St. Faustina's Visions

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Now, I accept St. Faustina’s visions, but how do we know they weren’t caused by a psychological disease or a product of her imagination? I hear this one a lot so I would like to hear a response to it.
 
It could be either of those. It could be aliens. It could be she was smarter than anyone who ever lived. It could be Jesus.

My response is that the writings and the visions they contained were scrutinized by the Holy See (I belive it was the Congregation for the Doctrine Of The Faith) and determined to not be contrary to the faith. One does not need to accept these writings or visions as they are not doctrine, however if one does they are not opposed to the faith.

Given that she was not well educated (if I remember correctly) nor particularly schooled in theology, I am picking Jesus. Let someone else prove it is one of the other two.
 
St. Faustina’s inspiration was, as the Church defines it, FOR HER. It was private revelation and it was FOR HER.

“The” Divine Mercy was not a new idea or revelation, God’s mercy is a concept that is all over the Old Testament.

If her writings help you or anybody, then that is good.

I don’t think anybody signed up on this website is going to give you a definitive answer. Perhaps your question is, what is the Church’s view of her visions? – I think it was like it says in post #2.

I think it’s great if you can find strength and insight from St. Faustina.

I’ve been reading some Jewish Bible commentaries and, recently, a Jewish book or two on spirituality. In Judaism there are many, many respected rabbis who wrote down many insightful comments on scripture and have helped people grow spiritually.

I picked up a book on Jewish Midrash (I’m not sure I know yet what that is, it may mean “sermons” or something like that.)

The first chapter has to do with a rabbi who gave an eye-opening sermon on Exodus, and God making the covenant with Israel. The Hebrew uses a word to say literally that the people were assembed “at” Mount Sinai. But, the word has an interesting twist, that it can paint a picture that God was holding the mountain “over” the people. In other words, it suggests that God was not merely offering them the covenant and its terms, He was forcing them to accept it.

Jewish commentators quip that the Jews accepted the covenant before they knew what they were getting into, accepting all these “commands” of the Law that may not have even made sense millenia ago when these terms were created.

Well, the point is, somebody like this rabbi comes along (or St. Faustina) and brings us some new insights or fresh thinking about something. At one level, the religious or spiritual level, the Jews or the Catholic Church as the case may be, examines the new ideas and, as it must, puts them through the filter of intellectual scrutiny.

The Church always looks at the mental stability of people who are making any sort of claims or such. They do this with a lot of gravity and they take decades (usually) to decide about what somebody has written. There used to be somebody called “the devil’s advocate” who criticizes such writing and claims very soberly and critically to make sure that there is nothing against Church doctrine.

That is why the Vatican office wants to look at everything a person said or wrote in their life, before passing judgment on beatification and sainthood. It’s a very lengthy process. We don’t hear about the people who failed the test.But, there must be boxes and boxes of such things for people who could not pass all the tests of approval.
 
TheDoctor said:
Given that she was not well educated (if I remember correctly) nor particularly schooled in theology, I am picking Jesus. Let someone else prove it is one of the other two.
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I guess the same could be said about Jesus himself not being schooled. How was it then he knew so much about theology?
 
Pieman333272 said:
Now, I accept St. Faustina’s visions, but how do we know they weren’t caused by a psychological disease or a product of her imagination? I hear this one a lot so I would like to hear a response to it.
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Those charges are no different than the ones that can be leveled at us for having faith. After all, our faith is in supernatural, unprovable things. And we believe that faith, itself, is a supernatural gift. So once that line is crossed we’re sort of all in the same boat-or ark?-aren’t we?

Anyway, her experiences and our own are different only by a matter of degree-it could probably be said that she simply believed in the reality and power of God and sought Him more intensely than most of us-and He responded.
 
Pieman333272 said:
Now, I accept St. Faustina’s visions, but how do we know they weren’t caused by a psychological disease or a product of her imagination? I hear this one a lot so I would like to hear a response to it.
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The Church has accepted them after thorough investigation. Good enough for me:)

(Dear Jesus, I thank you for answering my prayers. Message received 🙂 )
 
At the direction of Father Sopocko, who was the confessor for Saint Faustina, she was given a complete mental health examination by a psychiatrist. And she was found to have perfect mental health.

Also, Saint Faustina’s superiors consistently gave her overwhelmingly positive references.

