On the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes (11 February), we will be celebrating the World Day of the Sick. On this occasion, the Shrine of Divine Mercy will host major diocesan events for patients and their caregivers. In the basilica on February 10 at 12:00 during the solemn Eucharist, the sick and elderly will be able to receive the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. The live broadcast of the ceremony will be available at the Shrine Rector’s website: www.milosierdzie.pl.
On February 14, Ash Wednesday, we will enter the time of Lent. On that day, during Holy Mass, the priests sprinkle the faithful with ash as a sign of penitence. The ash comes from the “palms” which had been blessed on Palm Sunday and now burnt). While sprinkling ash on the heads of the faithful, the priests say to them: „Repent and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”. These words reminds us about the fragility of human life, the need to believe in the Gospel and to repent in order to reach eternal life. On Ash Wednesday, those above 14 years old should abstain from meat and fast, which implies eating no more than three times a day, including one full meal. Solemn fasting should be observed by those under the age of 60. Holy Mass at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki’s chapel with the Divine Mercy Image and the tomb of St. Faustina will be celebrated at 6:30 am, 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm, and in the basilica they will be celebrated as on every Sunday. The beginning of Lent is intended to help in self-reflection, repentance, developing one’s mercy imagination and good preparation for Easter.
For the period of Lent, we usually make resolutions, which usually involves doing the deeds that Jesus asked us to do: almsgiving, prayer and fasting, performed secretly with the pure intention of love for God and for people, not for applause or recognition. Saint Faustina also practiced them. In her religious life, however, she made one specific resolution, which she realized not only during Lent, but always, namely, she joined Merciful Jesus living in her soul, through an aspiration. When she wanted to change this decision, Jesus would not let her, because this daily practice leads to the development of a deep relationship with Him, to living our daily lives with Him.
The Patron draw is a very good idea, every draw wins, Łukasz wrote after drawing his Patron of the year at www.faustyna.pl. Until 28 January 2024, nearly 358,000 individuals have participated in the annual Patron draw. Many participated again, while others took part for the first time. Some of their testimonies are available at Faustina.pl:
Today I found the draw for Patrons. At first I did not believe that it was more than coincidence, fate, statistics, just such a spiritual lottery. At first I didn’t know what number or digit to write, but I prayed the Lord’s Prayer that I would draw not what I wanted, but what God wanted. I wanted to enter a favorite digit, but something inspired me to enter a digit I don’t really like. I drew my Patroness – Mary, Queen of Martyrs with words from the Diary: “Suffering shall be the sign for you that I am with you” (Diary, 669). And for 30 years I have suffered from a neurological disorder, humanly incurable. The intention is to pray for all persecuted Christians in the world, that they may be valiant and persevere. Amazing!
There are no losers in this draw, everybody wins. You can draw your Patron throughout the year, whenever you need some assistance from Heaven.
On February 7 this year, at the convent of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Whasington, the silver anniversary of the religious profession of Sister Teresa de la Fuente will be celebrated. In the National Shrine of Saint John Paul II in Washington, a solemn Holy Mass will be celebrated with the renewal of the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience by the Jubilarian, whose outer sign is a silver ring with the engraved name of Jesus. Sisters in the remaining convents of the Congregation, as well as the Family and persons entrusted with apostolic work will join in the prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of the Jubilarian and in her intentions.
On February 3 and 4, Sr. Tymoteusz Kmiotek and Sr. Wincenta Mąka from the Roman community of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy will take part in the ceremonial introduction of the relics of St. Sister Faustina in the parish of Our Lady in San Romano, near Pisa in Tuscany. On this occasion, they will share the spiritual heritage of the Apostle of Divine Mercy recorded in her “Diary” and their own testimony of her intercession and participation in her mission of proclaiming the Message of Mercy to the world.
