Is divine mercy as described by Saint Faustina true?

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QuietKarlos

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Saint Faustina in her diary talks much about Divine Mercy as you know. However there are some objections to some of the things she said.

First of all Jesus says to her he loves her more than any other creature. This seems crazy as that would be saying he loves her more than Our Lady which seems preposterous.

Secondly it just seems… Nonsensical that if we say the Divine Mercy Chaplet before someone dies they will be saved. That just seems unfair if anything. You could have the worst sinner and because someone said a 10 minute prayer for them suddenly they just don’t go to hell.

Also Jesus says to her if you say the O blood and water prayer with faith in divine mercy and a contrite heart Jesus will come into the life of a sinner. This seems too powerful for a 5 second prayer which I don’t understand.

Another objection is that Jesus said that because of her he would bless the world. This was 2 years before world war 2 started which doesn’t seem to make sense.

One last point I have is that she basically says most people go to hell but that most people in hell didn’t believe in God. This demographically makes no sense since most people do and always have believed in a god of some sort.

These leads to me being very confused about what to think. I would appreciate if someone could clarify these things for me. Thanks and God Bless.

By the way I am not saying her revelations are false I just don’t know what to think.
 
I’m not going to chime in with my personal opinion, but only to remind you that the only answers you’re going to receive here are people’s personal opinions.

Saint Faustina’s writings are a matter of ‘private revelation’, which no Catholic individual on earth is bound to believe in. You’re free to disbelieve in what she wrote (except anything she happened to write which simply reconfirmed existing public revelation, like if she referred to God as a Trinity etc).

Catholics are permitted to believe that Faustina received genuine private revelation from God… but Catholics are not required to believe this.

So the question: "Is divine mercy as described by Saint Faustina true? is simply one no one here can answer, except to debate one another with private opinions.
 
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MNathaniel said:
Saint Faustina’s writings are a matter of ‘private revelation’, which no Catholic individual on earth is bound to believe in. You’re free to disbelieve in what she wrote (except anything she happened to write which simply reconfirmed existing public revelation, like if she referred to God as a Trinity etc).

Catholics are permitted to believe that Faustina received genuine private revelation from God… but Catholics are not required to believe this.

So the question: "Is divine mercy as described by Saint Faustina true ? is simply one no one here can answer, except to debate one another with private opinions.
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I knew someone was going to point out we don’t need to believe in private revelation and I know this but that’s not what Im asking.

Maybe to rephrase the question: ‘Is what St Faustina said reasonable?’ Thanks!
 
QuietKarlos said:
I knew someone was going to point out we don’t need to believe in private revelation and I know this but that’s not what Im asking.

Maybe to rephrase the question: ‘Is what St Faustina said reasonable?’ Thanks!
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lol k then I’m not going to wade into this one. 😉 I’m going to leave it for others who have a passion for debating this or other specific incidences of alleged private revelation.

Have fun Y’all! ❤️
 
Since you already know that this will be opinion, here is my opinion: with objection 1) true humility is admitting what you are, so she recorded the praises of Jesus. They are true praise. He said He was uniting with her more than other creatures, this is not a literal statement as He is united with Mary above her, it is just a high praise, maybe more than any other creature on earth at that time among humans is what it means most accurately. With 2), it is just as unfair as God giving a less limited covenant to the world, and making salvation possible for all, even non Catholics. “for to Moses He saith, `I will do kindness to whom I do kindness, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion;’” it is simply an act of mercy to give such powers to prayers. Remember, not one is saved outside who God wants. If God does not give the gift of salvation to a person, nothing in heaven and earth can give it to them. The perfect number of souls God wants saved has not changed once since creation. They are the elect, He loves them, and they will not be lost. Anyone who He has not predestined in this way, is lost due to their own sin. This prayer is the means by which He will manifest His love to some of His elect, this is His choice. With 3), the blessing doesn’t have to be immediate, or in a form easily apprehended. The blessing may simply be the presence of this devotion. ANd the final one, it might be taken to mean believing in God as He is, or rightly. Or processing of by denying it by their life, showing they really believe in their own sinful desires, not God.
 
QuietKarlos said:
Also Jesus says to her if you say the O blood and water prayer with faith in divine mercy and a contrite heart Jesus will come into the life of a sinner. This seems too powerful for a 5 second prayer which I don’t understand.
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I do have faith in Sister Faustina’s Divine Mercy Prayer, inspired by Jesus our Lord.
I don’t believe a five second prayer (although I believe all sincere prayer is heard) is what the Lord is saying will save a soul. However, when a dying soul hears those prayers being said around him/her, it is up to the Lord what graces will be given. I have been saying many prayers for many years for family members, and some of them are now bearing fruit. We need to be persistent…and draw closer to the Lord in all kinds of circumstances. We need to trust in Jesus, and leave it to Him what the answers to our prayers are.

