A Trip to National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Bulacan (Part 2)

                 St. Maria Faustina was born in 1905. She loves praying. She studied in elementary but only for not more than 3 years and worked as a home servant when she was a teenager. At the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, she spent thirteen years of her life being a cook, a gardener, and a doorkeeper starting at the age of twenty. Her mission in this world, as Jesus has told her through a vision, is to spread the merciful love of God to all, even to the greatest sinners. She wrote the details of this vision in her diary. This diary contains the things that we should do according to what Jesus wants in order for us to reach heaven and be with Him and the Heavenly Father. At the age of 33, St Maria Faustina died due to tuberculosis.
                  It was Pope John Paul II who declared her as one of the community of the blessed. Pope John Paul continued the mission of St. Maria Faustina and spread the message of Divine Mercy. Praying the Three O'clock Habit is one of those steps that the Catholic church are doing to help in the fulfillment of St Maria Faustina's mission to spread God's merciful love to mankind.

St. Maria Faustina

The Image of the Divine Mercy

                  In the vision that St Maria Faustina had, Jesus expressed His desire to have such an image painted with the words "Jesus, I trust in You." beneath. The marks of crucifixion on His hands and feet are visible in this image which represents the picture of the risen Christ. There are two rays that can be seen, red and pale. Based on St. Maria Faustina's Diary, Jesus explained that the pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous and the red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls.

                 Hope you find this blog helpful for in learning some background about St Maria Faustina's and Pope John Paul's roles in spreading the message of the Divine Mercy.

                 By the way, I promised to post pictures of Lourdes' cave. Here they are:

Figures of Jesus and Mother Mary inside the cave

Closer look at the figure of Jesus inside the cave

Closer look at the image of Mama Mary inside the cave

Jesus and Mother Mary found outside the cave

                       Many devotees believe that the water in this cave can heal illnesses. Some devotees even get gallons of this water.There are a lot of people who were healed. You might want to get water from this cave when you go to Divine Mercy.  If you have an illness, this miraculous water might be of help.

Let Us Journey Together,

Cath