DIVINE MERCY
APOSTOLATE >>> DMA FaceBook
Seraphim Home . >>DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE
. Diary
Divine Mercy in my Soul PDF
File BM. Diary (part) A. Diary
Notebook I
Notebook II Notebook III Notebook IV Notebook V Notebook VI Prepare
for H Communion
Divine Mercy In my soul
Introduction
Introduction To the Polish Edition, 1981
1. THE AUTHOR OF THE DAIRY.
Sister Faustina, Helena Kowalska was born on August
25, 1905, in the village of Glogowiec, in Lodz,
Poland. At age 14, without completing elementary school, she went to work,
first in Aleksandrow, Lodz, and then in Lodz itself.
By the time she was 15 she had made known to her parents her desire to enter
the convent.
On August 1, 1925, she entered the Congregation of the
Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She went through her petulancy in Warsaw, and
then was sent to the novitiate house in Cracow, where during her invertiture she was given the name Sister Mary Faustina and
was incorporated into the novitiate. After a two year novitiate, she made her
first profession of vows on April 30, 1928. Next, as a temporarily professed
sister, she worked in various houses of the Congregation: in Warsaw, in
Vilnius, in Kiekrz near Poznan, in Plock, in Biala near Plock, in Warsaw and in Cracow. On May 1, 1933,
she took her perpetual vows.
After only a few weeks of convent Life her health
began to deteriorate. She had contracted consumption and lived through several
bouts of this illness. In August, 1934, she suffered a violent attack of asthma
for the first time. Although the doctors did not state it, it already was, in all
likelihood, tuberculosis, which subsequently progressed to such an extent that
in 1936 she spent the last five months of her Life in that same hospital; and
after having been brought back to the convent in Cracow, she died there on
October 5th.
|
Blessed
Fr. Michael Sopocko |
2. THE PURPOSE OF WRITING THE DIARY. Sister Faustina herself stated
that she desired by this writing to fulfill the express command of the Lord
Jesus and the order of both her confessors, Rev. M. Sopocko and Fr. J.
Andrasz. She also acknowledged that she desired through this diary to inform
people of the goodness and grace of God. She also noted frequently that she
wrote it with the express permission of her Superiors, which constituted for
her the confirmation of God’s will. |
The Diary, in her opinion, was not intended to be read
by the general public; at any rate, never during her lifetime. For this reason
she decidedly kept this writing a secret from her fellow sisters, of which we
have factual evidence in the breaks found in several places and in the
incomplete sentences in general. Besides, she wrote a note in her Diary, aiming
her remarks at the would be curious, in the following
words: “Jesus. No one is permitted to read these notebooks and the notes
contained therein – Father Andrasz must first check them, or Father Sopocko –
considering that they are matters of conscience. If it is God’s will that
everything be given to souls for their consolation. It
is not necessary to give the notebooks themselves to the sisters to read,
Superiors excepted, until they are edited. Cracow, day of recollection, April 3, 1938. S. Faustina.”
From the above words one can
gather that the servant of God expected the Diary to be printed eventually “for
the consolation of souls,” but desired that it take place only after her death.
Rev. M. Sopocko in his letters
explains the reason for the writing of the Diary in yet another way. He points
out that the number of spiritual experiences of the Servant of God was too
great to be discussed in the confessional, without having third parties notice
it. Furthermore, as a seminary professor, he had no time for long confessions
of this type. He therefore told her to write down everything that she
considered to be the will of God, and to give it to him periodically for his
perusal.
3. THE CONTENTS OF THE DIARY.
The Servant of God writes her experiences and
supernatural graces without delay. For the most part, she concentrates her
attention on matters of the interior Life and her contact with God. She devotes
much room, and this with particular care, to the
teachings, inspirations, and dispositions of God. At times, she mentions actual
exterior facts. On some pages she writes her own reflections and resolutions
stemming from her meditations or from conferences heard, and sometimes she even
notes directly the essence of the priests’ instructions.
