People from many countries of the world participating in the work of the Perpetual Chaplet of Divine Mercy are praying not only in their own intentions, but also asking for “mercy on us and the whole world”. A detailed intention for July is prayer: Coverage of costs: servers and fiber optic cables, streaming carried out by Livestream Vimeo, and ongoing maintenance of equipment needed for broadcasting.
The work of Perpetual Chaplet is a response to the request of Jesus to constantly implore for mercy “for us and the whole world”. The work has been operated by the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy at: www.faustyna.pl since 2011. Anyone can participate in it by filling out a short form and declare to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which Jesus dictated to St. Faustina—at least once.
The website of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, www.saint-faustina.org, has been adjusted to be used on mobile devices and has been given a new appearance. This made it possible to make many sources on the life of Saint Faustina and her spiritual heritage, such as her Diary, and the apostolic works operated on the website, including video streaming from the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki, the Chaplet for the Dying, the Perpetual Chaplet, downloadables and the Patron Saint draw more accessible on mobile devices. The new version of the website is available in Polish and in English only for the time being. The other 6 language versions are being developed and will be added in time.
Sisters Konstancja and Cypriana from the convent of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy in Pastavy, Belarus, will organize a camp for young people from their parish in Garshevichy, Grodno diocese, on July 14-17 this year. They will be joined by Fr. Vitalik, a Priest of the Sacred Heart. The camp will be both recreational and formational, as it also includes conferences and presentations on the importance of the sacraments in the Christian life.
Such is the title of the 11th episode of our short film clip series about the Message of Mercy from Jesus, based on the Diary of Sister Faustina. Every episode contains a dialog between Jesus and St. Faustina. In this episode, Jesus is saying: “On the cross, the fount of My mercy was opened up wide by the spear, for each and every soul – I have not excluded any of them” (Diary, 1182). Saint Faustina responds. “O Jesus, Your goodness surpasses all comprehension, and none shall ever exhaust Your mercy. Perdition is for the soul that wishes to perish; for them that want to be saved there is an inexhaustible sea of the Lord’s mercy” (Diary, 631).
The script for a series of short films featuring Jesus’ message of mercy was written by Sr. M. Elżbieta Siepak, O.L.M. This message reveals God’s merciful love and calls us to respond to it with an attitude of trust in God, that is, by doing His will, and by doing good to others through deeds, words and prayer. The narrators are Adam Woronowicz and Aleksandra Posielężna, and the music was written by the Krakow composed and musician, Paweł Bębenek. The one-minute film clips with beautiful outdoor scenes are produced by the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in cooperation with TVP. You can watch them all on you YouTube channel: Faustina.pl.
July 16 is the 155th anniversary of the death of Mother Thérèse Rondeau, the founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in France (Laval), and co-founder of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland. She was born on October 6, 1793 in Laval, France. She was christened Theresa Agatha. Under the influence of her confessor, Fr. J. Chanon, S.J., Theresa undertook working with penitent women, that is to say women in need of deep moral renewal and willing to change their lives. In order to prepare better for this work, in 1818 she moved to Bordeaux, where Mother Teresa de Lamourous ran a house for penitent women, which was called “Mercy”. After a two-month stay, Theresa Rondeau made private vows and returned to Laval to become the foundress of a new work, independent from Bordeaux, and in time this became the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in France. Mother Teresa Potocka, née Ewa Sułkowska, who later became the foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland, adopted the spirituality of the French Congregation and their way of conducting apostolic work. Mother Teresa Rondeau died on 16 July 1866 and was buried within the grounds of the Congregation in Laval; her tomb is in a garden belonging to the convent. Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland has named a co-founder. The spiritual co-founder of the Congregation is St. Faustina Kowalska.
