APOSTLE OF DIVINE MERCY, SISTER FAUSTINA: SISTER OF FAUST
The Catholic Church declared Sr Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) to be a saint. She bears the distinction of being the first saint canonised in the new millennium. She died in Cracow. It was through her that Jesus supposedly established the Devotion to Divine Mercy in a series of visions and revelations.
These visions were delusions and there is an abundance of evidence that this was so in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. She did not bother correcting and rereading her revelations not caring if she accidentally taught heresy or got the devotion discredited (xix, xx). Her book, which she intended for the world to see after she was dead, contains immodest boasts like that she would die a thousand deaths to avoid committing the slightest sin (page 152). To choose that is as bad as choosing a thousand suicides. She contradicted Jesus’ promise that nobody would know when he would return in the second coming so that Christians would be always ready for she reported Jesus as saying that before the day of judgment there would be the day of mercy in which he would make a cross appear before the world in the sky so that all people would hear a call to mercy (page 42). That means that sinners have no last day to worry about until that cross appears. She must have seen and heard things that she never wrote down when she admitted she was afraid of Jesus once and thought he was the Devil (page 109). Obviously, by Catholic standards, this woman cannot be a saint.
In her diary, section 1588, she recorded what Jesus said to her." Today I heard the words: In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy" ( Diary 1588-9 (Notebook V)). Here Jesus admits to having up the punitive and harsh system as recorded in the Old Testament where homosexuals and adulterers were stoned to death. No truly human person would adore such a Jesus or trust his mercy. The passage blames the victims for what happened to them.
Her message is full of threats. We must remember that most of these sinners who are threatened are not bad people at all. They are maligned for not praying, for missing Mass, for using contraception or for living with a partner while not being married.
"Tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the
awful day, the day of My justice, is near". (Diary 965).
"I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if
they do not recognize this time of My visitation." (Diary 1160)
"Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy." (Diary 1588)
"He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door
of My justice". (Diary 1146).
She supervised a painting of Jesus as he was in her
visions. Interestingly he does not look enough like the Turin Shroud which is
thought by many to be the burial cloth of Christ so that is a good thing. The
Garabandal visionaries said Mary looked like the man on the Shroud but
interestingly the Medjugorje virgin who was depicted in a famous lifelike statue
that is in St James’ Church looks nothing like the Shroud though this statue
resembles her according to the visionaries who guided the artists. It is one big
failure in Roman Catholicism that it never does photofits to make sure that
different visionaries are meeting the same Mary or Jesus. The Church does not
feel the need holding that Jesus and Mary like to alter their appearances. Why
would they? Would they be that vain and childish?
The Vatican condemned the Devotion to Divine Mercy as it
was put forward by Faustina. The Church reexamined the issue and the apparitions
and revelations were approved by Pope John Paul II who wished to promote the
devotion probably because it had arisen in his native Poland.
Catholics who follow the devotion pray as Faustina's
vision of Jesus directed, "O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart
of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in you." Jesus supposedly told the
Church to pray this prayer at 3 pm daily. The Church might "explain" that it
means, "O Jesus whose heart gushed forth mercy for us when it bled water and
blood, I trust in you." But then why doesn't the prayer say that? The words are
actually a block to meaning that. They make it difficult to mean that. Most
people will find themselves praying to the actual blood and water. The Bible
severely warns that people have a predisposition to idolatrous worship. Thus the
prayer is dangerous.
The prayer of consecration to Divine Mercy runs, "Jesus,
the Divine Mercy, I consecrate my entire life, from this day on, to You without
reserve." This is hypocrisy. Even the greatest saints complained how they were
unable to reach Jesus' uncompromising ideals. If the prayer really came from God
as devotees of Divine Mercy allege, it would run, "Jesus, the Divine Mercy, I
want the strength to consecrate my entire life, from this day on, to You without
reserve."
Jesus promised that devotees of Divine Mercy who spread
the prayers would never go to Hell and he would "particularly defend each one of
them at the hour of death." Protestant theologians might see this as an attempt
to lull devotees into a false sense of security so that they will be drawn down
to Hell forever.
Jesus urged the nun to say the Chaplet "without ceasing" (Diary, 687), Clearly
he was asking her to put it in front of the Rosary. The problem with that is
that the Rosary was and is a prime Church devotion and all the genuinely
Catholic apparitions endorse it at least indirectly.
This mystic is appropriately named Faustina because like Faust she gave the
world messages that if they came from a supernatural realm came from Hell.
An abuse of baptism, from Faustina's Diary
This day is so special for me; even though I encountered
so many sufferings, my soul is overflowing with great joy. In a private room
next to mine, there was a Jewish woman who was seriously ill. I went to see her
three days ago and was deeply pained at the thought that she would soon die
without having her soul cleansed by the grace of baptism. I had an understanding
with her nurse, a religious sister, that when her last moment would be
approaching, she would baptize her. There was this difficulty however, that
there were always some Jewish people with her. However, I felt inspired to pray
before the image which Jesus had instructed me to have painted. I have a leaflet
with the image of the Divine Mercy on the cover. And I said to the Lord, "Jesus,
you yourself told me that you would grant many graces through this image. I ask
you, then, for the grace of holy baptism for this Jewish lady. It makes no
difference who will baptize her, as long as she is baptized."
After these words, I felt strangely at peace, and I was quite sure that, despite
the difficulties, the waters of holy baptism would be poured upon her soul. That
night, when she was very low, I got out of bed three times to see her, watching
for the right moment to give her this grace. The next morning, she seemed to
feel a little better. In the afternoon her last moment began to approach. The
sister who was her nurse said that baptism would be difficult because they were
with her. The moment came when the sick woman began to lose consciousness, and
as a result, in order to save her, they began to run about; some went to fetch
the doctor, while others went off in other directions to find help.
And so the patient was left alone, and sister baptized her, and before they had
all rushed back, her soul was beautiful, adorned with God’s grace. Her final
agony began immediately, but it did not last long. It was as if she fell asleep.
All of a sudden, I saw her soul ascending to heaven in wondrous beauty. Oh, how
beautiful is a soul with sanctifying grace! Joy flooded my heart that before
this image I had received so great a grace for this soul.
Oh, how great is God’s mercy; let every soul praise it. O my Jesus, that soul
for all eternity will be singing you a hymn of mercy. I shall not forget the
impression this day has made on my soul. This is the second great grace which I
have received here for souls before this image.
Oh, how good the Lord is, and how full of compassion; Jesus, how heartily I
thank you for these graces (source, entry for February 2, 1937).
This baptism took advantage of a woman who had no faith against the teaching of the Church "Baptism is the sacrament of faith. But faith needs the community of believers. It is only within the faith of the Church that each of the faithful can believe. The faith required for baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop. The catechumen or the godparent is asked: "What do you ask of God's Church?" The response is: "Faith!" (CCC 1253).