On very many pages we find her
poetry, in which she tries to express her feelings toward God. These verses
have the character of personal expressions of love and longing for God. She
expresses in them most often her adoration and Love, as well as her desire of
full union with her Creator. The versification itself indicates that the author
wrote her works spontaneously, more under the influence of emotions and
affections, than as a result of cold reflection. In a criticism of her verses
it has been stated that “without knowing the
literary patterns, she hit upon the path of Polish poetry on her own.”
Writing without a preconceived
plan, she at times mentions, along with the above details, the environment in
which she lives, her work, and the condition of her health. Feeling free and
easy about form – she was writing for the confessor alone – she does not
conform her text to a certain style; she is not hampered by a lack of periods
or other punctuation marks, not even by spelling errors. The text itself
reflects the great simplicity of the author: emotional, but keeping herself
under the discipline of the will; uneducated, but extremely prudent and
distinguished for her sound judgment of things; undergoing trials, but never
surrendering to psychological depression or to agitation in adversities.
Submissive to the will of God and full of confidence in The Divine Mercy, as
she lived united with Him, so she also writes
of Him and for Him.
4. CHRONOLOGY IN THE WRITING OF THE
DIARY.
From Rev. M. Sopocko we learn that Sister Faustina
burned a certain section of the Diary. Informed of this, he made her rewrite
from memory, as a penance, the destroyed portion and simultaneously to note her
current experiences. It was this precisely that caused a
confusion in the chronology of facts in the greater part of the Servant
of God’s notebooks. Anyway, aware of this fact, she would sometimes include the
date of the happening; about other matters she writes without dates, using the
term at one time. As a result, there occurred several repetitions of the same
fact or experience, for example, see numbers 993 and 996. It is evident that
the author was not concerned with chronology; that is, the sequence of facts,
but with the noting of the facts themselves.
The Servant of God began to
write the Diary in 1934. The first poem and notation is dated: July 28, 1934.
In addition, she wrote retrospectively, returning to recollections first from the year 1925, after which she went to
the year 1929 and then to 1931. Skipping 1930 and 1932, she begins with facts
from the year 1933. She then interrupts
the flow of the narration and quite unexpectedly returns to the year 1928.
After this recollection she notes some affairs of the current year, which again
she interrupts, in order to complete the previous year 1933. On the remaining
pages in the first notebook, she later wrote, in January 1937, her retreat
resolutions.
Basically, from this point,
Sister Faustina begins to write everything as it occurs; and the recollected
elements go back to only a few past days or weeks. Thus, she first completes
the year 1934, then presents the year 1935, continues with the year 1936 and
the year 1937. The years of her illness gave her somewhat more time for writing
and for this reason are most substantially represented on the pages of the
Diary. The year of her death [1938] fills up the last part of the Diary.
5. THE TEXT OF THE MANUSCRIPT.
The entire text of her writings is contained in six
notebooks, 20 x 16 cm [size of first and second], or 19 1/2 x 15 1/2 cm [size of
the third and fifth]. The fourth notebook is the narrowest, its width being
scarcely 12 cm. the sixth notebook likewise is narrow, being 15 cm wide. All
these copybooks are of squared or lined sheets quite closely written on both
sides. The number of written pages is: 105 + 160 + 33 + 30 + 71, the total of
477 pages of manuscript. The Last notebook is not filled.
The writings in essence show no
sign of damage. Only one page was torn out [which is noted
near the text] by an unknown person. In the individual notebooks we find
several blank pages, which evidently were intended to be used to add something,
but from which the servant of God desisted. The notebook pages were not numbered. Presently they do possess a pagination, made in pencil for practical reasons by Father
J. Andrasz, S.J. and Sister Xavier Olszamowska of the
Congregation of the sisters of Our Lady of Mercy.
After the completion of the Informative Process in
Cracow, all of the notebooks, with the exception of the fourth, were bound with
a green cloth glued to a stiff cardboard. A digit was printed on the cover of
each notebook, indicating the consecutive number of the pad. The fourth
notebook was left in its original form, and only the wires were removed to
protect it from rust. The wires were replaced by ordinary thread. On each
notebook cover, with the exception of the fourth, Sr. Faustina wrote her
religious name and some maxim. It was always a thought about The Divine Mercy.
These subtitles were taken into account only in the present editing of the
text. They have been omitted in previous transcripts.