So it would appear that Saint Faustina’s extraordinary visions and revelations, which ultimately were found to be consistent with orthodox Catholic theology, did not originate from a diseased or troubled mind. Nor did they originate from Lucifer. So a heavenly source is the one that best conforms to the facts.

Anyone who hears or prays the Divine Mercy Chaplet most likely knows in his or her heart that such spiritual beauty and truth can only originate from God. And the image of Jesus that was painted according to Saint Faustina’s instructions as she had received them, has swept the planet and is greatly reverenced. Again, this speaks of a heavenly origin.

As a matter of faith, I accept that Saint Faustina’s private revelations were authentic.
 
Saint_Faustina said:
At the direction of Father Sopocko, who was the confessor for Saint Faustina, she was given a complete mental health examination by a psychiatrist. And she was found to have perfect mental health.

Also, Saint Faustina’s superiors consistently gave her overwhelmingly positive references.

So it would appear that Saint Faustina’s extraordinary visions and revelations, which ultimately were found to be consistent with orthodox Catholic theology, did not originate from a diseased or troubled mind. Nor did they originate from Lucifer. So a heavenly source is the one that best conforms to the facts.

Anyone who hears or prays the Divine Mercy Chaplet most likely knows in his or her heart that such spiritual beauty and truth can only originate from God. And the image of Jesus that was painted according to Saint Faustina’s instructions as she had received them, has swept the planet and is greatly reverenced. Again, this speaks of a heavenly origin.

As a matter of faith, I accept that Saint Faustina’s private revelations were authentic.
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As do I 🙂
 
Saint Faustina was a barely literate young woman whose education was limited to the third grade, which she was asked to leave to make room for younger students. And she spelled out her writings phonetically. So this young woman was clearly NOT schooled in theology.

She was a simple nun who lived in obscurity in Poland. She was humble, quiet, given to mortifications, and ever obedient. At the direction of her spiritual director, she wrote her 600-page diary in six notebooks. She wrote under conditions of hardship. While preforming her duties as cook, gardener and porter, she wrote only as time permitted. Her writing implements were poor, and she suffered greatly with pain and illness, eventually dieing of tuberculosis

At her death, only her superiors and her spiritual director knew of her visions and revelations. Her fellow nuns were unaware of Sister Mary Faustina’s deep spiritual life.

Yet, this obscure peasant girl produced profound and moving theological truths, as presented in her diary, called “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. There could not be a more impossibly unlikely candidate as Sr. Mary Faustina to write such a monumental work if it was done purely by natural means. Sr. Faustina was absolutely ill equipped in her education, training and intellect to create the extraordinary “Divine Mercy in My Soul”.

And Sr. Faustina gained no worldly benefits in her lifetime with her revelations and the writing of her diary. To the casual observer, her life was one of monotony, simplicity, struggle and pain. She died in obscurity. She never sought recognition for her work. So there was completely absent any worldly motive of fame or advancement for the writing of “Divine Mercy in My Soul”.

Ultimately, we are inevitably left with a supernatural source and motive for the writing of “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. And that supernatural source is from above. What could be more clear?

Also, of significance is that Sr. Faustina, who had no training in art and was devoid of any artistic talent, somehow directed the painting of the Divine Mercy painting of Jesus, with the two rays of white and red emanating from Jesus’ Heart, and containing the underlying inscription of “Jesus, I Trust in You”. Where did the inspiration for the Divine Mercy painting of Jesus come from? A painting that is so beloved and theologically profound. It is all so clear if you only open your eyes and your heart.

Mark 8:18 Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? …

So once more and forever, as a matter of faith, I accept that Saint Faustina’s private revelations were authentic and were divinely inspired.
 
Saint_Faustina said:
Saint Faustina was a barely literate young woman whose education was limited to the third grade, which she was asked to leave to make room for younger students. And she spelled out her writings phonetically. So this young woman was clearly NOT schooled in theology.

She was a simple nun who lived in obscurity in Poland. She was humble, quiet, given to mortifications, and ever obedient. At the direction of her spiritual director, she wrote her 600-page diary in six notebooks. She wrote under conditions of hardship. While preforming her duties as cook, gardener and porter, she wrote only as time permitted. Her writing implements were poor, and she suffered greatly with pain and illness, eventually dieing of tuberculosis

At her death, only her superiors and her spiritual director knew of her visions and revelations. Her fellow nuns were unaware of Sister Mary Faustina’s deep spiritual life.

