Please Catholics, Avoid These Arguments

God, who is the Father of "every good gift and every perfect gift" (James 1:17) desires that we all seek to help one another come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). His sure presence is guaranteed to those who desire His WORD in purity without the contravening interpolations of human traditions (Psalm 119:140 - "Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.").

Shalom.

Today's Saint 5/10/07

St. Faustina (1905-1938) 
 
 
St. Mary Faustina's name is forever linked to the annual feast of the Divine Mercy (celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter), the divine mercy chaplet and the divine mercy prayer recited each day by many people at 3 p.m.

Born in what is now west-central Poland (part of Germany before World War I), Helena was the third of 10 children. After age 16 she worked as a housekeeper in three cities before joining the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. She worked as a cook, gardener and porter in three of their houses.

In addition to carrying out her work faithfully, generously serving the needs of the sisters and the local people, she also had a deep interior life. This included receiving revelations from the Lord Jesus, messages that she recorded in her diary at the request of Christ and of her confessors.

At a time when some Catholics had an image of God as such a strict judge that they might be tempted to despair about the possibility of being forgiven, Jesus chose to emphasize his mercy and forgiveness for sins acknowledged and confessed. “I do not want to punish aching mankind,” he once told St. Mary Faustina, “but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful heart” (Diary 1588). The two rays emanating from Christ's heart, she said, represent the blood and water poured out after Jesus' death (Gospel of John 19:34)

Because Sister Mary Faustina knew that the revelations she had already received did not constitute holiness itself, she wrote in her diary: “Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God” (Diary 1107).

Sister Mary Faustina died of tuberculosis in Krakow, Poland, on October 5, 1938. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1993 and canonized her in 2000.

Quote

Four years after Faustina's beatification, Pope John Paul II visited the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy at Lagiewniki (near Krakow) and addressed members of her congregation. He said: “The message of divine mercy has always been very close and precious to me. It is as though history has written it in the tragic experience of World War II. In those difficult years, this message was a particular support and an inexhaustible source of hope, not only for those living in Krakow, but for the entire nation. This was also my personal experience, which I carried with me to the See of Peter and which, in a certain sense, forms the image of this pontificate. I thank divine providence because I was able to contribute personally to carrying out Christ's will, by instituting the feast of Divine Mercy. Here, close to the remains of Blessed Faustina, I thank God for the gift of her beatification. I pray unceasingly that God may have 'mercy on us and on the whole world' (chaplet of Divine Mercy).”
 

A few remarkable features of the revelations of Faustina

Faustina's revelations were said to be directly from "Jesus Christ", and not from any apparitions of MARY. However, there clearly seem to be conflict of interests betweeen the 'Divine Mercy' (Faustina's) and Secret of Fatima (Lucia's) revelations, as outlined below:

• Secret of Fatima was reportedly given earlier (1917) than the Divine Mercy revelation (1931). However, while the Fatima revelation came through the apparitions of 'MARY', the Divine Mercy was reportedly directly from 'JESUS' (some reports say He appeared to Faustina).

• Contents of the 'revelations'

The Fatima revelation ("second secret") seeks to devote/consecrate men to the Immaculate Heart of MARY; while the Divine Mercy revelation seeks to devote/consecrate men to JESUS. In other words, on the one hand, salvation was to be effected through the "second secret" of Fatima; while on the other hand, the salvation of souls was to be effected through another means - the 'Divine Mercy' revelation of Faustina!

This is how they are contrasted:

According to the official RCC publications of the "second secret of Fatima", we read the following of how 'MARY' in her appearance was dictating to Lucia, that:

"To save them [poor sinners who are on the road to hell],
God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart.
If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved
and there will be peace

Please notice that this 'MARY' seeks to establish world devotion to HER ("My Immaculate Heart")! Is this consistent with the Biblical message? Hardly so. And further, is this consistent with the message of Faustina's 'Divine Mercy'?!? Not at all. Let's contrast the above with the contents of Faustina's revelation:

According to the RCC official publications of the 'Divine Mercy', the 'Jesus' that had revealed the messages to Faustina said the following amongst other things:

"My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself.
From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. . .
I desire that your heart be an abiding place of My mercy.
I desire that this mercy flow out upon the whole world through your heart.
Let no one who approaches you go away without that trust in My mercy
which I so ardently desire for souls. (Diary 1777)"

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless
and the treasury of compassion -inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and
increase your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor
become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your
holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen.