"Mercy – St. Faustina’s Lifestyle” — Sr. Gaudia Skass, OLM | May 22, 2018

good evening everyone let me start with a question few questions actually has anyone ever told you that you resemble your dad if so then please raise your hand have anyone ever told you that you resemble your mom has anyone ever told you that you resemble Jesus no houston we have a problem serious problem never wondered why why no one ever told you that you actually resembled Jesus I mean the Bible says that we are all created in the image and likeness of God it should be so clear for anyone who sees us st. Faustina says that we resemble God the most when we are merciful so it's not about the features of the face though you can look at the image and say like okay that shape okay two eyes one nose one mouth I actually resemble him we resemble God the most when we are merciful one year before her death Sister Faustina wrote a beautiful prayer she was just 32 years old and for me that prayer reflects really the the effort the effort of her whole life she asks God in that prayer to help her to be merciful to others it's a long prayer and she names in details what does it mean to be merciful she really understands at that stage of her life what what does it mean and how important it is and basically yes Lord I want to resemble you I want other people to see you in me so what can I do plastic surgery no learn how to be merciful and that's why because she understood very well what mercy really is in the practice of her life she described it in her prayer and we love the simplicity and the richness of her words in that prayer that's why we decided to have a whole series of talks on the base of that prayer only so we separated the prayer on on verses like separated into invocations each invocation separately and every talk will be focused on different invocation from that prayer only this one today's talk is an exception because I will give you rather like an overview of that prayer focusing on the essence of each invocation and what's very special illustrating it with examples from st. Faustina's daily life for some of you it may be actually the first time that you will like meet Faustina maybe you read her diary but in the diary she focuses so much on Jesus and that's a great that sometimes you may not noticed Faustina you may not know her actually what was she like so today I will show you Faustina and also I will share with you where the unique stories that we know from memoirs of the sisters who knew her who lived with her that's so special because you cannot find it in the diary and actually you cannot find it in any book translated into English language so only now only in the store st. Faustina start her prayer from asking for merciful eyes she says help me O Lord that my eyes may be merciful so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances but to look for what is beautiful in my neighbours Souls and come to their rescue merciful eyes eyes filled with mercy those eyes can see beauty and goodness in other people looking more deeply than just at what is external and seeing more than mere appearances john paul ii in his beautiful encyclical divas misericórdia wrote mercy draws good from all the forms of evil existing in the world and in men mercy draws good from all the forms of evil in the world and in us you remember that scene in the Shrek when Shrek explains to the donkey that hawkers are like onions they have layers we also have layers and usually the the external layer is the most ugly one is the ugliest one is the one that's most this destroyed like dirty and stuff and we need to go deeper to see the true heart of a person who the person really is and merciful eyes can do it merciful eyes take the effort to go to take the effort to go deeper one of the sisters sister Lu Divina remembered this is the Faustina in the following way normal situation they are traveling somewhere and they are talking and she says I knew nothing about her revelations so it's not about extraordinary things the sister knows nothing about sister faustina supernatural life that she sees Jesus no it's not about revelations she says but I listened to her eagerly since she was more spiritual than we were she had such a good influence that after talking to her one felt so uplifted since she was able to see and appreciate even the even the smallest sign of goodness she was able to see and appreciate even the smallest sign of goodness one of the women in our care said that Sister Faustina was an angel of peace she never spoke negatively about anyone on the contrary she always spoke well of people and kept on looking for the good for the best in everyone the third memory about our saint comes from sister Serafina who recalled the time when Saint Faustina worked alone in the kitchen cooking on a daily basis for more than 20 people even could be more than 30 or 40 we cannot say now exactly but really hard work and the only assistance she had in this tolson task came from a girl assist of Serafina described of a rather unpleasant character this is religious sister speaking so she uses nice words but just imagine what can that mean especially if she adds no one wanted to work with her what an unpleasant creature she must have been while working with Sister Faustina this girl changed beyond recognition such was Sister Faustina silent yet heavenly influence upon sinful souls something in her merciful gaze that uplifted people criticism or constant nagging does not change us but when someone sees hidden beauty inside us maybe something that even we don't see in ourselves that can change us if we receive a look of merciful love we truly want to become just the way those merciful eyes see us we want to become the way they see us these eyes are not blind or naive but no they focus on what is wrong or weak the merciful good trusting look lifts us up and changes us while an unmerciful suspicious critical look and the judgmental attitude they only affirm evil merciful ears st. faustina pray stood lord help me that my ears may be merciful so that I may give heed to my neighbor's needs and not be indifferent to their pains and morning's indifference that's such a disease in our times Sister Faustina wrote in her diary in March 1937 during her stay at the hospital the doctor did not allow me to go to the chapel although I had a great desire for it however I prayed in my own room suddenly I heard the Bell in the next room you know there's a special buzzer at every hospital bed you know that the the sick person can call for help so suddenly for sinner he hears the Bell and what does she do and I went in and rendered a service to a serious seriously sick person when I returned to my room I suddenly saw the Lord Jesus who said to me my