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. 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).
"By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces,
so let every soul have access to it" (Diary, 570).
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.
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).
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. He wrote formation letters and then drafted constitutions for the first congregation of sisters, which became the root of the established Congregation of the Sisters of Merciful Jesus, according to the thoughts and suggestions of Sister Faustina. After Sister Faustina’s death, he consistently tried to complete the tasks indicated in the apparitions.
"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)
The Lord Jesus dictated the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to Sister Faustina in Vilnius on September 13-14, 1935 as a prayer for God’s grace of mercy toward 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).