On 2 February, at 10:30 am at the Shrine of Divine Mercy, 2 sisters from the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy, after serving a two-year novitiate and making an eight-day retreat, will make their first vows before the Superior General, Mother Miriam Janiec. The ceremonies, taking place in the convent chapel of the miracle-famous image of Merciful Jesus and the tomb of St. Faustina will be presided Fr. Robert Więcek SJ. The ceremony will be attended by sisters from many convents of the Congregation and families of the sisters. During the first profession, sisters make vows of chastity, poverty and obedience to Jesus for a year, which are then renewed for five consecutive years. After this period, perpetual vows take place.
On Sunday, 28 January, a solemn introduction of relics of the blessed Ulma Family will be introduced in the Basilica at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki. Sermons at all services will be delivered by Fr. Dr Witold Burda, postulant in the beatification process of these Good Samaritans of Markowa.
From the heart of the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki, that is, the chapel of the grace-famous Divine Mercy image and the tomb of Saint Faustina, the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy broadcasts 24 hours a day on-line on the website: www.faustyna.pl and its 8 language versions, on YouTube in the channel: Faustyna.pl. In 2023 alone, it was used by 4,500,000 unique users.
In addition, television stations (including TV Shalom), radio stations and the application: Faustyna.pl also use the broadcast. Morning Holy Mass Radio Doxa and Radio Droga from Vienna broadcast, and the prayer at the Hour of Mercy and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy are broadcast by several radio and television stations. Thanks to these radio, television and Internet broadcasts, millions of people may cry out to God every day at the same time with one voice: “Please have mercy on us and the whole world”.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki would like to thank you for all the donations so far for the camera to be broadcasting from the chapel of the miracle-famous Divine Mercy Image and the tomb of St. Faustina. We are now able to purchase a revolving Panasonic aw-ue-160 camera that ensures TV-like quality and a continuing broadcasting at Faustyna.pl and all its language versions (10 pages in total) and our YouTube channel: Faustyna.pl website, the Faustyna.pl YouTube channel and the mobile application with the same name. The Sony camera we are currently using has been broadcasting the round-the-clock video stream 24 since 2015 and will remain as a backup camera. The video stream is used by the faithful from all over the world who wish to make a virtual pilgrimage to the holy place to plead for mercy “for us and the whole world”.
We are praying for all our benefactors and donors every day, especially at the Hour of Mercy (3 pm) and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in addition to their prayerful intentions.
Every day tens of thousands of people leave this earth due to illness, old age, wars, disasters, violence or other reasons. Hunger alone kills 11 people every minute, and every 40 seconds someone in the world commits suicide. Jesus asks through St. Faustina that we pray for the dying with the words of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
Therefore, the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki runs the Chaplet for the Dying. In 2023, people from Poland and many other countries around the world who declared their willingness to help the dying on a selected day and time zone more than 46,700 people supported with prayers whose names were sent by text message to the following phone number: +48 505 060 205 or by e-mail.
Anyone can join in this work of mercy and rush to the aid of those most in need of support, as they make their last and most important decision, which concerns eternity, at a time when they are most vulnerable and under attack from Satan. When filling out the entry form, choose the day of the week and the time of your vigil, as well as how information about the dying will be notified by text message (only in Poland) or e-mail.
Other participants in this project are donors who support this work financially, doctors, nurses, volunteers in hospitals and hospices, and all those who send text messages with the names of the dying, by which they show that they care for their salvation.
In 2023, the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, who are the sole custodian of the relics of St. Faustina, sent 135 particles of these relics (130 ex ossibus relics – bone – and 5 from her religious habit) to 26 countries around the world, for the first time to the Republic of Malawi in East Africa. In Europe, the Apostle of Divine Mercy in the sign of her relics went to 6 countries. In addition, to: China, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Lebanon, USA, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Saint Faustina in the sign of her relic is now present in 129 countries of the world on all continents, in 5,833 churches, shrines and chapels, where Divine Mercy is revered in a special way.
Due to the eight day retreat that will take place on January 16-24, there will be no news or gallery updates at www.saint-faustina.org. All the remaining works and will continue as will praying for all our coworkers and visitors of our Faustyna.pl website and our Faustyna.pl application.