daughter you gave me greater pleasure by rendering me that service then if you would have prayed for a long time I answered but it was not to you Jesus but to that patient that I rendered that service and the Lord answered me yes my daughter but whatever you do for your neighbor and you can conclude that sentence you do it for me pure Bible here in the diary it was not a bell calling Sister Faustina was it nobody would have hold a grudge against her if she did not reacted at all I mean she was sick and bedridden herself she was not a nurse in that hospital she was a patient yet the tendon tenderheartedness of a merciful person goes contrary the self-centered and minimalistic ideas of the contemporary world sometimes who hear people say the world is brutal you can only count on yourself aim for what you want at any cost achieve your goals at any cost and then you can see people you know like steam rollers you know those machines that just crush everything that comes on the way achieve what you want achieve your goals at any cost well this is not an advice of a good friend a merciful man doesn't remain indifferent in an uncaring world he doesn't have to be asked twice sometimes he doesn't have to be asked at all such a person is very sensitive and will hear somebody's soft cry for help much quicker than the yearling of his own needs merciful tongue Faustina prays help me O Lord that my tongue may be merciful so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all let us hear now another passage from her from her diary she says today I was visited by a certain layperson I guess it still it happens in the hospital a person who has caused me a lot of sorrow and who has abused my goodness telling many lies at the first moment I saw her the blood froze in my veins I liked this expression so much because it shows that Faustina was a real human being that she had emotions that she could have get angry and she's a saint so the blood froze in my veins because there stood before my eyes all that I had to suffer because of her and the thought came to me to tell her the truth firmly and immediately but at the same moment the mercy of God came before my eyes and I resolved to act toward her as jesus would have acted in my place so I started to talk to her gently and when she expressed the wish to talk to me alone I then in a very delicate manner made known to her clearly the sad condition of her soul I so that she was deeply moved though she was trying to hide this from me and then I heard the words of Jesus I am glad you behaved like my true daughter be always merciful as I am merciful love everyone out of love for me even your greatest enemies so that my mercy may be fully reflected in your heart when we talk about enemies and people difficult for us it's so clear that it's never like my mercy it's his mercy that I allow him to show through my heart anyways it's always him whose love and mercy and I only allow him to love through me the first and natural reaction to what a person that has harmed us is now just think about your reactions what do you do when someone hurt you usually probably it will be an instant desire to hit back guys right or to escape to hide ladies or am i confusing something I don't know I usually hide Sister Faustina a woman very sensitive to the truth what is the person who came to her to realize the evil that she had committed totally understandable but as the Wiseman saying one can say everything if said in the right way it is the way it is said that counts so luckily our sister didn't follow her first impulse the blood froze in my veins and I wanted to tell her the truth firmly and immediately but just imagine the truth presented in such a way would be rejected and thanks be to God then came the light what would Jesus do in my place that's generally the best tool of discernment each time you don't know how to behave you don't know what to do just ask yourself this question what would Jesus do in my place and you have a beautiful discernment immediately so Faustina knowing Jesus we are always invited to get to know him better and better so knowing him and probably recalling these words from Gospel of st. Matthew if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault in private so probably it will somehow in her and she knew that Jesus would definitely he would not escape from the truth but the way he would present the truth that would be such a loving way that I mean if he would tell me like now all my sins I know I couldn't be angry with him I would be grateful can I present truth like that in such a loving way merciful hands help me O Lord that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds so that I might do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks let us learn another story from memoirs the story told by a sister you steena one of my favorite stories very day-to-day story we can take it from Faustina's life and just make a copy pasted to our life this is what happens at our homes very often so there is a convent in Vilnius where Sister Faustina works in the garden it's a very hard work for her she's not prepared for that work and she's already very sick but she does it without complaining and their sister Houston are working in the kitchen also very hard work and she says I was alone and I had a lot of work often when it was already time to go to bed I still had a lot of work to do at times washing the dishes all alone seeing this Sister Faustina always made haste to help me she didn't have to had to stop at the kitchen on her way from the garden she just wanted to check on sister use dinner how is she is she done with her work maybe she needs help just to check and usually yeah she needed help look how often if we know that maybe someone will need our help we find all the other ways not to meet that person just in case because I have so many things to do like my things I cannot bear her things that's too much sister Euston assess seeing that I still have a lot work of work to do sister faustina always made haste to help me although she was tired herself and her health was poor and deteriorating she had a great love and compassion for everyone and so you can see in this example that merciful hands prove necessary in the course of everyday life mercy simply is a lifestyle it's not just a one good deed from time to time it's not one action now let's do something good Monday is 7 p.m. not Tuesday Tuesday 7 p.m. I will do something good mercy is a lifestyle consistent everyday choices in their recollection of Sister Faustina other sisters emphasized this regularity consequence they said she always warmed up my meals she could always find time for me she always helped me this is how they remembered her and when I read those memoirs