Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska is a Polish saint who is best known for sharing the Divine Mercy devotion with the world. In her short life she endured much suffering—poverty, illness, and even being turned away by several convents because of her poverty. Her feast day is celebrated on October 5, the anniversary of her death.
“One day, Jesus appeared to her. And … the first thing her confessor said is we’re going to take you to a psychiatrist, we’re going to get you checked out to see if you’re insane or not. Well they determined that she was sane and she was very astute in what she was doing. And it must really be Jesus revealing himself to her so the priest then said, I want you to start keeping a diary,” explained Steve Ray, Catholic speaker and regular contributor to Relevant Radio®.
Today, Saint Faustina’s diary is a published book titled, Divine Mercy in My Soul. Ray shared one of his favorite stories from the diary.
“One day this very poor man came there, he was a very hungry, very poor, ragged man. And he came and asked for some food and she said, ‘I’m sorry we don’t have any food but please come in and I’ll see what I can do.’ She brought this poor man in and she got him comfortable and she went around—there was no food in the convent at the time but she did find some soup broth and she found some pieces of bread … and she brought it to him. And then she found out that it was Jesus. He said, ‘I have come down from my throne in heaven to experience your hospitality and mercy.’”
This story reminds us that we should treat every person we encounter with great respect, love, and generosity—as if the Lord himself is standing in front of us. Saint Faustina’s humility and obedience is an incredible example to all of us.
Thanks to Saint Faustina and her diary, the Divine Mercy devotion has spread across the world. It was widely promoted by Saint John Paul II, who canonized Saint Faustina in 2000 and officially designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed daily by many of the faithful at 3:00pm, which is the hour of Divine Mercy. It is also prayed daily at 4pm ET / 1pm PT during The Drew Mariani ShowTM on Relevant Radio®. This interactive Chaplet of Divine Mercy has become one of the most listened to hours of the day and has produced unbelievable fruit.
“We have seen miraculous healings. There’s been the kidnapped that have been released; people with double organ transplants needed going home four days later not needing them. I’ve had surgeons write to me telling me how they’ve looked at PET scans, bodies filled with cancer—gone as a result of this prayer. Just absolutely mind-boggling, miraculous miracles have taken place through this,” said Drew Mariani, who leads thousands in the prayer each day.
Tune in to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy weekdays at 4pm ET / 1pm PT and call 1-888-914-9149 during the broadcast to share your prayer intentions.
Join Drew’s Divine Mercy Intercessors for special spiritual benefits and a spiritual family united by prayer.