At www.faustyna.pl and its 8 language versions, Patron Draw for 2024 is open. As of January 3, already 269,700 users have participated, including almost 16,000 people from Poland. The Spanish version was accessed by more than 57,000 persons, the Slovak one by 44,000, the Italian one by over 2,300, while others used the remaining language versions. As witnesses show, the Patrons deliver special responses to people’s lives and situations. It is worth it having such a holy company, because the Inhabitants of Heaven are willing and helpful if we ask them. Numerous testimonials attest to their effectiveness.
In January 2024, new year formation meetings of the Faustinum communities in Slovakia are more festive than usual, since they include agape and Patron draws for 2024. They are attended by Sisters from the two convents of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Košice and Nižny Hrušov with priests involved in the formative work in the communities.
Meeting dates:
18 January – meeting in Nižny Hrušov hosted by Sr. Hedvig and Sr. Alžbeta.
21 January – meeting in Sabinove hosted by Fr. Miroslav Liška and Sr. Blanka.
22 January – meeting in Hungarian in Borši hosted by Sr. Hedvig.
23 January – meeting in Slovakian in Borši hosted by Sr. Hedvig.
The Sisters from the community of our Congregation in Washington, D.C., organize the next “Evening with Merciful Jesus” on January 22nd at the John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. The special guest will be Michael Grasiński, who titled his speech: “Recovering our true identity: the story of God’s mercy!”. You can join the event online atwww.jp2shrine.org/youtube. The lecture will be followed by Adoration of the Lord Jesus and a meet-up with refreshments.
“Evenings with Merciful Jesus” are organized for young people who want to follow St. Faustina and St. John Paul II to discover the new quality of life in friendship with the merciful Lord Jesus.
Faustyna.pl and the website’s other language versions were viewed by over 2,500,000 visitors in 2023.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy would like to thank all Collaborators, Contributors, IT Specialists and Translators, without whom this work would not be able to develop, and all Internet users, without whom this wonderful exchange in the provision of good and bringing the message of Mercy and the entire spiritual heritage of St. Faustina to the world could not be taking place.
Such is the theme of the retreat for members and volunteers of the Faustinum Association as well as for Divine Mercy devotees to be held on January 12-14, 2024 at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki. Every one of us christened people is called to give witness of the merciful love of God. This is not an easy task, especially in our closest surroundings, which are often openly indifferent or even hostile to God and the Church. How to be a witness of Mercy in the modern world, based on the Bible and the experience of St. Faustina will be the topic of the retreat provided by Fr. Zbigniew Pałys, M.S., a teacher at the seminary of La Salette fathers and Sr. Maria Faustyna Ciborowska, I.S.M.M., Doctor of Bible Studies involved in the proclamation of the message of Mercy.
On 12-14 and 19-21 January 2024, retreats for women will be held at the Fides et ratio Diocese Retreat House in Shchuchinsk as part of the Samaritan project. The theme of the meetings will be Little girl, I say to you, get up! There will be conferences and Gospel meditations, focusing especially on the healing of the hemorrhaging woman and bringing back Jair’s daughter from the dead. There will also be workshops. The retreat will be delivered by Sr. Anastasis Omelchenko from the community of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy in Petropavlovsk, Sr. Kazimiera Wanat, Sr. Madlen Hofmann and Fr. Hans Reiner.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki would like to thank you for all the donations so far for the camera to be broadcasting from the chapel of the miracle-famous Divine Mercy Image and the tomb of St. Faustina. We still have 25,000 PLN to go to be able to purchase a new camera, which would guarantee TV-like quality and continuity of broadcasting on the Faustyna.pl YouTube channel and the mobile application with the same name. The old camera has been working continuously 24 hours a day since 2015. Thus, there is a need to purchase a new one, as the video stream is used by the faithful from all over the world who wish to make a virtual pilgrimage to the holy place to plead for mercy “for us and the whole world”.
Donations for this purpose can be made to the bank account provided below with a note saying “Kamera – transmisja online”.
