Author of the photo - Piotr Tomczyk, artist photographer, author of numerous award-winning photomontages and documentary photos, lecturer at the National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź, Poland.
The first painting with the image of Merciful Jesus was painted at the request of our Savior, according to the instructions given by Saint Sister Faustina in 1934, in Vilnius (Lithuania). This image is worshipped in the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Vilnius.
“I promise that the soul that will venerate this Image will not perish.
I also promise victory over its enemies here on Earth,
especially at the hour of death” (Diary, 47).
The Image of Merciful Jesus the Saviour at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Vilnius (Lithuania).
Perpetual Adoration.
Sister Faustina: "...I heard a sermon given by my confessor [priest Michael Sopoćko]. This sermon about Divine Mercy was the first thing that Jesus had asked for so very long ago. When he began to speak about the great Mercy of Our Lord, the image came alive and the rays pierced the hearts of the people gathered there..." (Diary, 417)
During his pilgrimage to Lithuania, on September 5, 1993, Pope John Paul II prayed before the image of the Merciful Jesus. In his address to the faithful, he called this painting the "HOLY IMAGE."
* Numbers in brackets refer to paragraphs in the “Diary” of Saint Sr. Faustina Kowalska
The Lord Jesus gave Sister Faustina, a Polish nun from the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy, an extraordinary mission – the Message of Mercy addressed to the whole world. Her mission was to deliver new prayers and forms of devotions to the Divine Mercy, which are to remind us about the forgotten truth of faith: the merciful love of God for every person. In His message, the merciful God manifests Himself in Jesus Christ, the Saviour, as a Father of love and mercy, especially for the unfortunate, the errant and sinners – wanting to change their lives.
“This is the visible help for you on Earth.
He will help you to carry out My will on Earth” (Diary, 53).
In Saint Faustina’s mission, Divine Providence entrusted a special role to her confessor and spiritual director – Father Michael Sopoćko. He was of crucial assistance to Sister Faustina, helping her to understand her inner experiences and visions. At his request she wrote the Diary, which is a document of Catholic mysticism of extraordinary value. The Diary also presents the sanctity of Michael Sopoćko’s priestly life and his contribution to fulfilling the desires of the Lord Jesus.
“He is a priest after My own Heart; his efforts are pleasing to Me
(...) Through him it pleases Me to proclaim the worship of My mercy” (Diary, 1256).
The painting of the image of the Merciful Jesus, its public display, the dissemination of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the initial efforts to establish the Feast of Mercy, and the founding of a new religious congregation all took place in Vilnius thanks to the efforts of Father Sopoćko. Since then, their joint efforts, paid for with prayer and suffering, have radiated throughout the world.
In his more than two hundred scientific publications, numerous press publications and delivered conferences, Father Dr. Michael Sopoćko developed theological foundations for new forms of the worship of Divine Mercy,devotion which he fervently promoted through his engagement in evangelization and social activities.
„I saw two enormous pillars planted in the ground; I had planted one of them, and a certain person, S. M. (Sopoćko M.), the other. (...). These two pillars were close to each other, in the area of the Image. And I saw the Image, raised up very high and hanging from these two pillars. In an instant, upon these two pillars, supported both from inside and outside, there stood a large temple. I saw a hand finishing the temple, but I did not see the person doing so...” (Diary, 1689).
"Surely everything comes from the Merciful Jesus,
but all the graces we are granted come
to us through Mary (...). She was the one who put in our mouths the words:
“Jesus, I trust in You”
and postponed the moment of eternal and horrendous punishment" (Fr. Michael Sopoćko).
“Mankind will not have Peace until it turns with trust to My mercy” (Diary, 300).
The Lord Jesus dictated the "Chaplet of Divine Mercy" to Saint Sister Faustina in 1935 in Vilnius (Lithuania), as a prayer for the grace of God's mercy for us and for the whole world
– the grace of mercy for sinners.
“At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated and his unfathomable mercy envelops the soul” (Diary, 811).
"I am
deeply convinced that the excerpts from the “Diary” of the Saint Sister Faustina
and fragments of the publications of the Blessed Father Sopoćko included
in the book will contribute to discovering and accepting the Message of
Divine Mercy, which becomes the kerygma for the third millennium. Reading
these texts makes us realize that God shows incredible determination in
repeating that He is Mercy – an unconditional love, completely undeserved
by us, precedent to any of our good deeds".
(fragment of the foreword, Grzegorz Ryś
Metropolitan Archbishop of Łódź, Poland)
The testimony shows extraordinary circumstances and documented facts about how, through an aroused desire to fulfill God's will, God can enable us to perform actions that amaze, surpass, and surprise us, especially when, having nothing, we receive everything we need at a given moment.
The works presented in the testimony were accomplished thanks to the cooperation of the devotees of Divine Mercy from the prayer group of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit at the Jesuit Church in Łódź (Poland) and the involvement of the Superior General (at that time) of the Congregation of the Sisters of Merciful Jesus, Sister Maria Kalinowska – her spiritual guidance and assistance in the implementation of the works presented.
Urszula Grzegorczyk – initiated, organised and commissioned the restoration of the first painting of the Merciful Jesus in 2003, as well as a photo shoot in 2004. This initiative received the approval of the then Metropolitan of Vilnius, Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis (for further information, see the testimony).
"The Spark of Divine Mercy" (Iskra Bożego Miłosierdzia)
at the Jesuit Church in Łódź
Message of Divine Mercy :
