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81 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Reflection On God's Divine Mercy Toward Sinners, February 11, 2001
This work of St. Faustina's is a journal of Jesus' private revelation to this great saint of God's Divine Mercy.The Catholic Church has always taught that public revelation ended at the death of the last Apostle. Private revelation, that given to one or a few people, is only binding on the individual receiving that revelation. The private revelation, such as that to St. Faustina, must not be in contradiction to the deposit of faith (Scripture & Apostolic Tradition) given us by the Apostles. In short, it must be orthodox. The revelation to St. Faustina is perfectly orthodox and does not contradict the public revelation given to us once and for all by Christ and His Apostles. In short, there is nothing unorthodox about the message that God's mercy for all sinners is boundless. This diary is faith confirming in the love of God. However, the purchaser of this diary must understand that it is a diary. You will find the message of Divine Mercy from the beginning of the diary until the very end. Because the message is so consistently provided for in the diary, the reader cannot expect this diary to read as a novel would with a build-up and a climax at the end. There is some progress towards a climax, however. Unfortunately, that progress towards a climax is St. Faustina's recollection of the progress of the disease in her body which caused her death. She suffered immense physical suffering. What most impresses me about St. Faustina is her complete trust and love for Christ. I've never read or heard of such complete devotion to Christ. This love for Christ expressed itself in a profound love for sinners. St. Faustina would have died for the worst of sinners and wished to bring all people to the love of God's mercy. St. Faustina also chronicles her sufferings at the hands of the other sisters in the convent. Many of them would ridicule her as though her sanctity was intended not for love of God or souls but for her own self-importance. There was nothing self-important about this great Saint. This ridicule even occurred as St. Faustina did good for others in the convent. Some sisters mockingly, and I believe enviously, nicknamed her "dump" because she was a repository for the grief of so many other sisters in the convent. The diary is long, but the message is graciously true. Jesus told St. Faustina to write all that she heard in her diary. Christ told her, "Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of my hands are crowned with mercy." This diary is St. Faustina's work of love to do just that.
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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Personal and Inspiring, February 1, 2005
Sister Faustina was a Polish nun who died in 1938 and was recently cannonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. I only learned of her because when my grandmother recently passed away, I was cleaning her house, and she had a drawer full of newspaper clippings conerning the story behind Faustina's cannonization process. I purchased this book to learn more.
The book is a compilation of thoughts on her of her life, the messages that she believed that she received from Jesus, and her struggle to institute the Divine Mercy devotion in the church. The devotion is becoming very popular in Catholic parishes, but need not be restricted to Catholics alone. It is intended for all who believe in Christ and want to know him and his message of mercy as articulated by the Passion.
The book is a diary, and it is personal. It is also very long, and I thought slightly repetitive towards the end, but that is not the fault of the writer. Besides, the message is beautiful.
These are her personal reflections of lessons she learned during her short life, and were not intended to be read by the public, but was written by the command of her confessor, to expedite her confession process (since she felt that she had much to tell him, it was easier for him to read her accounts and then discuss them when they met).
This is by far one of the best accounts of private revelations ever published. Rather than vaguely say "according to what Jesus told me or what I saw, I believe I need to make greater sacrifices or act with more charity to those around me," Faustina recounts the exact words that she believed were revealed to her, images she saw, and writes exactly what she prayed or whom she helps and how. The book is full or miracles and inspiration.
In a nutshell, the message of Divine Mercy is a continuation and expnsion of the messages that other mystics believed they received from God (Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Gertrude of Helfta, Birgitta of Sweden, and Margaret Mary); that the mercy and love held in God's heart are so great that no evil that will commit is unforgiveable to those who implore his forgiveness with contrition and the intention to avoid sin in the future. She writes that it is an insult to God when think that God's mercy is not sufficient to save us if we ask him with remorse for our misdeeds becuae of the greivances they caused him and others.
Like the other mystics mentioned, and similar to Therese of Lisieux, Faustina tries to live her entire life as a prayer. Praying for the needs of others acitvely, but also conducting every mundane action of daily life with the intent of offering the fruits of her labor up to God to implore his forgiveness of sins. She write much about the role of intention; that we it is now always how much you are able to do through you actions that pleases God, but rather how much you want and try to do good.
The image of Divine Mercry, with Jeuss and the rays coming form his heart, was designed in according to a vision she recieved, with the symbolism that from the love of Jesus' heart come all our hope. The white ray reprsents the water that left his body when piereced by the centurion, and the red ray represents the blood. Much has been writtena bout the significance of water and blood in biblcial symbolism, in terms of redemtion, nourishment, and convenat, so it does not seems necessary to reveal more here, but she does in her book. At the bottom of the image is the sentence "Jesus I trust in you."
Faustina was given many directiosnf ro apryers, whcih are inlcuded in the book. The most popular is the meditation of the passion, as articulated in the "Divine Mercy Chaplet." She also wrties about the value of pausing briefly at 3PM each day to reflect on the passion, ideally through the Sations of the Cross. Divine Mercy Sunday was established as a feast that falls on the Sunday after Easter each year, a time when all are particualrly encouraged to confess their sins. "The Essential Catholic prayer book" has a helpful section of the chaplet and the crux of the Divine Mercy devotion, for thsoe who might not feel up to reading the entire diary.
There is much skeptism about private revelations, and probably for good reason, as many do seem to be reported. Faustina's revelations are some of the few that have been accpeted by the Catholic Church, and they follow the example of standard accepted revelations, like those at Fatima: they do not contradict Church doctrine (but rather seem to articulate Christian teaching in a more accessible format), Faustina revealed all to her confessor, she followed the advice of the her order and church superiors, and she sought no publicity. It is also interesting to note that the revelations that are most credible often occur before incidents of catastrophe, and the Nazi occupation of Poland was one of the darkest and challenging times for Poles.
The book is simply written and easily accessible to any reader. The entries are short and can make a good meditation study. She also includes many devotional poems, which can be used for meditation, particualrly during Lent. I was surprised by the depth of the peoms, considering her limited education. Some of them are reminiscent of work composed by John of the Cross.
Faustina's life was not easy. Despite her gifts, she struggled with periods of spiritual dryness and physical illness, and her ability to keep hope and trust in God is a helpful role model for all who face difficulties in life. And I can think of no greater uplifting message than the great love that God has for all who come to him.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling story, March 26, 2000
I found Blessed Faustina's diary to be a compelling story of one woman's complete surrender to her God. It appears that through all her suffering she was spoken to not only by Christ but also tempted by Satan; but was yet able to complete the mission which she had begun, that is, the saving of souls. It seems appropriate that Christ would ask her to write all that he said to her, since he knew that these writings would be used for the process of her canonization. I would have preferred, though, to have read the diary without the many changes which were obviously made, even though it is stated they were made for clarity. I found myself reading the diary with anticipation, much like a novel. I wanted to know if she actually realized when it was she would die, but appears she did not write all the way up to the time of her death. I first learned of the Divine Mercy through EWTN Television, and through the various programs which they show concerning her life and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Somehow I came away a different person after reading the diary -- I was more secure in my beliefs that there is something to be looked forward to in the hereafter. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the saints and their processes, and in the mysticism of life and death.
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