Zgromadzenie Sióstr Matki Bożej Miłosierdzia
Dom Zakonny w Krakowie
ul. Siostry Faustyny 3
30-608 Kraków
Poland
Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas S. A.
ul. Kasprzaka 10/16
01-211 Warszawa
Poland
Bank account numbers::
80 1600 1013 0002 0012 3671 2001 – PLN
73 1600 1013 0002 0012 3671 2030 – EUR
41 1600 1013 0002 0012 3671 2024 – USD
BIC (Swift) Code: PPABPLPK
IBAN: PL
Please indicate the purpose: Kamera – transmisja online.
Sisters of the Krakow community of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy are happy to invite everyone to sing Christmas carols together and to participate contests of knowledge about the carols and traditional Christmas songs. This meetup will take place in the House of St. Faustina at 3.40 pm in the hall next to the restaurant at Aleja Adolfa Hyły 1 in Krakow (the building next to the large parking lot at the back of the basilica).
On January 7 (Sunday) at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Plock at the Old Market Square, another formative meeting of the Faustinum Divine Mercy Apostles Association community will be held. The topic of the meeting is: “Spiritual life as a work of God’s mercy in us”. It will begin at 2:15 p.m. with joint adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with prayer at the Hour of Mercy and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. At 3.20 p.m. Eucharist, followed by agape, conference from the series “ABC of spiritual life” and sharing your thoughts and experience on this topic. The meetings are led by sisters from the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy and priests.
Although the dates for these visits can change from year to year, the priests traditionally visit the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy on the Solemnity of the Epiphany (Three Kings’ Day). On that holiday, priests acting as chaplains for the Congregation, accompanied by Christmas carolers, visit the convent’s assembly halls and other common areas, the sisters’ cells, workshops and guest rooms to bless them with holy water and incense, praying for God’s blessings for all the residents and guests in this next year of their apostolic ministry.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy would like to thank all the collaborators, benefactors and donors, thanks to whom www.faustyna.pl was created and has now been updated in nine languages, along with all the works of mercy which are possible thanks to them. These include, above all, our “Chaplet for the dying” and the on-line transmissions from the chapel of the miracle-famous Image of Merciful Jesus and the tomb of St. Faustina in the Łagiewniki Shrine. We all participate in the mission of Jesus, who is revealing the merciful love of the Heavenly Father to the world and bestowing His Mercy on His people. Dear IT professionals, translators, Benefactors and Donors, it is also through you that God’s Mercy is poured into the world. Let this Christmas be a time of special joy and peace, for the Lord has come to earth. He is here with us and lives in us when we are in a state of grace. May the New Year 2024, the Jubilee of Mercy, be rich in God’s grace and in mercy provided to our neighbors.
Every year on January 1st, in the convents of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, a drawing of annual patron Saints takes place. The Diary tells us how important this was for St. Faustina. Her desire was to be accompanied and supported by Someone from Heaven on all her days of the new year. In the morning during meditation, she wrote, there arose within me a secret desire that the Eucharistic Jesus be my special Patron for this year also, as in the past. But, hiding this desire from my Beloved, I spoke to Him about everything else but that. When we came to refectory for breakfast, we blessed ourselves and began drawing our patrons. When I approached the holy cards on which the names of the patrons were written, without hesitation I took one, but I didn’t read the name immediately as I wanted to mortify myself for a few minutes. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul: “I am your patron”. Read. I looked at once at the inscription and read, “Patron for the Year 1935-the Most Blessed Eucharist.” My heart leapt with joy (Diary, 360).
People associated with the Congregation: priests, collaborators, Faustinum members and volunteers, friends, guests… etc. albo participate in the Patron draw, as do our online visitors at www.saint-faustina.org. Along with the Patron, they receive a message, most often from the Diary of St. Sister Faustina, and a practice of mercy, most often an intention to pray.
May the Patron Saints aid us, may they help us more and more fully; participate in the life and mission of Jesus; revealing the merciful love of God to the world!
