snow, and wind, it was a day filled with much grace. I hope that you enjoy my talk.
The following is an excerpt from the Marian Press book 52 Weeks with St. Faustinaby Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle:
“Sow happiness about you … They should take leave of you with their hearts filled with joy.” — Diary, 55
Our spiritual exercise this week is all about joy. We will delve into how our desires for happiness must correspond to God’s desires for us, and that we can be joyful as we endure trials at the same time. Many times, St. Faustina’s joy was intertwined with tortures she felt in the spiritual life. This week, we learn authentic joy from St. Faustina and the other saints. Let’s get right to it!
God wants us to be happy. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that is possessed by angels and human beings. Joy grows in our souls out of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Saint Teresa of Calcutta used to say, “A joyful heart is a normal result of a heart burning with love.” She told her sisters that if they didn’t have joy in their hearts, they could pack up and go home. It might sound harsh, but she knew that the poor did not deserve to be served by grumpy nuns! She also often said, “Joy is a net of love by which we catch souls.” This is a bit similar to the phrase that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Speaking of which, no one wants to associate with a sour-faced person! Once when lacking the time to deal with pettiness, false piety, and grumpiness, St. Teresa of Avila said, “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!” The authentic joy that radiates from our loving souls can deeply affect those in our midst. As Christians, we are to exude joy. It actually will help to transform lives (our own, too!).
My former spiritual director Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, agreed with St. Teresa of Avila that our joy needs to be real. He also emphasized that our desires for happiness must correspond to God’s desires for us. In a lecture about joy, he said, “Who is the happiest being in existence? Who? God. And the most fundamental reason why God made us is that we might share in His happiness. Why go into the subject?” he asked. “Because Christianity is the religion of joy. There’s a sure way of turning people off or turning them away from the true faith if we who profess the faith are obviously unhappy. That is something, by the way, you can never mask. You can pretend to be happy. You can claim to be happy, but if you’re not happy, you’re going to reveal yourself. And finally, why go into the subject? Because even people who are more or less happy ought to be more happy.”
How do we become more happy and possess joy? Father Hardon explained, “Joy is satisfaction, or the satisfaction of having one’s desires fulfilled … But … only those desires satisfied which are truly good. What then is truly good which, once we get it and possess it, we are happy? [When] your desire corresponds with what God wants.”
One time when Sr. Faustina was given spiritual counsel by Fr. Andrasz, SJ, he told her:
Act in such a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful. Sow happiness about you because you have received much from God; give, then, generously to others. They should take leave of you with their hearts filled with joy, even if they have no more than touched the hem of your garment. Keep well in mind the words I am telling you right now (Diary, 55).
She strove to do just that.
Torture and Joy Intertwined
Earlier, we discussed the time at Plock when Jesus revealed the Divine Mercy Image, and Sr. Faustina felt much uncertainty because there was no one who could tell her that she was on the right road. Then one day, one of the sisters heaped her anger upon Sr. Faustina. “You queer, hysterical visionary, get out of this room; go on with you, Sister!” She continued to lash out at her. Sister Faustina held her upsetness inside and rushed to her cell, where she fell down on her face before the Crucifix. She looked at Jesus, but she was speechless. “I could no longer say a single word,” she recalled (Diary, 128). Suddenly, Satan took advantage of her pain and planted doubts and discouragement in her mind. Sister Faustina thought, “How can one be sincere when one is so misunderstood? Jesus, Jesus, I cannot go on any longer.” She again fell to the floor under the weight of her anguish. “I broke out in a sweat, and fear began to overcome me.” She felt so alone. “Suddenly, I heard a voice within my soul. ‘Do not fear; I am with you.’ And an unusual light illuminated my mind, and I understood that I should not give in to such sorrows. I was filled with a certain strength and left my cell with new courage to suffer” (Diary, 129).
Even though Sr. Faustina felt a renewed strength after that trying incident, for some reason, she grew a bit negligent. In part, she was afraid of being deceived. She wrote, “I did not pay attention to these interior inspirations and tried to distract myself. But despite the noise and distraction, I could see what was going on in my soul.” God doesn’t leave us alone. He seeks us out. Sister Faustina wrote, “The word of God is clear, and nothing can stifle it. I began to avoid encounters with the Lord in my soul because I did not want to fall prey to illusions.” She continued, “However, in a sense,” she said, “the Lord kept pursuing me with His gifts; and truly I experienced, alternately, torture and joy” (Diary, 130). Sufferings were mounting and would soon come to a peak. Sister Faustina would make up her mind what to do about the doubts she was experiencing.
Something to Ponder
We know God wants us to be happy — truly happy. Yet, in the spiritual life, we will endure many trials. As St. Faustina shared in her Diary, she humbled herself in prayer before God when she was at her wits’ end with sufferings. God gave her peace and an abiding joy in her heart. We can be joyful and endure trials at the same time. The deep and abiding joy in our hearts is in knowing that in the end it will all work out. We know that there is eternal life, where we will indeed be happy forever with God in Heaven. When our hearts are heavy in anguish and trial, let’s be sure to always look up to God and ask for His help. Let’s ask for the gift of joy in our hearts, especially so that we can share that joy with others who might be struggling. Saint Teresa of Calcutta told me often, “Keep the joy of loving Jesus ever burning in your heart and share this joy with others by your thoughtful love and humble service.” That particular quote was taken from a personal letter that Mother Teresa wrote to me on October 5, 1988 (the 50th anniversary of St. Faustina’s death and now her feast day)!