Try not to overthink the way certain things are presented. In the Mercy picture of our Lord at the bottom is says “Jesus I Trust in You”. I need to remember to say it and mean it, and leave the rest to Him. He can be trusted!
 
StJosephPrayForUs said:
2), it is just as unfair as God giving a less limited covenant to the world, and making salvation possible for all, even non Catholics. “for to Moses He saith, `I will do kindness to whom I do kindness, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion;’” it is simply an act of mercy to give such powers to prayers. Remember, not one is saved outside who God wants. If God does not give the gift of salvation to a person, nothing in heaven and earth can give it to them. The perfect number of souls God wants saved has not changed once since creation. They are the elect, He loves them, and they will not be lost. Anyone who He has not predestined in this way, is lost due to their own sin. This prayer is the means by which He will manifest His love to some of His elect, this is His choice.
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This is interesting but the thing about God’s mercy in the new covenant is that there is kind of a fairness to the mercy in one sense. Although we don’t deserve the mercy it is obtained by our good will. We choose the mercy.

However your other objections do make sense to me and thanks for them.
 
RolandThompsonGunner said:
Personally , I don’t find Fatima particularly compelling. I wouldn’t say I actively disbelieve it. More like a skeptical agnostic. To be clear, I am an ordinary lay Catholic with no special insight here, and plenty of smart people disagree with me. But that’s my personal take.
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I think Fatima is amazing! The fact that the children said a miracle would happen and that it did! It seems way too coincidental to have been something that was just, well, a coincidence. But this post isn’t about Fatima anyways so… Yeah.
 
QuietKarlos said:
I think Fatima is amazing! The fact that the children said a miracle would happen and that it did! It seems way too coincidental to have been something that was just, well, a coincidence. But this post isn’t about Fatima anyways so… Yeah.
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Oops! That’ll teach me to read too fast.
 
Dorothy said:
Try not to overthink the way certain things are presented.
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Thanks for your post but I find it very difficult not to over think things. It just goes against how I am as a person. If something doesn’t make sense to me I’ll be annoyed and/or anxious until I find a somewhat reasonable answer.
Dorothy said:
I don’t believe a five second prayer (although I believe all sincere prayer is heard) is what the Lord is saying will save a soul. However, when a dying soul hears those prayers being said around him/her, it is up to the Lord what graces will be given. I have been saying many prayers for many years for family members, and some of them are now bearing fruit. We need to be persistent…and draw closer to the Lord in all kinds of circumstances. We need to trust in Jesus, and leave it to Him what the answers to our prayers are.
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Yeah that’s fair enough but Saint Faustina did say that Jesus would come between the person the prayer is said for and God to be the merciful saviour.

Whether that means the soul will be saved or not I don’t know but that seems like that’s what Saint Faustina is saying.
 
Do I think she is right on? Absolutely. Does the Church say she is? No, the Church just says she is a saint, but she might well be spot on. Nothing she said is doctrine by virtue of her saying it.

So, maybe.
 
QuietKarlos said:
it just seems… Nonsensical that if we say the Divine Mercy Chaplet before someone dies they will be saved. That just seems unfair if anything. You could have the worst sinner and because someone said a 10 minute prayer for them suddenly they just don’t go to hell.
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Read the Parable of the Prodigal Son again… it’s not nonsensical at all.
 
And Faustina doesn’t say exactly that the person will be saved, but that Jesus will give the soul 4 chances to repent through the Divine Mercy, but if the soul refuses, she/he goes to Hell nonetheless.
 
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Oh does she actually say this? If so, where and what does it say exactly?
 
I haven’t read the diary but I wouldn’t underestimate God’s mercy. From your logic, this statement from Jesus wouldn’t be ‘fair’ either:
‘And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith ’ - Matt 21:22
 
QuietKarlos said:
Yeah that’s fair enough but Saint Faustina did say that Jesus would come between the person the prayer is said for and God to be the merciful saviour.

Whether that means the soul will be saved or not I don’t know but that seems like that’s what Saint Faustina is saying
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My guess is that means the grace will be offered, but it is up to the person to accept it in good faith.
 
Dan_Defender said:
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith ’ - Matt 21:22
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Thanks for your response, but there surely is a limit on this since there are things God wouldn’t do even if you have faith. If what you ask isn’t compatible with God’s will he won’t give it.

For example, for someone who has made no choice to be saved to be saved just because you said one prayer seems a bit silly and I don’t imagine would be compatible with God’s will, right? Maybe I’m wrong here though but I don’t know.
 
I don’t know about a limit per se, but a petition has to have merits yes. And yet when I read lives of saints, some pretty incredible things were granted. So God’s mercy does exceed expectations.
 
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