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INTRODUCTION
Sr. Faustina’s teaching on the mystery of human suffering is a private revelation, but God
meant it also for the good of all souls in the whole world. 1 The doctrine on suffering is not new;
it is in fact affirmed in Scriptures (Col 1:24) ii and in the Church’s Catechism. 2 Life is beset with
troubles, whether abided with the steadying impact of the Christian-Catholic Faith and God’s
election or not. 3 But despite the stark truth of suffering, a joyful ending awaits a soul, in God. 4
Sr. Faustina understood the significance of human suffering in the following words:
I have come to see that if the will of the Heavenly Father was fulfilled…in His
well-beloved Son, it will be fulfilled in us in exactly the same way: by suffering…
It is through all this that my soul becomes like unto Jesus. And, the greater the
sufferings, the more I see that I am becoming like Jesus. This is the surest way. If
some other way were better, Jesus would have shown it to me. Suffering in no
way takes away my peace. On the other hand, although I enjoy profound peace,
that peace does not lessen my experience of suffering. Although my face is often
bowed to the ground, and my tears flow profusely, at the same time my soul is
filled with profound peace and happiness... (Diary, #1394).
She was an obscure woman of faith but supremely graced in spiritual life. 5 She lived in union
1
Kowalska, Saint Maria Faustina. Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul. (Massachusetts: Marian Press, 2014), # 723,
1142, 1568, 1635, 1710, 294, 310.
2
Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): Suffering. (New York: Image Books
Doubleday, 1995), 1508, 1521; Faustina Diary, # 606-607.
3
Ibid., Catechism of the Catholic Church, 164; Pope John Paul II. Salvifici Doloris - On the Christian Meaning of
Human Suffering. (Massachusetts: The Daughters of St. Paul, 1984), I-1-2.
4
Pope John Paul II. Dives in Misericordia. (Massachusetts: The Daughters of St. Paul, 1980), n.8.
5
Ibid., Faustina, Diary, xvi-xxi.
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