Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and God’s Mercy according to the “Diary” of St. Faustina Kowalska ZMBM

Abstract

From the time of the revelations received by St. Margaret Maria Alacoque (1647–1690), a French nun of the Visitation Sisters of the convent in Paray-le-Monial, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has spread all over the world. The promoter of the devotion to the Heart of Jesus, in the spirit of these revelations, was the French Jesuit Claude La Colombière (1641–1682), the spiritual director of St. Margaret Maria Alacoque. Years later, the Polish nun St. Faustina Kowalska, ZMBM (1905–1938), received from Jesus Christ the revelation of the mystery of Divine Mercy. For over two years, the spiritual director of St. Faustina Kowalska and the promoter of God’s mercy according to her revelations was Fr. Józef Andrasz, SJ (1891–1963). This article considers the relationship between the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the devotion to Divine Mercy on the basis of the “Diary” of St. Faustina Kowalska. The pages of the “Diary” show that these two Christological devotions refer to their common source and foundation — Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world, an Intermediary between God and man, who revealed to humanity God’s incomprehensible love and unfathomable mercy towards man. The article is related to the event that took place on February 1, 2025 in the chapel of the Archbishops of Krakow at ul. Franciszkańska 3. On the same day, the beatification process of Father Józef Andrasz SJ began at the diocesan level.