Yet, this obscure peasant girl produced profound and moving theological truths, as presented in her diary, called “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. There could not be a more impossibly unlikely candidate as Sr. Mary Faustina to write such a monumental work if it was done purely by natural means. Sr. Faustina was absolutely ill equipped in her education, training and intellect to create the extraordinary “Divine Mercy in My Soul”.

And Sr. Faustina gained no worldly benefits in her lifetime with her revelations and the writing of her diary. To the casual observer, her life was one of monotony, simplicity, struggle and pain. She died in obscurity. She never sought recognition for her work. So there was completely absent any worldly motive of fame or advancement for the writing of “Divine Mercy in My Soul”.

Ultimately, we are inevitably left with a supernatural source and motive for the writing of “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. And that supernatural source is from above. What could be more clear?

Also, of significance is that Sr. Faustina, who had no training in art and was devoid of any artistic talent, somehow directed the painting of the Divine Mercy painting of Jesus, with the two rays of white and red emanating from Jesus’ Heart, and containing the underlying inscription of “Jesus, I Trust in You”. Where did the inspiration for the Divine Mercy painting of Jesus come from? A painting that is so beloved and theologically profound. It is all so clear if you only open your eyes and your heart.

Mark 8:18 Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? …

So once more and forever, as a matter of faith, I accept that Saint Faustina’s private revelations were authentic and were divinely inspired.
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This is an excellent summary. Thank you for posting it.
 
Saint_Faustina said:
Saint Faustina was a barely literate young woman whose education was limited to the third grade, which she was asked to leave to make room for younger students. And she spelled out her writings phonetically. So this young woman was clearly NOT schooled in theology.

She was a simple nun who lived in obscurity in Poland. She was humble, quiet, given to mortifications, and ever obedient. At the direction of her spiritual director, she wrote her 600-page diary in six notebooks. She wrote under conditions of hardship. While preforming her duties as cook, gardener and porter, she wrote only as time permitted. Her writing implements were poor, and she suffered greatly with pain and illness, eventually dieing of tuberculosis

At her death, only her superiors and her spiritual director knew of her visions and revelations. Her fellow nuns were unaware of Sister Mary Faustina’s deep spiritual life.

Yet, this obscure peasant girl produced profound and moving theological truths, as presented in her diary, called “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. There could not be a more impossibly unlikely candidate as Sr. Mary Faustina to write such a monumental work if it was done purely by natural means. Sr. Faustina was absolutely ill equipped in her education, training and intellect to create the extraordinary “Divine Mercy in My Soul”.

And Sr. Faustina gained no worldly benefits in her lifetime with her revelations and the writing of her diary. To the casual observer, her life was one of monotony, simplicity, struggle and pain. She died in obscurity. She never sought recognition for her work. So there was completely absent any worldly motive of fame or advancement for the writing of “Divine Mercy in My Soul”.

Ultimately, we are inevitably left with a supernatural source and motive for the writing of “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. And that supernatural source is from above. What could be more clear?

Also, of significance is that Sr. Faustina, who had no training in art and was devoid of any artistic talent, somehow directed the painting of the Divine Mercy painting of Jesus, with the two rays of white and red emanating from Jesus’ Heart, and containing the underlying inscription of “Jesus, I Trust in You”. Where did the inspiration for the Divine Mercy painting of Jesus come from? A painting that is so beloved and theologically profound. It is all so clear if you only open your eyes and your heart.

Mark 8:18 Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? …

So once more and forever, as a matter of faith, I accept that Saint Faustina’s private revelations were authentic and were divinely inspired.
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What a beautiful meditation! Thank you so much for posting it. Are you aware of the Apostles of Divine Mercy?
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
What a beautiful meditation! Thank you so much for posting it. Are you aware of the Apostles of Divine Mercy?
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Thank you so much for your kind words, Luigi.

No, I am not familiar with the Apostles of Divine Mercy.

For the benefit of myself, and of others that may read this thread, could you please explain what the Apostles of Divine Mercy is purposed to do and how it came to be? I am very much interested in learning about the Apostles of Divine Mercy, and your involvement with them.

Peace be unto you, Luigi.

Saint Faustina 🙂
 
Saint_Faustina said:
Thank you so much for your kind words, Luigi.

No, I am not familiar with the Apostles of Divine Mercy.

For the benefit of myself, and of others that may read this thread, could you please explain what the Apostles of Divine Mercy is purposed to do and how it came to be? I am very much interested in learning about the Apostles of Divine Mercy, and your involvement with them.