I was truly wondering is it possible that she was always that good and gentle that's the most frequent word in the memoirs always well even if it happened occasional that Sister Faustina did not warm up a meal for a sister who arrived late or did not help a tired sister since she was after all as you know only a human the lesson here is that her lifestyle was imbued with mercy so very much her sisters couldn't remember a time when she wasn't merciful her efforts to be merciful became the norm not the exception mercy is a lifestyle merciful feat it's good to have a look at the image even we sometimes don't notice that Jesus on this images walking he's in haste Faustina says help me O Lord that my feet may be merciful so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor overcoming my own fatigue and weariness my true rest is in the service of my neighbor is it it seems impossible but she says so and as I told you at the beginning this prayer is a it's like summed up her whole life experience this is not a theory something beautiful that she imagined could be no this is what she experienced she says my tourist is in the service of my neighbor deal with it in 1936 Sister Faustina wrote now again back to the diary today I was feeling more ill than usual so I went to bed directly after benediction but when I entered the bedroom I suddenly knew interiorly that I should go to the cell of sister N because she was in need of help I entered her cell at once in haste pink in haste like married to Elizabeth like Jesus on the image like st. Faustina she has the inspiration she goes I entered herself at cell at once and sister and said to me oh how good it is that God has brought you here sister and her voice was so faint that I could hardly hear her she said to me sister please bring me some tea because I am terribly thirsty and I cannot move because I'm in such a pain and truly she was suffering very much and had a high fever I made her more comfortable and she was able to quench her thirst with a little bit bit of tea that I brought her later when I entered my own cell my soul was engulfed by the great love of God and I understood that we should take great heat of our interior inspirations and follow them faithfully and that faithfulness to one grace draws down and other graces look the sick sister said God has brought you here so she kind of saw God in this action she saw God in Faustina with Faustina and Faustina with those merciful eyes she saw God in others reciprocity endowment this is one of the characteristic features of Mercy by giving I'm receiving and John Paul says it clearly in his beautiful and cyclical Vivien misericórdia that if there is no reciprocity in our good deeds these are not yet acts of mercy reciprocity by giving I'm receiving goes down to others with a pure intention allows us to taste heaven that through rest that Faustina mentions comes when you do good to others and so she concludes the story of helping another sister with these words my soul was engulfed by the great love of God this is how she felt after overcoming her own tiredness and helping someone else merciful heart st. Faustina says helped me O Lord that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor I will refuse my heart to no one I will be sincere even with those who I know will abuse my kindness sometimes I have such difficulties with prank with these words but this is what she achieved in her life and again let me remind you she was a human being so it's possible for us to let me share with you a story which always amazes me when I think about it sister Sam whele recalled a very powerful example from the life of Sister Faustina let me first ask you have you ever seen an old wooden floor this guy did there are some people who did why am I asking because the old wooden floor is not the type of wooden floor that we have now you know smooth modern perfect wooden floors in the old type wooden floors they were they were an even and there were spaces both between and within the board's so just imagine to clean such floor and this is the story about cleaning so it's important to have that image in your head it was once when sister faustina responsibility was to clean that floor and she spent many hours on her knees scrubbing the floor with a brush hand made by Saint Faustina and that was a rainy day just like today and bear in mind that the convent was surrounded by dirt roads not you know beautiful pavements dirt roads on the rainy day one of the sisters came from town wearing muddy rain boots are you still using your imagination can you see them cover it with mud and she was angry with Sister Faustina over something and in a temper entered the convent and walked right over the newly scrubbed wood floor I see your imagination is working so she didn't stop to remove her shoes till she had reached the other end of the floor Sister Faustina being there seeing this she said nothing she just bent down and picked up the dirty shoes and gave one to sister Sam Wella who's done with her to clean while she cleaned the other the other shoe by herself and so sister Sam wallah being at that time only a novice a young sister she asked why why are you doing such a thing for such a annoying sister and she answered for the love of Jesus love is patient and love is kind it is not arrogant or rude it is not irritable or resentful love burst or all things and love endures all things by nature we are not merciful and it is so difficult to act against our broken wounded nature and that's why Jesus says if anyone wishes to come after me let him deny himself deny himself deny what's natural in you natural means broken natural means not necessarily good and for sure not the best no one is good except God alone but his mercy in this world is revealed through us broken people therefore in order to be merciful we first need to meet the merciful God I mean like really meet him and become enraptured with him fall in love with him and desire to be like him st. Faustina starts her prayer by confessing to Jesus Lord I want to be your living reflection your living reflection and you what do you want

Channel: Saint John Paul II National Shrine

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Keywords: Sr. Gaudia Skass, St. John Paul II National Shrine, Evenings with the Merciful Jesus, Sr. Donata Farbaniec, Saint John Paul II, pope, museum, shrine, catholic, national shrine, john paul ii, immaculate conception, washington dc, divine mercy, divine mercy chaplet, jp2, jp2shrine, kofc, live mass, daily mass, online mass, bible museum, rosary, online rosary, I will never forget you, @jp2shrine, sr gaudia skass

Id: TWQUWTfw5UQ

Length: 35min 47sec (2147 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 01 2018