Image and Feast Day
The Image of The Divine Mercy originates from a vision that St. Faustina had on February 22, 1931. In that vision, Our Lord was clothed in a white garment with His right hand raised in blessing. His left hand was touching His garment in the area of the heart. From the heart came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. He expressed His desire to have an image painted according to the pattern Sister Faustina was looking upon, and that it should be signed: "Jesus, I trust in You." St. Faustina felt that the painted image was not even close in magnificence to the vision she had of Our Lord, and wrote, "...I felt very sad about it, but hid this deep in my heart. When we had left the artist's house, Mother Superior [Irene] stayed in town to attend to some matters while I returned home alone. I went immediately to the chapel and wept a good deal. I said to the Lord, 'Who will paint you as beautiful as You are?' Then I heard these words: Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace" (Diary, 313).
The Image represents the risen Christ whose hands and feet bear the marks of the crucifixion. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, two rays are issuing forth, a red and a pale one. When asked about their meaning, Jesus explained, The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. ... These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My Agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross (Diary, 299). In other words, these two rays signify the Sacraments of Mercy (Baptism and Penance), and the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the blood of souls, carrying life-sustaining food for our spiritual journey. The water is analogous to the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, in that through these Sacraments our souls are washed clean. "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor 6:11). Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, said Jesus, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (Diary, 299).
Jesus attached many promises to those who venerate the Image. As Catholics, we "venerate" images such as the Image of Jesus, The Divine Mercy, which simply means we regard with great respect and reverence the person portrayed in the image, an action which is not contrary to the First Commandment. Saint C Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae, said the following: "Religious worship is not directed to images in themselves, considered as mere things, but under their distinctive aspect as images leading us on to God incarnate. The movement towards the image does not terminate in it as image, but tends toward that whose image it is" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2132). Jesus said, I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this Image with the signature: 'Jesus, I trust in You' (Diary, 327). By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so let every soul have access to it (Diary, 570). Jesus also said I promise that the soul that will venerate this Image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory (Diary, 48).
Saint Faustina's Diary also contains several passages in which Our Lord requests that a "Feast of Mercy" be officially established in the Church, and Jesus asked that the Feast of Mercy be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. That day is a day of grace for all people, particularly for great sinners. This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of My tender mercies (Diary, 420).
There are many promises associated with the Feast, the great-est of which is associated with the reception of Holy Communion on that day. Our Lord made the promise of complete forgiveness of sins and punishment if one approaches the Fountain of Life that day with an attitude of trust, and meets the other requirement of deeds of mercy that the Lord made known through St. Faustina. In other words, the grace equals the one we receive in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. This is not a plenary indulgence from the Church, rather, like a second Baptism, as on that day, as our souls are washed clean again and made as white as snow.
However, in September of 2002, the Vatican, assuredly under the influence of Pope John Paul II, attached a plenary indulgence for those who piously observe Divine Mercy Sunday. This is available to those who follow the normal conditions of receiving a plenary indulgence, namely: making a sacramental confession, praying for the Holy Father, and being free from attachment to even venial sins. However, the promises of Our Lord are in fact independent of this grace and have always been in effect for those who observe the Feast.
I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy (Diary, 1109). Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (Diary, 300). The greatness of this Feast lies also in the fact that everyone, even those who are converted that very day, may obtain the great grace of the feast. Our Lord requested that the Image be venerated on that day as well. I want this Image, which you will paint with a brush, Jesus told St. Faustina, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy (Diary, 49). I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession, and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet (Diary, 699).
On another occasion Our Lord told her, My daughter, look into the abyss of My mercy and give praise and glory to this mercy of Mine. Do it in this way: Gather all sinners from the entire world and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. I want to give Myself to souls; I yearn for souls, My daughter. On the day of My feast, the Feast of Mercy, you will go through the whole world and bring fainting souls to the spring of My mercy. I shall heal and strengthen them (Diary, 206).
Bringing great joy to all the people, Pope John Paul II fulfilled Jesus' request on April 30, 2000. He declared that the Sunday after Easter would be celebrated throughout the world as "Divine Mercy Sunday."
The preparation for the Feast of Mercy is to be a novena, beginning on Good Friday, including recitation of The Divine Mercy Chaplet for nine days. I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fount of My mercy, that they may draw therefrom strength and refreshment and whatever graces they need in the hardships of life and, especially, at the hour of death. On each day you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls, and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy, and I will bring all these souls into the house of My Father. You will do this in this life and in the next. I will deny nothing to any soul whom you will bring to the fount of My mercy. On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My bitter Passion, for graces for these souls (Diary, 1209-1229). Unlike The Divine Mercy Chaplet, which Our Lord wants everyone to use, the Novena to The Divine Mercy seems to have been intended primarily for St. Faustina's use. But since she was instructed to write it down, Our Lord must have wanted others to recite it, too. In it, we make the Lord's intentions our own. The wide range of intentions make it a popular novena.
Diary of Saint Maria
47 In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand [was] raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus said to me, Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world.
48 I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory.
49 When I told this to my confessor,29 I received this for a reply: “That refers to your soul.” He told me, “Certainly, paint God’s image in your soul.” When I came out of the confessional, I again heard words such as these: My image already is in your soul. I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.
299 When, on one occasion, my confessor told me to ask the Lord Jesus the meaning of the two rays in the image, I answered, “Very well, I will ask the Lord.” During prayer I heard these words within me: The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls…
These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross.
These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy.
313 +Once, when I was visiting the artist [Eugene Kazimirowski] who was painting the image, and saw that it was not as beautiful as Jesus is, I felt very sad about it, but I hid this deep in my heart. When we had left the artist’s house, Mother Superior [Irene] stayed in town to attend to some matters while I returned home alone. I went immediately to the chapel and wept a good deal. I said to the Lord, “Who will paint You as beautiful as You are?” Then I heard these words: Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace.
327 Once, my confessor [Father Sopocko] asked me where the inscription should be placed, because there was not enough space in the picture for everything. I answered, “I will pray and give you an answer next week.” When I left the confessional and was passing before the Blessed Sacrament, I received an inner understanding about the inscription. Jesus reminded me of what He had told me the first time; namely, that these three words must be clearly in evidence: “Jesus, I trust in You.” [“Jezu, Ufam Tobie.”] I understood that Jesus wanted the whole formula to be there, but He gave no direct orders to this effect as He did for these three words. I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: “Jesus, I trust in You.”
341 November 5, 1934. One morning, when it was my duty to open the gate to let out our people who deliver baked goods, I entered the little chapel to visit Jesus for a minute and to renew the intentions of the day. Today, Jesus, I offer You all my sufferings, mortifications and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, so that he may approve the Feast of Mercy. But, Jesus, I have one more word to say to You: I am very surprised that You bid me to talk about this Feast of Mercy, for they tell me that there is already such a feast81 and so why should I talk about it? And Jesus said to me, And who knows anything about this feast? No one! Even those who should be proclaiming My mercy and teaching people about it often do not know about it themselves. That is why I want the image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it.
Make a novena for the Holy Father’s intention. It should consist of thirty-three acts; that is, repetition that many times of the short prayer — which I have taught you — to The Divine Mercy.
414 On Good Friday, at three o’clock in the afternoon, when I entered the chapel, I heard these words: I desire that the image be publicly honored. Then I saw the Lord Jesus dying on the Cross amidst great suffering, and out of the Heart of Jesus came the same two rays as are in the image.