On July 10-14, in the Miłosierdzie Retreat House in Derdy near Warsaw, a retreat for members and volunteers of the Faustinum Association will be held. This will be the first in a series of retreats that correspond to the themes of the various stages of formation, either communal or individual. This retreat, with the theme “Endowed with Mercy”, will be attended by those members and volunteers of Faustinum who have completed their first year of formation in the Association. The retreat will be hosted by Fr. Sławomir Czajka, PhD, and Sr. M. Emanuela Gemza, O.L.M.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy would like to thank all those involved in the co-creation and financial support for www.faustyna.pl. Our website is available in 8 languages, and its audience in recent months has increased substantially. To maintain the smooth operation of the website and provide the freedom to use it at all levels and to participate in all our ongoing projects, financial support is needed. Therefore, we would like to give our heartfelt thanks for your support and we continue to keep you in our daily prayers. We also express our joy for the reason that together we can participate in the work of proclaiming the message of God’s merciful love for every human being to the world, the legacy of which was provided by Jesus in the prophetic mission of St. Faustina.
Due to necessary maintenance works, on 12 July (Monday), there will be no video broadcasting from the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki at www.saint-faustina.org . We would like to express our gratitude for all the donations made for this purpose and invite you to pray before the miracle-famous image of Merciful Jesus and the tomb of St. Faustina and to participate in the Liturgy through the virtual visitation of this holy place via the website of the Faustyna.pl application.
This is the title of a series of videos that, at the request of the Archdiocese of Nur-Sultan, are carried out by Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy in Petropavlovsk. Sr. Anastasis’ conferences will be about the dignity and vocation of women in light of the mystery of God’s merciful love. Further episodes of the series will be published on the Католики Казахстан YouTube channel and on other Catholic websites of Kazakhstan.
On July 8, as on every eighth day of the month, the community of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Gdansk, Częstochowa, Kalisz and Kiekrz will support married couples praying for offspring. 703 of them are already expecting children, with many more already enjoying parenthood. Intentions asking for prayer for this purpose (names of married couples) can be sent by email at: www.modlitwaopotomstwo.pl.
The community of people praying for children led by Fr. Andrzej Wiecki and sisters of the Gdańsk community of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy cordially invite married couples trying to conceive to Adoration of Merciful Jesus with a prayer for healing, which will take place on 8 July at 7.30 pm at the shrine of the Pregnant Holy Mother in Matemblewo. Live stream: www.facebook.com/modlitwaopotomstwo
On June 29th, the 140th anniversary of the death of Mother Countess Teresa Ewa Potocka nee Sułkowska, the founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, sisters of the many convents will meet for prayer in Wilanów. In the Church of St. Anne, they will be giving thanks for her gift to the Congregation and the Church.
The website of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, www.faustyna.pl, has been adjusted to be used on mobile devices and has been given a new appearance. This made it possible to make many sources on the life of Saint Faustina and her spiritual heritage, such as her Diary, and the apostolic works operated on the website, including video streaming from the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki, the Chaplet for the Dying, the Perpetual Chaplet, downloadables and the Patron Saint draw more accessible on mobile devices. The new version of the website is available in Polish only for the time being. The other 7 language versions are being developed and will be added in time.
On 6 July falls the 140th anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa Ewa nee Sułkowska, Countess Potocka, the founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland. Is it a small thing to save one soul, she wrote. This idea guided her life and work, which she established to rescue women and girls in need of deep moral renewal (“the Magdalenas”). The Congregation later gave to the Church and the world the trasure that was Sister Faustina, apostle of Divine Mercy who is now recognized as its spiritual co-founder. Mother Teresa Potocka died in the palace of Wilanów. Her mortal remains rest in the tomb of the Congregation at the Powązki cemetery in Warsaw. We do not call her a saint, because only the Church has the right to give that title, said Fr. Zygmunt Golian, her spiritual director, in the funeral speech. However, let our efforts at work, for which he was ready to give her life, prove her sanctity.
This is the title of the second series of talks on God’s Mercy based on the Diary of St. Faustina to be delivered by Sr. Anastasis from the Petropavlovsk convent of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. In her conferences, she will show different aids to swimming in the ocean of Mercy in different situations of human existence. She will talk not only about how God loves man, but also about how to respond to His love, and how to reconcile it with human suffering, especially of the innocent. The videos prepared on the initiative of the Archdiocese of Nur-Sultan will be published on the Католики Казахстан YouTube channel and on other Catholic websites of Kazakhstan.