6. THE MANNER OF WRITING OF THE DIARY.
The servant of God very often interlaces the factual
accounts with prayers. Into her own words she weaves words of the Lord Jesus,
or she ends a started narrative with the words of the Lord Jesus. a lack of punctuation marks caused, as a result, a lack of
clarity in the text. It often happens that she begins an account of some fact
or matter, and ends it with a prayerful turning to God or with an act of adoration
and admiration for the unfolding Divine activity.
Besides ordinary prayers, as was already stated, we
find in the Diary many verses which almost always are a poetic form of prayer.
Especially the second half of the Diary, where facts and experiences are noted
day by day, contains many elements which indicate a constant remembrance of the
presence of God. To the ever-present God she turns with petition and
thanksgiving, rejoicing in His Love, diligently recording all that she is
experiencing.
In the original Diary manuscript we find a series of
words superfluously repeated. This leads one to assume that the servant of God
was forbidden to cross out what she had written. And perhaps it was for this
reason that she left the repeated words as well as the wrong or unnecessary
ones. The state of the manuscript allows one also to suppose that she did not
reread what she wrote, for then she certainly would have inserted, for example,
a letter missing in some word.
We find a whole series of underlined words and
sentences in the manuscript. This was done at the request of Fr. Sopocko, who
several times instructed her to note in this fashion what the Lord Jesus
demanded of her. The number of these underlinings
bears witness that Sr. Faustina seriously considered everything she wrote as a
command of the Lord Jesus.
7. HISTORY OF THE TEXT.
The servant of God always kept the notebooks of the
Diary in her own possession. Only on occasion did she give them to Fr. Sopocko
and then to Fr. Andrasz, S.J. to be studied. After her death, the manuscript
remained in the Congregation. Moreover, it
was so carefully guarded and to such an extent that, except for a few persons,
the Congregation at Large knew nothing of
its existence.
Only when Fr. Andrasz began to write the biography of
Sister Faustina was the Diary made available to him in confidence, as to a
confessor who had full right to it. After receiving the Diary from him, the
Congregation scrupulously continues to guard it. Initially, the Diary of Sister
Faustina was rewritten by Sister Xavier Olszamowska
at the request of Mother general Michaela Moraczewska.
Unfortunately, this transcription was neither accurate nor scholarly, since the
copyist thought it proper to add or deflate certain little words and make
grammatical changes; in addition, through human oversight, she omitted some of
the words.
To safeguard the Diary, the text
was microfilmed in the 1950’s. In making copies, however, neither the original
nor the microfilm were used, but on the typescript of
Sr. Xavier Olszamowska, which, all in all, was
considered authentic, since no one compared the copied text with the original.
On the contrary, private copies and even an Italian translation of this unauthentic text were made. What is worse, the
above text received in its time the authorization and approbation of the Curia
of Cracow.
We know of the following
official confirmations of the text of “Sr. Xavier Olszamowska”;
1] of March 3, 1950, the Metropolitan
Curia of Cracow No. 1317/50, signed by Cardinal A. Sepieha
and Fr. Brzycki;
2] December 6, 1951, the Metropolitan
Curia of Cracow No. 10583/51, signed by Fr. Wit Brzycki. This text is somewhat different from the former
but in non-essentials. From it was made the above-mentioned Italian translation
and a whole series of copies by the Pallotine
Fathers.
3] July 30, 1952, the Metropolitan Curia
of Cracow, No. 5625/52, signed by Fr. John Pochopien.
The text was very similar to the previous one.
Finally, a copy of the original
was made. This last one was included in the Acts of the Informative Process in
Cracow on October 19, 1967, and signed by Fr. Stefan Marszowski.
This text was not only transcribed from the original but also verified in
detail during the Informative Process by Fr. Isidore Borkiewicz, O.F.M.. Conv. And sister Beata Piekut of the Congregation
of the sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland. A French translation was made
from this copy. It was included in the Acts of the Informative Process,
together with the latest transcript and photocopies, and sent to Rome.
