Divine Mercy in My Soul | |
Diary - Sr. Faustina | |
Notebook 2 | |
| 951 | + O incomprehensible and limitless Mercy Divine, To extol and adore
You worthily, who can? Supreme attribute of Almighty God, You are the sweet
hope for sinful man. Into one hymn yourselves unite, stars, earth and sea, and in one accord, thankfully and fervently sing of the incomprehensible Divine Mercy. |
| 952 |
My Jesus, You see that Your holy will is everything to
me. It makes no difference to me what You do with me. You command
me to set to work-and I begin calmly, although I know that I am incapable
of
it; through Your representatives, You order me to waitso I wait patiently;
You fill my soul with enthusiasmbut You do not make it possible for
me to act; You attract me to yourself in heaven-and You leave me in this
world;
You pour into my soul a great yearning for yourself-and You hide
yourself from me. I am dying of the desire to be united with You forever,
and You
do not let death come near me. O will of God, you are the nourishment
and delight of my soul. When I submit to the holy will of my God, a deep
peace
floods my soul. O my Jesus, You do not give a reward for the successful performance of a work, but for the good will and the labor undertaken. Therefore, I am completely at peace, even if all my undertakings and efforts should be thwarted or should come to naught. If I do all that is in my power, the rest is not my business. And therefore the greatest storms do not disturb the depths of my peace; the will of God dwells in my conscience. |
| 953 | + February 15, 1937. Today my suffering increased somewhat: I not only
feel greater pain all through my lungs, but also some strange pains
in my intestines. I am suffering as much as my weak nature can bear, all
for
immortal souls, to plead the mercy of God for poor sinners and to
beg for strength for priests. Oh, how much reverence I have for priests;
and I
am asking Jesus, the High Priest, to grant them many graces. |
| 954 | Today
after Holy Communion, the Lord told me, My daughter, My delight
is to unite myself with you. It is when you submit yourself to My will
that
you give
Me the greatest glory and draw down upon yourself a sea of blessings.
I would not take such special delight in you if you were not living
by my
will. O my sweet Guest, I am prepared for all sacrifices for Your
sake, but You know that I am weakness itself. Nevertheless, with You I
can do
all things. O my Jesus, I beseech You, be with me at each instant. |
| 955 | February 15, 1937. Today, I heard these words in my soul: Host pleasing
to My Father, know, My daughter, that the entire Holy Trinity finds
Its special delight in you, because you live exclusively by the will
of God.
No sacrifice can compare with this. |
| 956 | + After these words, the knowledge
of God's will came to me; that is to say, I now see everything from
a higher point of view and accept all events and things, pleasant and unpleasant,
with love, as tokens of the heavenly Father's special affection. |
| 957 | The
pure offering of my will will burn on the altar of love. That my
sacrifice may be perfect, I unite myself closely with the sacrifice of
Jesus on the
cross. When great sufferings will cause my nature to tremble, and
my physical and spiritual strength will diminish, then will I hide myself
deep in the
open wound of the Heart of Jesus, silent as a dove, without complaint.
Let all my desires, even the holiest, noblest and most beautiful,
take always the last place and Your holy will, the very first. The least
of
Your desires, O Lord, is more precious to me than heaven, with all
its treasures. I know very well that people will not understand me; that
is
why my sacrifice will be purer in Your eyes. |
| 958 | Some days ago, a certain
person came to me and asked me to pray for her intention, as she
had some urgent and important business. All of a sudden, I felt in my soul
that
this matter was not pleasing to God, and I replied that I would not
pray for this intention, "but I will pray for you, in general" [I added]. A
few days later, this lady came back to me and thanked me for not having
prayed for her intention, but rather for her, because she had been motivated
by a spirit of revenge toward a certain person to whom she owed respect
and veneration in virtue of the fourth commandment. The Lord Jesus had
changed her interior [dispositions], and she herself acknowledged her guilt;
but was, however, surprised that I had penetrated her secret. |
| 959 | + Today
I received a letter from Father Sopocko, who sent me greetings for
my feast day [February 15]. His greetings gave me joy, but his poor health
made
me sad. I had known about this by interior intuition, but had not
quite believed it. But it seems to me that if he himself wrote that this
was
so, then the other things about which he did not write are also true,
and my interior knowledge has not deceived me. He requested me to underline
all that I know does not come from me; that is to say, all that Jesus
tells
me which I hear in my soul. [172] He
has already asked me to do this several times, but I did not have the time
and, to tell the truth, I was in no hurry to do so. But how does he know
that I have not done this? I was very surprised; but now I am setting about
this work with all my heart. O my Jesus, Your representative's will is
clearly Your holy will, without a shadow of a doubt. |
| 960 | February 16, 1937.