It is a tradition in Poland that Catholics gather in every church and even at small roadside shrines in May to celebrate “Majówki” – a special kind of devotion to the Virgin Mary, during which the Litany of Loreto is sung. At the Shrine in Krakow-Łagiewniki, the May devotions are celebrated in the chapel of the miracle-famous Divine Mercy Image and the tomb of St. Faustina every day at 7:00 pm and on Sundays and other holidays at 6:30 pm. You can also join in the prayer online, at /www.saint-faustina.org
After 9 months of state of emergency in Slovakia due to the coronavirus pandemic, the communities of the “Faustinum” Apostles of Divine Mercy Association have resumed their activities. Sisters Antoniana and Alżbieta from the Košice community of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy and priests in the individual parishes will host formation meetings for “Faustinum” members and volunteers in those locations where pandemic restrictions allow for group meetings, namely:
Sabinov – June 27.
On 25-27 June, a vocational retreat for young women will take place in the Discalced Carmelites’ monastery in Lorinčík near Košice in the south of Slovakia. The theme will be: Chosen by God. The retreat will be provided by Fr. Andrej Valent, O.C.D., and Sr. Benediktína Fečová from the Košice community of the Congregation of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy.
In April in all the chapels of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, including the one of the miracle-famous Divine Mercy Image and the tomb of St. Faustina at the Shrine in Krakow-Łagiewniki, evening devotions in honor of Divine Mercy will take place, during which the Litany of Divine Mercy will be recited. The words of the litany were written down by St. Faustina in her Diary and her Vilnius confessor, Bl. Fr. Michael Sopocko, composed the prayer on this basis. Praying with her words, we not only praise God’s Mercy, but also get to know the mystery of God’s merciful Love more, which accompanies man in all the dimensions of his earthly life, accompanying him always and everywhere.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy would like to thank all those involved in the co-creation and financial support for www.faustyna.pl. Our website is available in 8 languages, and its audience in recent months has increased substantially. To maintain the smooth operation of the website and provide the freedom to use it at all levels and to participate in all our ongoing projects, financial support is needed. Therefore, we would like to give our heartfelt thanks for your support and we continue to keep you in our daily prayers. We also express our joy for the reason that together we can participate in the work of proclaiming the message of God’s merciful love for every human being to the world, the legacy of which was provided by Jesus in the prophetic mission of St. Faustina.
The Home of St. Faustina at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki (within the convent complex, where St. Faustina served at the gate) has reopened to visitors, offering accommodation to pilgrims, with all the guidelines in place during the epidemic. Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy are welcoming all those willing to encounter the Merciful Lord Jesus in the sign of the Divine Mercy image and visit St. Faustina’s tomb to take advantage of the accommodation. Reservations can be made by email, at noclegi@faustyna.pl or telephone at +48 730 955 521.
After a several months’ closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, the House of St. Faustina restaurant at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki has reopened. The venue is run by Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy. The sanitary restrictions now allow the pilgrims to have breakfast, our home-cooked lunch and dinner, as well as cakes, ice cream and drinks. The restaurant, located at the parking lot at the back of the basilica (ul. Adolfa Hyły 1), is open every day from 10 am to 8 pm.
In June, during the evening worship, the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is traditionally sung in churches in Poland. This is also true for the chapels of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. In the Shrine in Krakow-Łagiewniki, this takes place in the chapel of the miracle-famous Divine Mercy image and the tomb of St. Faustina. The June devotions are celebrated every day at 7:00 pm and at 6:30 pm on Sundays and other holidays.
At first blush it may seem that the Devotion to the Divine Mercy is only a form of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart and that the devotions do not differ considerably. Upon a cursory reading of Sister Faustina’s 'Diary’, in which the Heart of Jesus is frequently mentioned, one can be confirmed in this belief. However, a theological analysis of the work clearly differentiates between the two Devotions, which are so popular in the Church. The Rev. Professor I. Różycki carried out such an analysis and, on the basis of it he showed fundamental differences between the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the one to the Divine Mercy. They differ as regards the object of veneration: who and what is worshipped, the essence of the Devotions and the privileged time – the time to which certain promises are attached.
As regards the Devotion to the Divine Mercy, the mercy of the entire Holy Trinity is the object of the veneration itself, whereas as regards the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus – it is the Divine Person of the Son of God Incarnate.
