Introduction
Two popular devotions to Christ are the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the devotion to the Divine Mercy. The former was made known through the visionary St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, her confessor Bl. Claude La Colombiere, and co-initiator, St. John Eudes, in the late 1600s A.D. (The three are called the "saints of the Sacred Heart"). As for the devotion to the Divine Mercy, this was made known by St. Faustina Kowalska of the Sisters of Mercy in Poland in the 1930s A.D.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus made prominent the truth of God's love for humanity, while devotion to the Divine Mercy emphasizes God's mercy and forgiveness upon the whole world.
Private revelations
The apparitions to both St. Margaret Mary and St. Faustina were private revelations - known only to the visionaries. This is different from known public apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, where about 70,000 people in Portugal witnessed the miracle of the sun on October 13, 1917 A.D. In the private revelations of Margaret and Faustina, only the visionaries learn of the messages from Christ Himself. They then tell their confessor about these messages and their confessors support them in the desire of God to make the messages known. In the case of St. Margaret Mary, it was her confessor Bl. Claude La Colombiere, SJ, who learned of the revelations and declared that the visions of Margaret Mary were genuine.
St. Margaret Mary
St. Margaret was a nun of the Visitation convent at Paray-le-Monial, France. Christ, as the Sacred Heart, began to reveal Himself to her on December 27, 1673 A.D. The religious superior of her community, her own companion nuns, and a group of theologians, were initially unconvinced of the validity of the apparitions. It was her confessor, Bl. Claude, who continually supported her. Opposition to St. Margaret ended in 1683 A.D. when another superior of the community was elected, and named St. Margaret as assistant. After the devotion was then established in her convent, it soon spread to other Visitandine convents. Official recognition of the devotion was recognized and approved by Pope Clement XIII in 1765 A.D. - 75 years after the death of St. Margaret Mary.
St. Faustina Kowalska
On February 22, 1931 A.D., Jesus as King of Mercy appeared to Faustina dressed in a white garment. From under his garment came two rays of light - one red, the other pale. The Lord spoke to the nun and told her:
"Paint a picture according to the vision you see and with the inscription, 'Jesus, I Trust in Thee.'"
And so, with the help of her confessor and her companions, someone was found to paint the picture of the Divine Mercy (as St. Faustina could not draw). It is this painting that was reproduced into the Divine Mercy picture all see in some parishes and in many Catholic stores and bookstores.
Called for a special purpose
If one were to examine the historical contexts in which these devotions were born, one can see the hand of God stemming the tide of a movement or trend in the world that is undermining and weakening the Christian faith. In the time of Margaret Mary, there was a widespread secularist movement in France, and the growing influence of Jansenism. As regards the time of Faustina, there was a strong totaliarianist movement getting stronger in the world. And only after the death of St. Faustina in 5 October 1938 A.D., did all know that Europe and the rest of the world would become embroiled in the most destructive world war in human civilization (World War II).
Summary
What can one learn from these messages of God to five popular saints and visionaries? The messages that can be learned from them: God's love for the sick (Our Lady of Lourdes); God's love for the poor and unborn (Our Lady of Guadalupe); God's desire to have the Blessed Virgin Mary honored (Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal); God's love for all humanity (Sacred Heart of Jesus); and God's mercy on all sinners and the whole world (Jesus, King of Mercy). In the history of the Church, God chooses a select few of his humble servants to convey a message of love, mercy, forgiveness, and hope. He does this through visionaries, who, because of their attentiveness and spiritual sensitivity to His voice, are called to make His message known to all.
To be continued
Next in this Series is the study on the lives of two well-known stigmatists: St. Francis of Assisi and St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Both holy men bore the wounds of the Crucified Jesus in their physical bodies. This phenomenon is something of God as no medical practitioner or scientist could find a scientific or logical explanation to these "stigmata".
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