Diary of St. Faustina: Divine Mercy in My Soul

         I first read the diary of St. Faustina when I was still in my teen years. I got her diary from the store of a local Divine Mercy  promoter here in my country. When I was young, the Divine Mercy prayer, called "the 3'o clock habit," was often aired in a few local channels. Now, only one local tv channel remains in airing the Divine Mercy prayer, but the airing was halted in that lone local network because they were not granted the permission to renew their franchise. Anyway, I'm still saying the prayer, and even playing the video prayer at work. As they say old habits die hard, and this is one habit that I don't want to stop. 

Maybe, most of you dear readers of this blog of mine knew that I got sidetracked for once in my life. I left our church for quite a while, and joined a Baptist (Protestant) gathering before. But do not worry I already returned to our church, and had a reconciliation with the help of a priest through confession. The devotion to the Divine Mercy helped me the most. Most of my collections of Catholic books were gone but there were a few I have kept. Among those that were gone was the diary of St. Faustina. She was still not a saint when I got that diary of hers. I just bought another one, a new edition of her diary, and in this diary we can see that she's already a saint! Time really flies fast! The cover of her diary was also changed. Before, the cover was her photo (painting version), now, we can see the image of the Divine Mercy, aside from St. Faustina's whole image. 

I bought this diary of hers from the Marian Fathers here in the Philippines. That is where I got the beautiful original Divine Mercy painting poster that I posted in our door post, and the Divine Mercy laminated prayer cards. I gave away the laminated card to my office mates, boss, and to the family of my fiance.

I have read a bit of St. Gemma Galgani, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and St. Therese of the Child Jesus, diary. Those diaries that I mentioned above (diary of St. Gemma and St. Margaret Mary), were a bit hard for me to digest because of the writing style, it's in old English. If you're like me, maybe you will prefer to read St. Faustina's diary. I admit that the written numbers on the side of every diary entry of hers is not that appealing. Anyway, the important thing is the message of her diary, and that is the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus for us. I was reminded by the late Msgr. Severino G. Casas, H.P. message to me before. He said that in reading diaries or autobiographies of Saints, the church grants an indulgence. So it is a good practice to read wholesome, and good books that is not only enriching to our mind, and heart, but also to our soul. Let us pray, that through this we may learn to draw near to God, and love Him more, and more each day. 

+ Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

Movie Review: Divine Mercy No Escape

           After watching the docudrama movie about St. Faustina, and the Divine Mercy. I suddenly remembered this film that I have seen on tv during my teen years. It was an earlier film by the Marian Fathers, entitled Divine Mercy, No Escape. I was glad to have discovered that someone uploaded that movie on YouTube this week. I immediately watched it. I just finished watching it today. 

The movie was sort of a docudrama also. The narrator was the late American actress Ms. Helen Hayes. In the beginning of the film, we were shown a large copy of the Diary of Faustina Kowalska. I remember I also have the same copy of diary, it was the time when Faustina was not yet a saint. I bought the new edition of her diary from the Marian Fathers, and it has a new cover design. The movie was 50 minutes long. If you are just new to the Divine Mercy, or it's your first time hearing about it, then this short movie is for you.

The movie tells about the life of St. Faustina, the secretary of the Divine Mercy. My favorite scenes in the movie is about Pope John Paul II, being awarded by Marian priests. From the beginning of his ministry in Rome, Pope John Paul II has considered the message of the Divine Mercy his special task. He published it on his second encyclical (a kind of letter concerning Catholic doctrine), Dives in Misericordia, God who is rich in mercy. This movie is very timely. We can see God's great love and mercy for us. If you have not seen this movie, I suggest you must. 

Movie Review: Therese (2004)

           I have wanted to see this movie eversince I saw a preview of it on YouTube, more than a decade ago. St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and of the Holy Face, also known as St. Therese of Lisieux, was very influential to me. When I first read her story, in a book (Lives of Saints) given to me by my late aunt, she made an impression on me. At a young age, she already knew her vocation, and that was to become a Carmelite, a religious cloistered nun. So, I too had a desire to be a nun someday. Yes, I tried contacting religious orders, and I became a Carmelite not a religious but a lay Carmelite. More than a decade ago I was a former aspirant, was able to profess promises (not vows) in a Carmelite convent within the city where I live. 

Why do people feel drawn, and many love St. Therese. There are no miraculous events that took place when she was still alive, yet many people pray to her and ask for her intercession. Why? Because of her simplicity, and humility. After her death, there were many numerous reports of miracles and healings, and up to now still many miracles are attributed to her. Like her promise, she said, "When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens,I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth."

Her autobiography is a classic, and still a bestseller. If you have not read her diary, entitled in English, "The Story of a Soul," you should!

I really love this movie. The film director Leonardo Defilippis has done a great job with this film. St. Luke productions, their company, continues to make good, relevant and inspiring movies of Saints. He starred in this movie along with his wife, as the parents of St. Therese. The music used in the movie was also good. I was able to watch the whole movie yesterday. I'm thankful to the one who uploaded it on Facebook. This is another addition to my favorite religious movies. Let us not forget to love, for God is love. Like what St. Therese said, her vocation is love.