Today I entered a neighboring room by mistake and so, for a while,
I talked with the person who was there. When I returned to my own room,
I thought
about that person for a few moments. Then suddenly, Jesus stood by
my side and said, My daughter, what are you thinking about right
now? Without
thinking,
I snuggled close to His heart, because I realized that I had been
thinking too much about creatures. |
| 961 | + This morning after completing my spiritual
exercises, I began at once to crochet. I sensed a stillness in my
heart; I sensed that Jesus was resting in it. That deep and sweet consciousness
of God's presence prompted me to say to the Lord, "O Most Holy Trinity
dwelling in my heart, I beg You: grant the grace of conversion to as many
souls as the [number of] stitches that I will make today with this crochet
hook." Then I heard these words in my soul: My daughter, too great
are your demands. "Jesus, You know that for You it is easier to grant much
rather
than a little." That is so, it is less difficult for Me to grant a soul
much
rather than a little, but every conversion of a sinful soul demands sacrifice. "Well,
Jesus, I offer You this whole-hearted work of mine; this offering does not seem
to me to be too small for such a large number of souls; You know, Jesus, that
for thirty years You were saving souls by just this kind of work. And since holy
obedience forbids me to perform great penances and mortifications, therefore
I ask You, Lord: accept these mere nothings stamped with the seal of obedience
as great things." Then I heard a voice in my soul: My dear daughter, I comply
with your request. |
| 962 | + I often see a certain person dear to God. The Lord has
great love for him, not only because he is striving to spread the veneration
of God's mercy, but also because of the love he has for the Lord God, although
he does not always feel this love in his own heart and is almost always in Gethsemane.
However, this person is always pleasing to God, and his great patience will overcome
all difficulties. |
| 963 | + Oh, if only the suffering soul knew how it is loved by
God, it would die of joy and excess of happiness! Some day, we will know the
value of suffering, but then we will no longer be able to suffer. The present
moment is ours. |
| 964 | February 17, 1937. This morning during Holy Mass, I saw the
Suffering Jesus, His Passion was imprinted on my body in an invisible manner,
but no less painfully. |
| 965 | Jesus looked at me and said, Souls perish in spite
of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the
Feast of My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for
all eternity. Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy
of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near. |
| 966 | + Today,
I heard in my soul these words: My daughter, it is time for you to take action;
I am with you. Great persecutions and sufferings are in store for you, but be
comforted by the thought that many souls will be saved and sanctified by this
work. |
| 967 | + When I set to work at underlining the Lord's words and thus was going
through everything in sequence, I reached the page where I had marked down Father
Andrasz's advice and directions. I did not know what to do, to underline or not
to underline, and then I heard these words in my soul: Underline, because these
words are Mine; I have borrowed the lips of the friend of My Heart in order to
speak to you and reassure you. You are to observe these directions until your
death. It would not please Me at all if you were to disobey these directions.