The present critical edition is likewise based solely
on the manuscript of Sister Faustina. The whole critical apparatus, all
footnotes and indices, was the work of Sister Beata Piekut in cooperation with other sisters who helped to copy
the texts. As a historian, the undersigned Promoter of Faith of the Informative
Process served in this by his advice and suggestions. He was in continues
contact with the sister preparing the
present edition. He watched over the authenticity of the texts and their
accuracy, both factual and historical. The text thus prepared and monographed
was sent to Rome to Fr. Anthony Mruk, S.J.. General Postulator of the Cause, so
that after his authoritative verification and under his direction it would be
ready to appear in print.
8. THE MEANING AND VALUE OF THE DIARY.
The Diary of Sister Faustina is
not some kind of collection of “marvels” or a book containing accounts of
extraordinary visions. Such a judgment could be made after a cursory and
inattentive reading of it. Actually, it is a valuable and instructive literary
work. First of all, it reveals the Servant of God’s interior life. From the
pages of the Diary she appears to us as a person demanding of herself and
resolute in her striving for perfection. We see how intensely Sister Faustian
works and takes advantage of every occasion to be enriched spiritually. Through
the Diary we get to know her difficulties and dark nights of soul, as well as
her mystical flights, illuminations and interior consolations. What merits
special emphasis is her inner strength, flowing most certainly from her
reliance on God and her unquestionable heroic trust in The Divine Mercy.
The Diary presents to us in an eloquent
and convincing manner the infinity of The Divine Mercy. It not only teaches one
about the Most Merciful Savior, but also encourages one to worship Him. It
likewise shows us in a practical way various forms of worship, and at the same
time illustrates facts of Divine interventions and His answers to the prayers
of those who earnestly petition Him. The Diary has this value, also, that it
teaches a childlike and very simple relationship to God, that it suggests the
possibility of union with a God present to us at each moment. It is true that
it indicates that living in the presence of God is a grace, but a grace
obtainable through prayer and a humble trust
in God.
The outstanding value of the Diary, however, is in the
instruction and encouragement it give to live an intensive interior Life.
Through Sister Faustina’s example it teaches us the need of diligent and
resolute work on inner discipline. It teaches in a practical way the difficult
art of love of one’s neighbor. It contains many correct teachings and
incentives toward unyielding interior discipline and, what is more important,
toward an unshaken trust in God’s assistance, especially in this work.
9. SIGNIFICANT TEXTUAL INACCURACIES IN
THE FORMER TRANSCRIPTS.
As compared to the original, the former transcripts
have omitted entire pages, Left out whole sentences, and changed a great many
of the words, substituting them with others. The number of
inaccuracies cited fill several single-spaced typewritten pages, it is
not surprising, therefore, that the former texts met with censure and mistrust.
And thus, for example, on page 7 of the typewritten copy, 8 mistakes were
found; on page 25, 7 mistakes, on page 177, 8, etc.
It suffices to cite a few
examples to show what some of the mistakes of these first transcriptions were.
Apart from the fact that the paginations of the manuscript are inaccurate, it
must be stated that many things have been omitted as, for example, on page 85
of the manuscript. The original text is the following: “you will strive for deep
peace in abiding with me. I shall remove all doubts in this regard. I know that
now you are peaceful...” in the transcript, on the other hand we find: “You
will strive for deep peace in abiding with me. I know that now you are
peaceful...” a Little further on the same
page: “when he ends the conference, and present to him the fears you have
regarding Me, and I shall answer you...” but in the
transcript it reads: “when he ends the conference, and I shall answer you...”
On page 153 of the manuscript is the sentence: “The
meditation was no mortification for me, for thinking about God is a delight and
not a mortification; but there was a mortification of the will in that I was
not doing [simply] what I like but what I was told to do, and it is in this
that interior mortification consists.” In the transcript it received this form:
“the meditation was not a mortification for me, for
thinking about God is a delight and not an interior mortification.”
On page 202 of the original are
these words of the Lord Jesus: “Why are you afraid to
do My wills? Will I not help you as I have done thus
far? Repeat everyone of my
demands to those who represent Me on earth, but do only what they tell you to
do.” At that, a certain strength entered my
soul. The next morning...” They were transcribed thus”
“Why are you afraid to do My will? The next
morning...”
The amount of these omissions is enormous. The worst
of it is that they were retained in the Italian translation. But a much greater
wrong is a whole series of unclear stylistics which were left uncorrected.
