It was in 1931 that a young Polish nun began seeing visions that would\u00a0touch the life and death of Pope John Paul II and, perhaps, offer a\u00a0glimpse of the end of all things.<\/p>\n
Sister Faustina Kowalska reported seeing a merciful Jesus, with beams\u00a0of red and white light shining from his heart.<\/p>\n
In her diary, the cloistered mystic described a 1935 vision in which\u00a0she was told the write down this prayer as protection from divine\u00a0judgment: \u201cEternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and\u00a0Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in\u00a0atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of\u00a0His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy thought the uneducated nun\u00a0was unstable and the Vatican shunned her writings. But her visions\u00a0impressed a young priest in nearby Krakow named Father Karol Wojtyla,\u00a0who rose through the ranks from professor to bishop, archbishop and\u00a0cardinal. Finally, he became Pope John Paul II.<\/p>\n
The Polish pope was a champion of Faustina\u2019s \u201cDivine Mercy\u201d devotions\u00a0and, during a 1997 pilgrimage to her tomb, he testified: \u201cThe message\u00a0of Divine Mercy has always been near and dear to me.\u201d In a sense, he\u00a0said, it \u201cforms the image of this pontificate.\u201d On April 30, 2000,\u00a0John Paul II canonized her as St. Faustina.<\/p>\n
As if these spiritual bonds were not enough, students of St.\u00a0Faustina\u2019s writings found one other possible link between the\u00a0mysterious nun and the pope.<\/p>\n
It was in 1937, a year before she died of tuberculosis, that the\u00a032-year-old nun had another apocalyptic vision of Jesus. She wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I was praying for Poland, I heard the words: I bear a special love\u00a0for Poland, and if she will be obedient to My will, I will exalt her\u00a0in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will\u00a0prepare the world for My final coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
While John Paul II did not speculate publicly about the meaning of\u00a0these words, his final hours created yet another mystical bridge\u00a0between his life and St. Faustina. As part of her canonization, the\u00a0church designated the first Sunday after Easter as the \u201cFeast of\u00a0Divine Mercy\u201d for the world\u2019s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.<\/p>\n
Following ancient Jewish and Christian traditions, believers begin\u00a0celebrating holy days at sundown on the previous day. Thus, Pope John\u00a0Paul II died in the first hours of the feast rooted in St. Faustina\u2019s\u00a0devotions. His last words and symbolic acts took place in the context\u00a0of a Divine Mercy vigil and Mass celebrated at his bedside by\u00a0Archbishop Stanislao Dziwisz, his personal aide for 40 years, and a\u00a0dozen other worshippers.<\/p>\n
According to a number of statements to the media, John Paul struggled\u00a0to dictate this short message to his secretary: \u201cI am happy and you\u00a0should be happy too. Do not weep. Let us pray together with joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the Mass, which began at 8 p.m., the pope looked toward the\u00a0window of his apartment \u2014 conscious of the throngs praying outside.<\/p>\n
Father Jarek Cielecki, director of Vatican Service News, reported\u00a0that: \u201cA short while before dying, the pope raised his right hand in a\u00a0clear, although simply hinted at, gesture of blessing, as if he became\u00a0aware of the crowd of faithful present in St Peter\u2019s Square.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the Divine Mercy liturgy ended, witnesses said John Paul managed\u00a0to speak a final benediction before he died \u2014 \u201camen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hours later, thousands gathered for the festive Divine Mercy liturgy.\u00a0The decorations included the vision of Jesus that an artist painted,\u00a0following the instructions of St. Faustina of Krakow. It framed the\u00a0final public words of Pope John Paul II, prepared in advance to be\u00a0read to the faithful if he was not able to attend.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo humanity, which at times seems to be lost and dominated by the\u00a0power of evil, egoism and fear, the risen Lord offers as a gift his\u00a0love that forgives, reconciles and reopens the spirit to hope,\u201d he\u00a0wrote. \u201cIt is love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much need\u00a0the world has to understand and accept Divine Mercy!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was in 1931 that a young Polish nun began seeing visions that would\u00a0touch the life and death of Pope John Paul II and, perhaps, offer a\u00a0glimpse of the end of all things. Sister Faustina Kowalska reported seeing a merciful Jesus, with beams\u00a0of red and white light shining from his heart. In her diary, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[332,581,661,669],"class_list":["post-1328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-escatology","tag-mysticism","tag-poland","tag-pope-john-paul-ii"],"yoast_head":"\n