A vision of Christ seen by a Polish nun in 1931 is the foundation of
an increasingly popular Roman Catholic devotion in the 21st century.
"I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment," 26-year-old Sister Maria Faustina wrote in her diary. "One hand was raised in a gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast."
Two large rays emanated from Christ's chest, one red, the other pale. Christ commanded the nun to artistically re-create the image with the words, "Jesus, I trust in you" as its signature.
In her diary, she wrote that she was told, "I want this image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter. That Sunday is to be the feast of mercy."
The painting that Sister Maria commissioned has been reproduced on countless holy cards. On Sunday, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church will dedicate a 12-foot bronze statue of the Divine Mercy image the nun saw in her convent room.
The statue, atop an 8-foot pedestal, will be hard to miss at the busy intersection of Buffalo Speedway and Holcombe.
"I pray to God there will be no accidents when (motorists) see it for the first time," said the Rev. John T. Weyer, St. Vincent's pastor.
Weyer is an ardent promoter of the Divine Mercy, a devotion to God's compassion revealed to the nun over several years. (The devotion includes a chaplet, or specific prayers said with rosary beads.)
Before Weyer moved to St. Vincent de Paul three years ago, he directed the construction of the Divine Mercy Chapel at St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land.
"I teach it wherever I go," Weyer said. On Divine Mercy weekend, Weyer intends to preach on the message of God's compassion at six of the church's seven Masses.
The priest said he was introduced to the devotion 14 years ago when a parishioner gave him a copy of St. Maria Faustina's Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul.
The Nun, who had only a third-grade education, described the vision and its effect on her spiritual life in simple sentences.
"I read a little bit each night before I went to bed," Weyer said. "It hit me like a ton of bricks; I was just overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed with the insight into the mercy of God and how much he wants to offer mercy but so many won't even ask for it."
The popularity of the devotion owes a lot to Pope John Paul II, who became familiar with the nun's writings as a priest in Poland.
One of the pope's first encyclicals, released in 1980, was on God's mercy, said Sister Madeleine Grace, chairman of the theology department at the University of St. Thomas.
"It was influenced by her writing," Grace said. "He had read St. Faustina's diary and knew of it."
The nun was beatified in 1993, and the devotion became known because the pope promoted it, Grace said.
In April 2000, John Paul II canonized the nun, declaring her St. Maria Faustina and establishing the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.
Weyer said God's mercy "is the hope of the world; it is the hope of each individual person."
The basic message of the Divine Mercy, Weyer said, can be distilled into an "ABC" format:
•Ask for God's mercy.
•Be merciful to others.
•Completely trust in God and his providence for you.
Confidence in the divine is reflected in the devotion's prayer, "Jesus, I trust in you," the priest said.
In the image St. Faustina saw, the red rays from Christ's heart symbolize the blood that was shed for mankind's salvation, and the blue symbolizes the water of grace and spiritual rebirth, Weyer said.
The devotion extends worldwide, said Lee Bowers, director of Marian activities for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Her office is also now promoting the Divine Mercy devotion.
"It is a way of life, not just a devotion," said Bowers, an international speaker for the devotion through an outreach of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, an order of priests.
She has spoken to audiences in Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines as well as throughout the United States.
In the Philippines, television, radio and even traffic lights mark the 3 p.m. hour for the praying of the chaplet, Bowers said.
It even attracts some Protestants, she said.
Bowers will celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at the devotion's national shrine in Stockbridge, Mass.
She will also participate in the taping of a 13-week series on the devotion to be broadcast nationally in October by Eternal Word Television Network, a Catholic cable broadcaster.
Bowers said the devotion reminds people that God can forgive any sin.
"The one thing that seems to touch people's hearts is that God is a merciful God no matter what they have done," she said.
"We have been a world where we forget to forgive our brother for the wrongs done," Bowers said.
"I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment," 26-year-old Sister Maria Faustina wrote in her diary. "One hand was raised in a gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast."
Two large rays emanated from Christ's chest, one red, the other pale. Christ commanded the nun to artistically re-create the image with the words, "Jesus, I trust in you" as its signature.
In her diary, she wrote that she was told, "I want this image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter. That Sunday is to be the feast of mercy."
The painting that Sister Maria commissioned has been reproduced on countless holy cards. On Sunday, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church will dedicate a 12-foot bronze statue of the Divine Mercy image the nun saw in her convent room.
The statue, atop an 8-foot pedestal, will be hard to miss at the busy intersection of Buffalo Speedway and Holcombe.
"I pray to God there will be no accidents when (motorists) see it for the first time," said the Rev. John T. Weyer, St. Vincent's pastor.
Weyer is an ardent promoter of the Divine Mercy, a devotion to God's compassion revealed to the nun over several years. (The devotion includes a chaplet, or specific prayers said with rosary beads.)
Before Weyer moved to St. Vincent de Paul three years ago, he directed the construction of the Divine Mercy Chapel at St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land.
"I teach it wherever I go," Weyer said. On Divine Mercy weekend, Weyer intends to preach on the message of God's compassion at six of the church's seven Masses.
The priest said he was introduced to the devotion 14 years ago when a parishioner gave him a copy of St. Maria Faustina's Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul.
The Nun, who had only a third-grade education, described the vision and its effect on her spiritual life in simple sentences.
"I read a little bit each night before I went to bed," Weyer said. "It hit me like a ton of bricks; I was just overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed with the insight into the mercy of God and how much he wants to offer mercy but so many won't even ask for it."
The popularity of the devotion owes a lot to Pope John Paul II, who became familiar with the nun's writings as a priest in Poland.
One of the pope's first encyclicals, released in 1980, was on God's mercy, said Sister Madeleine Grace, chairman of the theology department at the University of St. Thomas.
"It was influenced by her writing," Grace said. "He had read St. Faustina's diary and knew of it."
The nun was beatified in 1993, and the devotion became known because the pope promoted it, Grace said.
In April 2000, John Paul II canonized the nun, declaring her St. Maria Faustina and establishing the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.
Weyer said God's mercy "is the hope of the world; it is the hope of each individual person."
The basic message of the Divine Mercy, Weyer said, can be distilled into an "ABC" format:
•Ask for God's mercy.
•Be merciful to others.
•Completely trust in God and his providence for you.
Confidence in the divine is reflected in the devotion's prayer, "Jesus, I trust in you," the priest said.
In the image St. Faustina saw, the red rays from Christ's heart symbolize the blood that was shed for mankind's salvation, and the blue symbolizes the water of grace and spiritual rebirth, Weyer said.
The devotion extends worldwide, said Lee Bowers, director of Marian activities for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Her office is also now promoting the Divine Mercy devotion.
"It is a way of life, not just a devotion," said Bowers, an international speaker for the devotion through an outreach of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, an order of priests.
She has spoken to audiences in Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines as well as throughout the United States.
In the Philippines, television, radio and even traffic lights mark the 3 p.m. hour for the praying of the chaplet, Bowers said.
It even attracts some Protestants, she said.
Bowers will celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at the devotion's national shrine in Stockbridge, Mass.
She will also participate in the taping of a 13-week series on the devotion to be broadcast nationally in October by Eternal Word Television Network, a Catholic cable broadcaster.
Bowers said the devotion reminds people that God can forgive any sin.
"The one thing that seems to touch people's hearts is that God is a merciful God no matter what they have done," she said.
"We have been a world where we forget to forgive our brother for the wrongs done," Bowers said.
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