I too came down from heaven out of love for you; I lived for you, I died for you, and I created the heavens for you, said Jesus to St. Faustina, addressing these words to every human being as well. On the occasion of Christmas and the approaching 2024, we would like to express our heart-felt wishes to our collaborators, benefactors, donors, all those involved with various apostolic works of the Congregation (such as our Chaplet for the Dying and Perpetual Chaplet), online visitors to our website. May you continually discovery the presence of Immanuel – God with us – and recognize signs of His merciful love in all circumstances of your life. May you share your everyday life with Him. We also wish you all the temporal favors so that they bring you joy and lead you to an even greater love of God and fellow human beings. May the New Year be rich in God’s graces and human mercy provided to those in need. We embrace you all in our prayers. May God’s Mercy be praised in us and through us!
On Sunday, the octave of Christmas, which this year is December 30, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family, that is, Jesus, Mary and Joseph. It is also a celebration of every human family, which, like the Family of Nazareth is the work of the Heavenly Father and is intended to lead people to Him, and to be faced with many difficulties in this earthly life. Today, in times of a massive attack on the family, the crisis of marriage and family life, the Holy Family shows a happy model of community life, in which the first place is the Lord God, and relationships between people apply the principle of love and mutual trust.
On this day, we thank God’s Mercy in a special way for the gift of our families and ask for the necessary graces for those who are experiencing difficulties and crises, and for the conflicted and broken families we ask for the grace of reconciliation, mutual forgiveness, a return on the path of mutual love and imitation of the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth. In this intention, at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki, at the Image of Divine Mercy and the tomb of St. Faustina, a daily Rosary is recited at 8:30 pm, and the second Saturday of the month at 5pm Holy Mass is celebrated. You can join in this prayer online at www.saint-faustina.org where it is be broadcast.
As is tradition, on December 31 at 9:00 pm at the Shrine of Divine Mercy, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will begin in the chapel of the famous Divine Mercy image and the tomb of St. Faustina. Adoration this year will be led by the sisters and will conclude at midnight with the celebration of the first Mass. Those unable to come to the shrine can join us by watching our online broadcast beginning with vespers at 7:00 pm and continuing with adoration and Mass. Please visit www.saint-faustina.org for more information.
Christmas is associated with the custom of decorating the Christmas tree that adorns the interiors of churches, homes, in addition to city squares and other public places. The coniferous tree is a symbol of life, rebirth, longevity and fertility in many cultures. A decorated fir or spruce tree has become Europe’s most recognizable symbol of Christmas. The living tree has also become a Christian symbol of Christ as the source of life. But also some Christmas tree decorations have their own symbolic meanings, although not always recognized today: for example, the star placed on top of the tree was supposed to show the way back home from far away, the lights point to Christ, who is the light of the world, the angels are the ones who take care of the household, the paper chains reminded people about the enslavement of sin from which Jesus frees us… In modern culture, however, presents placed under the Christmas tree seem to be more important. And yet, they are also a foreshadowing of the gifts of Heaven. It is worth to look at the Christmas tree remembering about its symbolic value, which Christian culture carries, to better and more fruitfully live the joyful mystery of Christmas.
This is how the mystery of the incarnation and birth of the Son of God was referred to by St. Faustina. In a beautifully poetic way, it was expressed by Franciszek Karpiński in the Polish Christmas carol:
Bóg się rodzi, moc truchleje,
Pan niebiosów obnażony.
Ogień krzepnie, blask ciemnieje,
Ma granice Nieskończony.
Wzgardzony, okryty chwałą,
Śmiertelny Król nad wiekami.
A Słowo ciałem się stało,
i mieszkało między nami.
[God is born and the night is shaken,
The Lord of Heaven lies naked,
Fire is frozen, light is veiled
The Eternal now has its limits.
He was scorned, yet clothed with glory,
Mortal King of the Ages!
And the Word was made flesh,
And dwelt among us.]
Infinite and eternal God took human form and became a man. No other religion in the world has such a god who is the Creator and Lord of all that exists, who is the One, holy, infinite, transcendent, all-powerful and all-knowing, ineffable by human or angelic reason, and at the same time so close to man in His Son embodied as a human person. The contemplation of Divine Mercy in this mystery brings the ineffable joy and awe, because God dwells among us, the Word of God, Mercy Incarnate (Diary, 1745).