A Merciful Action
All those around you in your family and beyond deserve to see your joyful demeanor and actions, and to hear your joyful words. It can be difficult when we are tired or suffering in some way. We need to pray for the graces and put forth the efforts. Carry out beautiful deeds of mercy this week with a joyful, loving heart!
A PRAYER OF MERCY FOR THIS WEEK
(To be prayed each day this week.)
Dear Merciful Jesus, help me to radiate Your love and joy to all I meet. Mother Mary, show me how. Saint Faustina, please pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You! Amen.
“Today, as God’s Majesty swept over me, my soul understood that the Lord, so very great though He is, delights in humble souls.” — Diary, 1092
Indeed, the Lord delights in humble souls. Saint Faustina wrote in her Diary: “The more a soul humbles itself, the greater the kindness with which the Lord approaches it. Uniting himself closely with it, He raises it to His very throne. Happy is the soul whom the Lord himself defends. I have come to know that only love is of any value; love is greatness; nothing, no works, can compare with a single act of pure love of God” (Diary, 1092). This week’s spiritual exercise is all about humility. Let’s take a look at this virtue, which is absolutely necessary for salvation, and let’s see how it grew in Sr. Faustina’s heart.
Jesus taught in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3). It was C.S. Lewis who said, “As long as you are proud you cannot know God.” We must strive to be humble souls. Even so, humility is said to be one of the most difficult virtues to acquire. Yet we must be humble in order to pray properly. For instance, contemplative prayer, which St. Teresa of Avila has said is simply a “close sharing between friends,” is a loving conversation between ourselves and God, a conversation that requires of us humble hearts (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2709). As the Catechism states, contemplative prayer is “the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty” (2713). The Catechism also teaches that contemplative prayer “is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus” (2715, emphasis in original). We must humble our hearts and seek God in all of our prayers. In humility, we must take time to adore God, praise Him, and love Him.
Saint James taught, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6). Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori reiterated that fact. He said, “Prayer must be humble: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble … The prayer of the man that humbleth himself shall pierce the clouds … and he will not depart till the Most High behold. The prayer of a humble soul at once penetrates the heavens and presents itself before the throne of God, and will not depart thence till God regards it and listens to it. However sinful such a soul may be, God can never despise a heart that repents of its sins, and humbles itself: A contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.”
Humility is a precious virtue in the spiritual life. The devil absolutely hates humility. He flees from it. He can’t get his way with a humble soul. Saint Vincent de Paul said, “The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.”
The Lord Delights in Humble Souls
One time St. Faustina told her Lord Jesus that she wished to be hidden from everyone but Him: “I want to be a tiny violet, hidden in the grass, unknown in a magnificent enclosed garden in which beautiful lilies and roses grow.” She explained that the “beautiful rose and the lovely lily can be seen from afar, but in order to see the little violet, one has to bend low; only its scent gives it away” (Diary, 591). Saint Faustina wanted her soul to be firmly rooted in God.
Her confessor Fr. Sopoćko told her, “Without humility, we cannot be pleasing to God” (Diary, 270). Sister Faustina came to realize the secret in learning true humility. She wrote, “He who wants to learn true humility should reflect upon the Passion of Jesus. When I meditate upon the Passion of Jesus, I get a clear understanding of many things I could not comprehend before.” Sister Faustina understood that she should strive to imitate and even resemble Jesus. She continued in her Diary, “I want to resemble You, O Jesus, — You crucified, tortured and humiliated. Jesus, imprint upon my heart and soul Your own humility. I love You Jesus … “ (267).
EWTN television recently aired my visit with Johnnette Benkovic Williams on her Women of Grace show. We discussed my book 52 Week with Saint Faustina: A Year of Grace and Mercy as well as St. Faustina and God’s unfathomable Divine Mercy. You can see Part One here. Part Two is also in this link but you need to be a member of the Women of Grace website to view that one.
Unfortunately, the Part Two was pre-empted on the day it was to air. I don’t know when it might air. However, if you are a member of the WOG website, you can see it anytime. I still have not seen it myself! 🙂 I will keep you posted when I hear when Part Two will air on EWTN television.
Here is my book which can be read at any time of the year. It does not follow the Liturgical seasons. I hope that you get a chance to read it. Saint Faustina has a way of stirring hearts. You can purchase an autographed copy on my website.
Just a few thoughts I’d like to share with you. Here is an article “Making Room in Our Hearts for Our Lord and Our Neighbor” which I wrote and that was published at Catholic Mom today. In it, I have shared a few recent Advent observations including folks getting caught up in the mad rush and how we might help them.
Just now, in searching for a photo I needed for another article, I came across a blog post that I wrote just about this time last year. Wow. That had been quite an eventful week! You’ll need a cup of tea, coffee, or other beverage for this post–it’s a long one!
Here is a recent RADIO chat with good friends at EWTN’s Morning Glory show. I hope you can listen in at your convenience.
Here is a recent article at Catholic Exchange which shares an excerpt from my book: Advent with Our Lady of Fatima (Sophia Institute Press). You can order your book at Sophia Institute Press or here at my website.
Here’s the product page for my newest book: 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina: A Year of Grace and Mercy (Marian Press). You’ll see some of the reviews thus far. You can also order your copy there or through my website.