Know that it is I who have placed him between Myself and your soul. I am doing
this to set you at peace and so that you may not err. |
| 968 | Since I have placed
you in this priest's special care, you are thus exempted from giving a detailed
account to your superiors concerning My relationship with you. In all other matters,
be as a child with your superiors, but whatever I do in the depths of your soul
is to be told, with all frankness, only to the priests. And I have noticed that, from the time God gave me a spiritual director, He has not required me to report everything to the superiors, as was the case before, but only that which concerns external matters; apart from this, only the director knows my soul. To have a spiritual director is a special grace of God. Oh, how few have received it! The soul remains in constant peace amidst the greatest difficulties. Every day after Holy Communion, I thank the Lord Jesus for this grace, and every day I ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten him. I have truly experienced in my soul what power the director's words have. Blessed be God's mercy for this grace! |
| 969 | +Today, I went to meditate before the Blessed
Sacrament [in the sanatorium chapel]. When I approached the altar, God's presence
pervaded my soul, I was plunged into the ocean of His divinity, and Jesus said
to me, My daughter, all that exists is yours. I answered the Lord, "My heart
wants nothing but You alone, O Treasure of my heart. For all the gifts You give
me, thank you, O Lord, but I desire only Your Heart. Though the heavens are immense,
they are nothing to me without You. You know very well, O Jesus, that I am constantly
swooning because of my longing for You." Know this, My daughter, that you are
already tasting now what other souls will obtain only in eternity. |
| 970 | And all
of a sudden, my soul was flooded with the light of the knowledge of God. Oh,
would that I could express even a little of what my soul experiences when resting
near the Heart of the incomprehensible Majesty! I cannot put it into words. Only
a soul who has experienced such a grace at least once in his life, will recognize
it. When I returned to my room, it seemed to me that I was coming from real life
to death. When the doctor came to take my pulse, he was surprised: "Sister, what
happened? You have never had a pulse like this! I would like to know what has
speeded it up so much." What could I tell him, when I myself did not know that
my pulse was so rapid. I only know that I am dying of yearning for God, but this
I did not tell him, for how can medicine help in this instance? |
| 971 | February
19, 1937. Contact with the dying. They ask me for prayer, and I can pray, as
the Lord grants me an extraordinary spirit of prayer. I am constantly united
with Him, and I am fully aware that I live for souls in order to bring them to
Your mercy, 0 Lord. In this matter, no sacrifice is too insignificant. |
| 972 | Today,
the doctor decided that I am to stay here until April. It is God's will, even
though I did want to be back in the company of my sisters. |
| 973 | I learned today
about the death of one of our sisters [173] who
died in Plock, but she visited me even before they told me about her death. |
| 974 | February 22, 1937. Today, there began in our chapel a retreat for the hospital
attendants, although anyone who wishes may take part in it. There is one conference
a day. Father Bonaventure [174] speaks
for a whole hour, and he speaks directly to souls. I took part in this retreat,
as I very much desire to know God more deeply and to love Him more ardently,
for I have understood that the greater the knowledge, the stronger the love.
|
| 975 | Today I heard these words: Pray for souls that they be not afraid to
approach the tribunal of My mercy. Do not grow weary of praying for sinners.
You know
what a burden their souls are to My Heart. Relieve My deathly sorrow; dispense
My mercy. |
| 976 | February 24, 1937. Today during Holy Mass, I saw the dying Jesus.
The sufferings of the Lord pierced my soul and body in an invisible manner. The
pain is enormous, though it lasts a very short time. |
| 977 | During the singing of
the Lenten Lamentations, I am so taken up with His Passion that I cannot withhold
my tears. I would like to hide somewhere in order to give myself freely to the
sorrow which flows from the consideration of His Passion. |
| 978 | When I was praying
for the intention of Father Andrasz, I learned how very pleasing he is to God.
Since then, I have had even greater respect for him, as for a saint. This has
given me great joy, and I thank God fervently for it. |
| 979 | Today at Benediction,
I saw Jesus, and He spoke these words to me: Be obedient to your director in
everything; his word is My will. Be certain in the depths of your soul that it
is I who am speaking through his lips, and I desire that you reveal the state
of your soul to him with the same simplicity and candor as you have with Me.
I say it again, My daughter: know that his word is My will for you. |
| 980 | Today,
I saw the Lord in great beauty, and He said to me, My loving host, pray for priests,
especially during this time of harvest. My Heart is pleased with you, and for
your sake I am blessing the earth. |
| 981 | I understood that these two years of interior
suffering which I have undergone in submission to God's will in order to know
it better have advanced me further in perfection than the previous ten years.
For two years now, I have been on the cross between heaven and earth. That is
to say, I am bound by the vow of obedience and must obey the superior as God
himself. And on the other hand, God makes His will known to me directly, and
so my inner torture is so great that no one will either understand or imagine
these spiritual sufferings. It seems to me that it would be easier to give up
my life than to go again and again through one hour of such pain. I am not even
going to write much about this matter, because one cannot describe what it is
like to know God's will directly and at the same time to be perfectly obedient
to the divine will as expressed indirectly through the superiors. Thanks be to
God that He has given me a director; otherwise, I would not have advanced one
single step. |
| 982 | + I recently received a lovely letter from my dear seventeen-year-old
sister [Wanda [175]].
