A Divine Mercy Meditation Novena – Day 4

Day 4 – The Divine Mercy Revelation

It was Sunday, February 22, 1931, in the dead of winter. St. Faustina was assigned to the convent in the town of Płock and she spent most of her time working in the kitchen bakery.

St. Faustina had finished her work and prayers for the day and was in her room preparing for bed. It was in this moment that the merciful Jesus first appeared to her.

Jesus appeared clothed in a white garment that flowed from his neck to his ankles. Light emanated from Jesus. He remained still before her, but had one foot slightly ahead of the other, in a posture of walking forward toward her. His right hand, the biblical symbol of power, was raised in blessing while his left hand gently pulled aside the garment at his breast. Beneath his garment, his heart was revealed and from it, much like the blood and water that flowed from his pierced side, emanated two rays of light, one red and one pale. The face of Jesus reflected serenity and peace as well as power and eternity.

Eugeniuesz Kazimirowski’s image

Over the years, multiple images of Divine Mercy have been painted, a rare few of which have received official approval. The very first image that was painted was done by an artist named Eugeniusz Kazimirowski. Once hired, he needed six months to finish the painting. During that time, St. Faustina visited him about once a week to oversee the work and to give instructions on the finer details of the image. St. Faustina herself was never fully satisfied with the portrayal of Jesus, complaining in her diary that the artist could not capture the same magnificence of the Jesus of her visions.

I don’t think any artist is ever fully satisfied with their work.  I know how St. Faustina feels. Even at the end of the project, a year later, I still find myself not satisfied with the result. An experience of Christ is not something easily put into words or images. It is too personal and unique. I guess we can say that in this life we never really accomplish all we would like to do for God. At least, in some way, true love has no limits. And thus, we are all going to fall short. That’s something beautiful about Divine Mercy. God is not demanding some form of accomplishment in this life, or some unreachable ideal of perfectionism. Divine Mercy is God’s tender love joyfully encountering our human weakness.

PRAYER:

Today let us pray for non-Christians, and all peoples who have never encountered Jesus in their life. Let us pray this prayer of St. Faustina:

“O Jesus, I want to live in the present moment, to live as if this were the last day of my life. I want to use every moment scrupulously for the greater glory of God, to use every circumstance for the benefit of my soul. I want to look upon everything from the point of view that nothing happens without the will of God. God of unfathomable mercy, embrace the whole world and pour Yourself out upon us through the merciful Heart of Jesus.” (Divine Mercy in My Soul #1183).