In the early twentieth century, Saint Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, received visions and visits from Jesus and had conversations with him. He appeared to her as "the King of Mercy" wearing a white garment with red and pale blue rays emanating from his heart. He asked for a feast of Divine Mercy to be established on the first Sunday after Easter.
In her diary, St. Faustina describes in detail the image of Mercy that Christ instructed her to have painted. “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 dwells in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.” (Diary 299) In 1934 St. Faustina and her spiritual advisor sought out Eugeniusz Kazimirowski to paint the image.
Jesus insisted when the work was completed that it be placed in chapels and venerated throughout the world. He promised that many graces would come for those who meditated on this beautiful image.
Pope Saint John Paul II was very passionate about the mission of revealing the mercy of Jesus to the world. In the year 2000, at the canonization Mass for St. Faustina, he announced that the Second Sunday of Easter would now be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. It must be made clear that this was not done in order to establish a way of honoring St. Faustina, but to emphasize the meaning of the Resurrection and the depths of God’s great mercy and love that is made available to all of His creation. Divine Mercy Sunday is not a new feast day because the Second Sunday of Easter has always been a solemnity known as the Octave Day of Easter. The richness of the mercy of God comes to us not only through St. Faustina’s revelations, but also through scripture and the history and tradition of the Catholic Church.
“I am Love and Mercy Itself. There is no misery that could be a match for My Mercy, neither will misery exhaust it, because as it is being granted – it increases. The soul that trusts in My Mercy is most fortunate, because I Myself take care of it.” – Words of Jesus to St. Faustina
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