She is begging and entreating me to help her enter the convent. She is ready
for any sacrifices for God. I can tell from her letter that the Lord himself
is guiding her, and I rejoice in God's great mercy. |
| 983 | + Today, the Majesty
of God enveloped and transpierced my soul to its very depths. The greatness of
God is pervading my being and flooding me so that I am completely drowning in
His greatness. I am dissolving and disappearing entirely in Him as in my life-source,
as in perfect life. |
| 984 | My Jesus, I understand well that my perfection consists
not in the fact that You command me to carry out these great works of Yours-Oh
no!-the soul's greatness does not consist in this, but in great love for You.
O Jesus, in the depths of my soul I understand that the greatest achievements
cannot compare with one act of pure love for You. I desire to be faithful to
You and to do Your bidding. I am making use of my strength and my reason to carry
out all You are asking of me, O Lord, but I have not the least shadow of attachment
to all this. I do it all because such is Your will. All my love is drowned, not
in Your works, but in You yourself, O my Creator and Lord! |
| 985 | February 25, 1937.
I prayed earnestly for a happy death on behalf of a certain soul who was suffering
much. For two weeks, she had remained between life and death. I was touched with
pity for her and said to the Lord, "Sweet Jesus, if the works I am undertaking
for Your glory are pleasing to You, then please take her to Yourself and let
her rest in Your mercy." I was strangely reassured; and, after a short while,
they came to tell me that the person who had been suffering so much had just
died. |
| 986 | I saw a certain priest [probably Father Sopocko] in need and prayed
for him until Jesus looked upon him with kindness and granted him His strength.
|
| 987 | Today, I came to know that a member of my family is offending God and
is in great peril of death. This knowledge pierced my soul with such great
pain
that I thought I would not survive that offense against God. I begged God's pardon,
but I saw His great anger. |
| 988 | I was praying for a certain priest [probably Father
Sopocko], asking God to help him in certain matters when I suddenly saw Jesus
Crucified. His eyes were closed, and He was immersed in torture. I worshiped
His five wounds, each one separately, and asked His blessing for him. Jesus gave
me to know interiorly how dear that soul was to Him, and I felt that grace was
flowing from Jesus' wounds upon that soul who, like Jesus, is also stretched
upon the cross. |
| 989 | My Lord and my God, You know that it is You alone whom my
soul has come to love. My soul is entirely drowned in You, O Lord. Even if I
did not accomplish any of the things that You have made known to me, O Lord,
I would be completely at peace because I would have done what I could. |
| 990 | I
know well, O Lord, that You have no need of our works; You demand love. Love,
love and once again, love of God-there is nothing greater in heaven or on earth.
The greatest greatness is to love God; true greatness is in loving God; real
wisdom is to love God. All that is great and beautiful is in God; there is no
beauty or greatness outside of Him. O you sages of the world and you great minds,
recognize that true greatness is in loving God! Oh, how astonished I am that
some people deceive themselves, saying: There is no eternity! |
| 991 | February 26,
1937. Today, I saw how the Holy Mysteries were being celebrated without liturgical
vestments and in private homes, because of a passing storm; and I saw the sun
come out from the Blessed Sacrament, and all other lights went out, or rather,
they were dimmed; and all the people were looking toward this [one] light. But
at the present time I do not understand the meaning of this vision. [176] |
| 992 | + I am going forward through life amidst rainbows and storms, but with my head
held high with pride, for I am a royal child. I feel that the blood of Jesus
is circulating in my veins, and I have put my trust in the great mercy of the
Lord. |
| 993 | + I asked the Lord to have a certain person come to visit me today
so that I could see her one more time, and that would be a sign for me that she
was being called to the convent which Jesus is having me establish. And, O wonder,
the person in question came, and I tried to form her a bit, spiritually. I began
to show her the way of self-denial and sacrifice, which she readily accepted.