As far as the Devotion to the Divine Mercy is concerned, the image of the Merciful Jesus is venerated – the one painted according to the vision that Sister Faustina had in Płock on the 22nd February, 1931, whereas as regards the other devotion – the human, 'physical’ Heart of Jesus is worshipped.
Trust is the essence of the Devotion to the Divine Mercy, whereas reparation is the essence of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
3p.m. – every day – (the moment of Jesus’ agony on the cross) and the Feast of Mercy – on the first Sunday after Easter – this is the privileged time as far as the Devotion to the Divine Mercy is concerned, whereas as regards the Devotion to the Sacred Heart the privileged time is on first Fridays of every month and on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
People from many countries of the world participating in the work of the Perpetual Chaplet of Divine Mercy are praying not only in their own intentions, but also asking for “mercy on us and the whole world”. Specific intention for June: For the protection of children from demoralization and for necessary graces for young people, so that they are not tempted by easy happiness, but will make life choices according to Gospel values.
The work of Perpetual Chaplet is a response to the request of Jesus to constantly implore for mercy “for us and the whole world”. The work has been operated by the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy at: www.faustyna.pl since 2011. Anyone can participate in it by filling out a short form and declare to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which Jesus dictated to St. Faustina—at least once.
On June 22th, at the John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., another Evening with Merciful Jesus will take place. Sisters from the Washington community of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy will host the event. This time, a conference on the new evangelization after the pandemic and on how to reach the young generation with the message of Mercy will be delivered by Fr. Paweł Sass, the provost of the Nativity Parish in Washington, D.C. After the speech and the Adoration of the Lord Jesus, the participants will finally be able to gather for tea.
The nearest “Łagiewniki 22”, which is a monthly meeting of young people at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki, will be held on June 22nd. In this year of formation, the young will meet at 7 pm for an evening of Divine Mercy veneration in front of the miracle-famous image of Merciful Jesus and the tomb of St. Faustina. Those who cannot physically come to Łagiewniki, can connect to the on-line broadcast at www.saint-faustina.org.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and the Polish national television TVP are now making a series one-minute video clips with the message of Mercy from Jesus, as recorded in the Diary of St. Faustina. The message reveals the merciful love of God and urges us to respond to it with the attitude of trust in God, and doing His will, as well as doing good for our neighbors by deed, word and prayer. This is why each episode will be a dialog between Jesus and St. Faustina. The screenplay was written by Sr. Elżbieta M. Siepak, O.L.M. The narrators are Adam Woronowicz and Aleksandra Posielężna. The music was written by Paweł Bębenek.
The first 10 episodes will be showed by TVP1, TVP3, and our website, www.faustyna.pl. Search for “spoty filmowe”.
Shalom World television will join the transmission of the prayer at the Hour of Mercy and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, led by the sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki on May, 23. The TV station also broadcasts daily Mass and other services celebrated in the chapel of the miracle-famous Divine Mercy and the tomb of St. Faustina. Shalom World is a US-based Catholic television company sharing the peace of Christ around the world. Its three branches: Shalom World North America, Shalom World Europe, and Shalom World Australia have about 8 million viewers in 140 countries around the world.
Prayer at the Hour of Mercy and the Chaplet from the Łagiewniki Shrine are available from already 12 Catholic radio stations and several television stations, including: TVP 3, TVP 1 and TVP Vilnius, EWTN Polska, Giovanni Paolo TV and on our YouTube channel. Online broadcasting and TVP retransmission are available at www.faustyna.pl in 8 languages, and in our Faustyna.pl mobile application in 7 languages.
At www.saint-faustina.org a pdf file containing our leaflet entitled Jesus’ Message of Mercy Leaflet is now available in Romanian. It contains the key quotations by Lord Jesus recorded in the Diary of St. Faustina, which concern the message of Mercy He provided for the Church and the world. The Message was a gift from St. John Paul II for the third millennium of the faith, so that people can get to know the true face of God and the true face of man better. The introduction and quotes from the Diary have been prepared by Aghi Moulas in consultation with Fr. Tadeusz Rostworowski, S.J., translator of St. Faustina’s work into Romanian. Romanian is the 16th language in which the Jesus’ Message of Mercy leaflet is shared for non-commercial spread of the Message of Mercy.
