Saint Faustina Kowalska: Messenger of Mercy

Encounter the Saints #23

by Susan Helen Wallace

Here is the inspiring story of Saint Faustina, apostle of Jesus mercy, who was canonized in 1993 by Pope John Paul II. Growing up in war-torn Poland, she felt called to give her life to God as a religious sister. Jesus revealed the devotion to Divine Mercy through Faustinaand with prayers and faith, she was able to bring the wonderful message of the Lord s mercy to the whole world! Recommended in Seton Home Study Grade 4 Susan Helen Wallace 116 pages, Paperback Pauline Books amp Media (September 2007) 978-0819871015

Genres: Nonfiction, Faith, Biography

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Sr. Susan Helen Wallace, FSP, holds a B.A. in Catechetics from Notre Dame College in Cleveland, Ohio, an M.A. in Catholic Doctrine from St. John’s University, Queens, N.Y., and an M.S. in journalism from Boston University. She has written several children’s biographies, which are part of the Encounter the Saints Series. She has also written a number of books for adults, including Basic Catechism, which she co-authored with Sr. Mary Lea Hill, FSP. Sr. Susan Helen is also part of the staff at the Pauline Books & Media Center in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have read over 30 books in this series so far. I started reading them, then started reading them with my three youngest children. My children and I love this series. We have read many of the books more than once. I have ready several books about Divine Mercy, and kept putting this one off. This one far exceeded my expectations. I read this one on my own on a quiet rainy Saturday afternoon. Over a couple large mugs of coffee. I read it on my own but my youngest two children notices I was read as I finished and have added it to their ‘to be read list’.

This is an awesome series is! Between my three children and I we have now read nearly all of the books in this series. I read them either by myself, or with one or more child. My youngest 2 children ages 13, 10, still both love these books. And they have read or reread them to us. My son wants to have the complete set in his room, so he keeps asking to buy his own set, because he loves these books so much. We have picked up several volumes to donate to the school library. I would love to have the whole set in the school library as a resource when the students are picking confirmation saints. Every time we read a book in the series we appreciate this series more. We also hope there will be more books released in the series in the future. I would love to see their handling of Saint Josemaria Escriva, Blessed Carlo Actus, … and many more. We would also like to eventually see eBooks of all of the volumes in the series. With my dyslexia and my son’s eye tracking issues we both prefer eBooks where we can change page color, font size and font spacing. Now back to this specific book on Saint Andre Bessette.

The description of this volume is:

“Growing up in war-torn Poland, Faustina felt the calling to give her life to God as a religious sister. As Jesus' "secretary," she carried out the important mission of teaching the world to trust in the limitless mercy of God. Jesus revealed the devotion to Divine Mercy through her, and with prayers and faith, she brought this message to the whole world! Blessed with many extraordinary gifts, including visions, prophecy, and invisible stigmata, few people knew the real depths of her spirituality.”

There are several different editions of this book, paperbacks and eBooks of various formats they were published between 2007 and 2012. It does not matter which edition you lay your hands on I am certain you will be blessed by reading of the book.

The chapters in this volume are:

1. A Girl Named Helena
2. Tell Us a Story
3. A Secret of the Heart
4. Jesus Was Waiting
5. Drifting
6. Convent Life
7. A New Name
8. Challenges
9. Help from Heaven
10. Back to Glogowiec
11. Jesus’ Special Request
12. Toward the Goal
13. The Stranger
14. You Are a Saint
15. The Long Road Home
Prayer
The Devotion to Divine Mercy
Glossary

The prayer in this volume is:

“Saint Faustina, you have so much to teach us with your life. Jesus chose you to remind us that our Savior loves and accepts us as we are. You used all your energy to carry out God’s plan for you. Your day-to-day life wasn’t always easy. You were poor, and at times misunderstood by those who failed to recognize the love of Jesus in your heart. Jesus called the kingdom of heaven a treasure and a pearl of great price. You found that kingdom and that pearl in the Lord himself.

You preached Jesus’ mercy with your life, with the Diary you wrote, and with the painting you had made. You never imagined all the good that Jesus would do through you. Saint Faustina, please teach me to love and trust in our most merciful Jesus. Amen.”

The prayer in this volume is the very similar to the one as in the companion volume, The Saints Pray for Us, which has prays for the first 30 saints and blessed covered in the series. This book is a wonderful read. Learning about Saint Faustina Kowalska was a blessing. Learning about her early years which were a focus in this volume more so than some of the others I have read. For example:

“When Helena’s first Communion day arrived, she kissed each of her parents’ hands. “Papa, Mama, I’m so sorry for whatever I have done wrong. Please forgive me.” Her parents took turns hugging her, and Helena felt really ready to go to church and receive Jesus in Holy Communion.”

And also:

“The Kowalska girls owned only one dress that was good enough to wear to Sunday Mass. They would never wear their faded, shabby work clothes to worship God. Because the girls were close enough in size, they took turns wearing their only dress, handmade by Mama, to Sunday Mass.

On the Sundays when it wasn’t Helena’s turn to go to Mass, she prayed alone in her favorite quiet corner at home. She prayed for as long as she thought the Mass was going on at her parish church. Sometimes Mama would call Helena to perform a chore. If Helena didn’t respond right away, Mama realized the Mass must still be going on. As soon as prayer time was over, Helena would hurry to her mother and kiss her hand. “Don’t be angry, Mama,” she would say. “I was praying just as if I were there at church for Mass.””

This book was a fascinating read from beginning to end. It was hard to put down. It is one of my favourites in the series. I loved this book, and all three children and I love this series! We have now read over 30 of the books in the Enconter the Saints Series from Pauline Books and Media. And everyone has been worth the read. An outstanding read in a wonderful series!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

[Judine Brey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely introductory set to this saint's story. While I know there were things that were glossed over, the information about her family and visions was heart-warming. This did a ice job with educating young readers about key Catholic terms, and I appreciated the pronunciation guide for the Polish names.

[Renee]

Wanted to read about Saint Faustino before watching the movie Love and Mercy.

I'd like to try reading other books in this series for children about the saints. (About 100 page biographies)

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written account of this Saint. Perfect for youth readers.