However, I have placed this whole matter in the hands of the Lord, that He may
direct everything according to His good pleasure. |
| 994 | Today, when I heard the
hymn, "Good night, Holy Head of My Jesus," on the radio, my spirit was suddenly
drowned in God, and divine love flooded my soul; I dwelt for a moment with the
heavenly Father. |
| 995 | + Although it is not easy to live in constant agony, To be nailed to the cross of various pains, Still, I am inflamed with love by loving, And like a Seraph I love God, though I am but weakness. Oh, great is the soul that, midst suffering, Stands faithfully by God and does His will And remains uncomforted midst great rainbows and storms, For God's pure love sweetens her fate. It is no great thing to love God in prosperity And thank Him when all goes well, But rather to adore Him midst great adversities And love Him for His own sake and place one's hope in Him. When the soul is in the shadows of Gethsemane, All alone in the bitterness of pain, It ascends toward the heights of Jesus, And though ever drinking bitterness-it is not sad. When the soul does the will of the Most High God, Even amidst constant pain and torments, Having pressed its lips to the chalice proferred, It becomes mighty, and nothing will daunt it. Though tortured, it repeats: Your will be done, Patiently awaiting the moment of its transfiguration, For, though in deepest darkness, it hears the voice of Jesus: You are Mine, And this it will know fully when the veil falls. |
| 996 | February
28, 1937. Today, I was undergoing the Passion of Jesus for a longer time, and
thus I saw that many souls were in need of prayer. I feel that I am being completely
transformed into prayer in order to beg God's mercy for every soul. O my Jesus,
I am receiving You into my heart as a pledge of mercy for souls. |
| 997 | This evening,
when I heard the hymn, "Good night, Holy Head of my Jesus," on the radio, my
spirit was suddenly swept away to God's mysterious bosom, and I knew in what
the greatness of a soul consists and what matters to God: love, love, and once
again, love. And 1 understood how all that exists is saturated with God, and
such a love of God inundated my soul that I am at a loss to describe it. Happy
the soul that knows how to love unreservedly, for in this lies its greatness.
|
| 998 | Today, I took part in a one-day retreat. When I was at the last conference, [177] the
priest was speaking of how much the world needs God's mercy, and that this seems
to be a special time when people have great need of prayer and God's mercy. Then
I heard a voice in my soul: These words are for you. Do all you possibly
can for this work of My mercy. I desire that My mercy be worshiped, and I am
giving
mankind the last hope of salvation; that is, recourse to My mercy. My Heart rejoices
in this feast. After these words, I understood that nothing can dispense me from
the obligation which the Lord demands from me. |
| 999 | Last night I was in such pain
that I thought it was the end. The doctors could not diagnose what the sickness
was. I felt as if my entrails had been torn to shreds, but after a few hours
of such sufferings I am all right. All this is for sinners. Let Your mercy descend
upon them, O Lord. |
| 1000 | In the terrible desert of life, O my sweetest Jesus, Protect souls from disaster, For You are the Fountain of Mercy. Let the resplendence of Your rays, O sweet Commander of our souls, Let mercy change the world. And you who have received this grace, serve Jesus. Steep is the great highway I must travel, But I fear nothing, For the pure fount of mercy is flowing for my sake, And, with it, strength for the humble soul. I am exhausted and worn out, But my conscience bears me witness That I do all for the greater glory of the Lord, The Lord who is my repose and my heritage. [End of Notebook Two of the Diary.] |
Notebook I: 1-50 † 51-100 † 101-150 † 151-200 † 201-250 † 251-300 Notebook I:301-350 † 351-400 † 401-450 † 451-500 † 501-521 Notebook II: 522-600 † 601-650 † 651-700 † 701-750 † 751-800 Notebook II:801-850 † 851-900 † 901-950 † 951-1000 Notebook III: 1001-1050 † 1051-1100 † 1101-1150 † 1151-1200 † 1201-1230 Notebook IV: 1231-1321 Notebook V: 1322-1400 † 1401-1450 † 1451-1500 † 1501-1550 † 1551-1589 Notebook VI: 1590-1650 † 1651-1700 † 1701-1750 † 1751-1803 Preperation for Holy Communion: 1804-1828 | |
Diary, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska,
Divine Mercy In My Soul | |
To purchase the dairy, visit the Marians of the Immaculate Conception website |
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