Peace be unto you, Luigi.

Saint Faustina 🙂
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There are several branches. A couple in the USA, and in Poland. Others in Europe and in Africa ('my" branch is in Tanzania via Poland). If you yahoo it (I won’t google), you will get several results.
I am just getting started, so I will keep you posted in this thread. My first “homework” assignment ( 😃 ) is to read the diary of St Faustina. It’s on it’s way. (I almost dead certain that I’ve read it before, but can’t seem to find it in my books 😦 )

Pax to you, too 🙂
 
Pieman333272 said:
Now, I accept St. Faustina’s visions, but how do we know they weren’t caused by a psychological disease or a product of her imagination? I hear this one a lot so I would like to hear a response to it.
Click to expand...
that is extremely unlikely considering all the miracles that came from this devotion, and also considering her saintly life, it’s more likely that these were real visions.

God has used the Divine Mercy devotion a lot in my life and I completely believe it.

God bless 🙂
 
Crumpy said:
St. Faustina’s inspiration was, as the Church defines it, FOR HER. It was private revelation and it was FOR HER.

“The” Divine Mercy was not a new idea or revelation, God’s mercy is a concept that is all over the Old Testament.
Click to expand...
I agree that the Divine Mercy message is not new, of course God’s mercy is shown to us through general revelation as well, but I disagree that it was only for her… many times in the Diary, Jesus tells St Faustina that He wants her to share this information with others and she is the ‘apostle of Mercy’. It is a message for the whole world that God decided to give us through St Faustina.
Saint_Faustina said:
Saint Faustina was a barely literate young woman whose education was limited to the third grade, which she was asked to leave to make room for younger students. And she spelled out her writings phonetically. So this young woman was clearly NOT schooled in theology.

She was a simple nun who lived in obscurity in Poland. She was humble, quiet, given to mortifications, and ever obedient. At the direction of her spiritual director, she wrote her 600-page diary in six notebooks. She wrote under conditions of hardship. While preforming her duties as cook, gardener and porter, she wrote only as time permitted. Her writing implements were poor, and she suffered greatly with pain and illness, eventually dieing of tuberculosis

At her death, only her superiors and her spiritual director knew of her visions and revelations. Her fellow nuns were unaware of Sister Mary Faustina’s deep spiritual life.

Yet, this obscure peasant girl produced profound and moving theological truths, as presented in her diary, called “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. There could not be a more impossibly unlikely candidate as Sr. Mary Faustina to write such a monumental work if it was done purely by natural means. Sr. Faustina was absolutely ill equipped in her education, training and intellect to create the extraordinary “Divine Mercy in My Soul”.

And Sr. Faustina gained no worldly benefits in her lifetime with her revelations and the writing of her diary. To the casual observer, her life was one of monotony, simplicity, struggle and pain. She died in obscurity. She never sought recognition for her work. So there was completely absent any worldly motive of fame or advancement for the writing of “Divine Mercy in My Soul”.

Ultimately, we are inevitably left with a supernatural source and motive for the writing of “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. And that supernatural source is from above. What could be more clear?

Also, of significance is that Sr. Faustina, who had no training in art and was devoid of any artistic talent, somehow directed the painting of the Divine Mercy painting of Jesus, with the two rays of white and red emanating from Jesus’ Heart, and containing the underlying inscription of “Jesus, I Trust in You”. Where did the inspiration for the Divine Mercy painting of Jesus come from? A painting that is so beloved and theologically profound. It is all so clear if you only open your eyes and your heart.

Mark 8:18 Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? …

So once more and forever, as a matter of faith, I accept that Saint Faustina’s private revelations were authentic and were divinely inspired.
Click to expand...
👍 great post…

when I first read the Diary, I was sure that St Faustina must have been very knowledgable about the faith, because her writings are so profound and filled with much wisdom and theology. However then I learned that she only had a few years of school and as you said, spelled out everything phonetically. That is amazing!!

I totally believe the Divine Mercy image is from Jesus because it is really miraculous and has helped me in my own life many times. God definitely works through this devotion, thus showing it is from Him.

God bless 🙂
 
I don’t understand, why do some people believe that St Faustina had a psychological disorder? there’s no hint of that in her writings…I mean, she writes very clearly and she was definitely suited to live the religious life as a Carmelite. She also lived a very holy life.

:confused:
 
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