Marian Father Kazimeirz Chwalek, of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception and director of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy, has spent much of his priesthood promoting Divine Mercy. He worked closely with Father Seraphim Michalenko (vice postulator for North America for the canonization cause of St. Faustina), and was one of the priests rechecking the translation of St. Faustina’s Diary from Polish into English for absolute accuracy. On this milestone 90th anniversary of the first public display and veneration of the Divine Mercy image on the Sunday that was to officially become Divine Mercy Sunday, Father Chwalek spoke about of the feast and devotion with the Register.

 

Looking back over these last 90 years, please share a fruit you see from this Divine Mercy devotion.

When the prohibition regarding the Divine Mercy message was lifted by Pope St. Paul VI, Sister Faustina Kowalska of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy rose from relative obscurity to her current status as one of the great figures in contemporary Catholicism. 

St. Faustina is an example of what God can do through those who love him and are faithful to him. He takes the lowly and raises them on high. He empowers them to be proclaimers and instruments of his mercy and love.

Even more remarkable, as the director emeritus of the John Paul II Institute of the Divine Mercy, Robert Stackpole asserts there are ample reasons to consider her as a candidate for a doctor of the Church. He articulates them in his (soon-to-be-published) scholarly work on St. Faustina as an extraordinary teacher of the Catholic doctrine and spirituality.

 

What is your thought on that possibility — of naming her a Church doctor?

As a simple country girl with less than three years of formal education, St. Faustina would seem the least likely candidate to be proclaimed an eminent teacher of the Catholic doctrine. Yet, upon those who come to know the Lord through faith, professed by the Church, who love him with all their heart, mind and will, who live their life in obedience to him, and strive to do his will in all things, the Lord bestows his extraordinary wisdom and knowledge.

It is the Lord who equipped her with gifts, both natural and mystical, to carry out his apostolic mission of salvation by proclaiming and reminding all humanity of his great love for them and of the necessity to draw near to him in confidence in order to receive his salvific grace, forgiveness of sins and future glory.

It was the Lord who called his faithful daughter “Secretary” and “Apostle” of his mercy and empowered her to proclaim to the whole world the truth of our faith revealed by the Lord and contained in the Holy Scripture: that he is Love and Mercy Itself and that mercy is his greatest attribute.

 

Why is the message of Divine Mercy so essential in these times?

The revelation of Divine Mercy as program and source of renewal of the Church is an antidote for the destructive power of today’s ideologies.

Through the revelation to Faustina as his “Secretary” and “Apostle,” the Lord initiated a program of spiritual, sacramental, apostolic renewal of the faithful ravaged by violence and war, disrespect for the human dignity and value of human life brought on by atheistic and materialistic ideologies, relativism, confusion and despair.

This program consists in recovery of the biblical image of God and human mercy, in embracing spirituality of trust, in frequent participation in sacraments, especially in the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist — sacraments of mercy that effect true forgiveness and spiritual regeneration in incorporating the Paschal mystery as the source from which new forms of devotion receive their divine efficacy and sanctifying (divinizing) power.

By proclaiming the greatness of God merciful love, offering Jesus to the Father, as the atoning sacrifice for our sins and those of the entire world, we prepare the world for the Lord’s Second Coming and partake of his mercy in a special way through the practice of new forms of devotion: “Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy; let them profit from the Blood and Water which gushed forth for them. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart” (Diary, 848; 1588).

 

Please share your thoughts on the Diary of Faustina.

A great fruit of the Lord’s revelation to St. Faustina is her spiritual diary — Divine Mercy in My Soul. It has been translated from the Polish original into more than two dozen languages. The Diary, with its rich Catholic spirituality and theology, extraordinary mystical experiences, communications with the Lord, insights, meditations and prayers, in the absence or shortage of spiritual directors, has become a true spiritual guide for many across the globe.

 

And what are your thoughts on aspects of the message, such as venerating the image of Divine Mercy, praying the Chaplet, and Hour of Mercy, as special ways of obtaining grace?

These three forms of devotion entered into the lifeblood of the Church. Divine Mercy images are found in every corner of the globe in churches and at family homes. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy has become part of the Church’s prayer. Not only is it recited in churches after Masses, but many of the faithful pray it privately at the 3 o’clock, the “Hour of Mercy.” The Hour of Mercy is the third form of devotion requested by the Lord. How popular is the chaplet around the world? One needs only to look at the number of views it receives on YouTube.

 What about the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday itself as a fruit?

It is an extraordinary gift of grace. The feast of Divine Mercy preceded by the novena — the fifth fruit of devotion — was established for the universal Church by St. John Paul II on the day of St. Faustina’s canonization.

The Holy Father proclaimed that,  “on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called "Divine Mercy Sunday" . — news filled with great joy the hearts of many who wished to see the “Feast of Mercy,” desired by the Lord, be instituted in the universal Church. St. John Paul II’s words, that he acceded to the wishes of the faithful around the world, were based on the millions of signatures of the faithful from all over the world collected by the Marians, with the help of EWTN and other centers of Divine Mercy promotion, through a survey conducted on behalf of the Holy Father.

 

Over these years, how do you see EWTN involved in the Divine Mercy devotion?

Divine Mercy Sunday has special grace for countless faithful via EWTN. For 36, years starting in 1989, in cooperation with Mother Angelica, the Marians began to broadcast through the EWTN network live celebrations of Divine Mercy Sunday from the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Then there is the Hour of Mercy via EWTN — likewise a special grace. In the early 1990s, in association with the Marians, Mother Angelica produced a video recording of the Divine Mercy Holy Hour from the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge and has transmitted it daily to a worldwide audience till the present day. It’s impossible to guess how many people are touched by that prayer at the Hour of Mercy transmitted by EWTN. But it provides daily nourishment for countless faithful.

 

And how have the Holy Fathers encouraged devotion?

Pope John Paul II’s passing away on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005 reawakened the interest in St. Faustina’s message of Divine Mercy, as it, in many ways, defined his pontificate.

Benedict XVI recognized its importance, when, in his homily before the conclave that elected him, said, “Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person: Encountering Christ means encountering the mercy of God.”

In 2006 he said: “‘Outside the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for human beings’ [John Paul II].”

In Misericordiae Vultus, Pope Francis drew attention to the importance of the Divine Mercy and explicitly recalled St. Faustina’s role in making this salvific message a powerful tool for reevangelization of those who, through secularizing influence of today’s culture, have diminished or lost their faith.

The message and the new forms of devotion revealed by the Lord to St. Faustina remind the faithful that God is infinite love and mercy, that we can enter the “doors of mercy” no matter how unfaithful we have been. This message offers a regenerating encounter with a God of mercy and touches the human heart on many levels. It offers hope and inspires in broken and discouraged hearts a loving attitude of trust in the God who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4). For this reason, it is an effective tool in the work of reevangelization, which the pontificates of St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis recognize and appreciate.

 

What is a challenge we face today?

The challenge for all is not only to practice the forms of devotion given to us by the Lord, but also to incorporate the works of corporal and spiritual works of mercy in our daily life.

 

To make it clear, what did Jesus tell Faustina, and us, in the Diary?

“I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first, by deed; the second, by word; the third, by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy” (742).