Sister Faustina would make the transition from using her own words to quoting
the words of the Lord Jesus all in the same sentence. And so, for example, on
page 161 of her manuscript we find such a sentence: “God promised a great grace
especially to you and everyone [-here she proceeds to quote the Lord Jesus-]
who will make known this great mercy of Mine.” Such a sentence without
clarification is not only unintelligible, but point blank smacks of heresy. The
sentence on page 26 of notebook V, number 1379 is similar to it.
From among many such ambiguities, which without a
footnote are completely incomprehensible, Let us cite one more example. On page
161 of the manuscript, Sr. Faustina says: “When the priest was saying these
words, that an obedient soul is filled with the strength of God, [-the servant
of God interjects without any sign the words of the Lord Jesus-] yes, when you are obedient I take away your weakness and
replace it with My strength.
The inaccurate transcription also caused, in some
places, a confusion in essential matters of the text.
And so, on page 202 of the manuscript we have the sentence: “it is my desire to
share this happiness with all people. I cannot lock it away in my own heart
alone, for His flames burn me and cause my bosom and my entrails to burst
asunder.”
In the former transcriptions, however, the sentence
looked like this: “I desire to share this happiness with all people,
I cannot lock this happiness in my own heart, for my flames burn me and cause
my bosom and entrails to burst asunder” [The emphasis of Fr. J.M.].
Moreover, the original text itself is sometimes confusing as, for example, page
69 of notebook V, number 1464.
10. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PRESENT PRINTED TEXT.
The Diary in the present edition
was not only more completely checked against the original, but was likewise
amply provided with scholarly research. Besides the present introduction, were
added a calendar of the life of the author, an index of persons, things, and
names of places. Also, pertinent footnotes were added to clarify the meaning of
the text, as well as for a better understanding of certain facts related by the
Servant of God, and of certain phrases and expressions of the author. In these
same footnotes the problems needing deeper analysis were extensively treated
as, for instance, the matter of a
congregation dedicated to the worship of The Divine Mercy or the matter of
painting the image of the Merciful Lord Jesus.
The Diary text is enriched by a newly discovered,
carefully handwritten, small, but precious and rich in content, work of Sister
Faustina entitled, “My Preparation for Holy Communion.” It was written in a
small notebook, 7½ by
11 cm, where on 12 sides of small squared graph paper were recorded Sister
Faustina’s innermost thoughts associated with a particular reception of Holy
Communion. If one can rely on the dates she herself noted, she began writing
her reflections about Holy Communion in Cracow on January 10, 1938. This text
was included in the Diary indices.
In a few places where the stylistic text was unclear,
the necessary words or letters were added in brackets. The Servant of God quite
often used ungrammatical abbreviations. Throughout the Diary the punctuation
marks were made uniform for, in general, it possessed
none. This was all the more necessary since the ambiguities of some texts could
arouse doubt. The newest spelling of words was applied, and misspelled words
were corrected without any signs of change being given. However, in the Polish
version, certain known specialties of style of the author were retained as, for
example, her using “tym ... im”
[the more ... the more] with the comparative degree of adjectives or adverbs,
which in the Polish of today are used in the inverse order; that is, “im ...tym.”
The present text was given a fourfold numbering system
on each page. In the upper center of each page, in Roman Numerals, are placed
the numbers of the original notebooks of Sr. Faustina’s manuscripts.
The Arabic Numeral in
parentheses at the beginning or within the text designates the corresponding
page in the original notebooks written by Sr. Faustian.
Numbers were placed in sequence at the sides of the
Diary text to make it easier for the reader to find the particular themes
contained in the indices of persons, places and things.
The raised numbers in Italics placed beside certain
words in the text indicate the sequential numbers of individual footnotes explaining
the contents of the Diary.
Fr. Jerzy Mroqczynski
Vice-Promoter of Faith
In the Informative
Process RadziwiLLow,
May 7, 1973
Diary, St. Maria
Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy In My Soul
(c) Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate
Conception, Stockbridge, MA 01263.
Divine Mercy in my
Soul PDF
File A. Diary
>>DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE
. Diary . BM. Diary (part)