St. Faustina Prayer Book for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Susan Tassone

the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, the Stations of the Cross, and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

      Throughout this book, selected passages have been taken from the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska. Those writings have had a powerful effect on me. I was overwhelmed by the love God has for us, and again reminded that we’re made in His image and likeness.

      On a personal level, reading St. Faustina’s words has been like discovering a wonderful new friend, one who’s so approachable, warm, and caring. At the same time, her Diary reveals that she, too, had her share of suffering. Hers was not a charmed life … but a blessed one.

      Since 1999, this is my ninth book on purgatory and the holy souls. I’ve given so many talks and interviews there are people who sometimes refer to me as “The Purgatory Lady.” But I’ll tell you something: St. Faustina has taught me even more about purgatory — and God’s love and mercy — and I’m so very grateful to her for that.

      She’s ready to help you learn more, too. She’s inviting you to join her in praying for those holy souls.

      May your heart be filled with love of the holy souls in purgatory. May they walk with you in a special way all the days of your life and, in time, welcome you into paradise.

      You, and the souls of your dearly departed, are in my prayers.

      — Susan

      Part I

      The Essence of Divine Mercy

      When I received Holy Communion, I said to Him, “Jesus, I thought about You so many times last night,” and Jesus answered me, And I thought of you before I called you into being. “Jesus, in what way were You thinking about me?” In terms of admitting you to My eternal happiness. After these words, my soul was flooded with the love of God. I could not stop marveling at how much God loves us. (1292)

      If I call creatures into being — that is the abyss of My mercy. (85)

The Spirituality of St. Faustina Kowalska

      Today St. Maria Faustina Kowalska is known for her childlike trust in God and as His “Apostle of Mercy” because in the 1930s Our Lord asked her to proclaim His message of mercy to the whole world. And while Sister Faustina never left a series of convents and health-care facilities in pre-World War II Poland — devoting her life to sacrifice, suffering, obedience, and good works for the needy — proclaim it she did.

      Following her death of multiple tuberculosis in 1938 at the age of thirty-three, her mission continued through the personal diary she had maintained to record the words of her heavenly visitors — including Jesus and Mary — and, time and again, to return to their message that at the core of God’s love is His mercy.

      Now Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated worldwide on the Second Sunday of Easter. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is prayed by countless people daily at three in the afternoon, and the Divine Mercy image of Jesus hangs in churches, chapels, and homes around the globe.

      What is the message, this spirituality, that has swept through the Catholic Church and into millions of hearts over the last seven-plus decades? It’s this: The essence of Divine Mercy is twofold. First, to totally trust in Christ’s mercy. And second, to show mercy to others, acting as a vessel of God’s mercy.

      St. Faustina wanted God’s greatest attribute, His unfathomable mercy, to pass through her heart and to her neighbor. She wrote, saying to God:

      [E]ach of Your saints reflects one of Your virtues; I desire to reflect Your compassionate heart, full of mercy; I want to glorify it. Let Your mercy, O Jesus, be impressed upon my heart and soul like a seal, and this will be my badge in this and the future life. Glorifying Your mercy is the exclusive task of my life. (1242)

      None of this is to say that the young nun was suddenly infused with a knowledge or understanding of God’s mercy. A more accurate analogy would be that God accepted her into the “School of Mercy” and there — by praying and meditating, studying Scripture and Church teaching, remaining obedient to her religious vows, suffering ever-increasing health challenges, and always being open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit — class by class, grade by grade, she grew in the wisdom and reality of God’s mercy.

      St. Faustina also came to know God’s infinite mercy by her keen observation of Our Lady, the lives of the saints, biblical men and women, and of her daily life. In time, this included a living relationship with the angels and the souls in purgatory. In time, she came to feel and appreciate God’s mercy in everything: “[W]hatever there is of good in me is Yours, O Lord” (237).

      During this period, her mercy toward others deepened as she immersed herself in the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus said to her: “[T]he strength by which you bear sufferings comes from frequent Communions. So approach this fountain of mercy often, to draw with the vessel of trust whatever you need” (1487).

      We can emulate St. Faustina’s tender devotion to the holy souls in our daily lives by frequenting the sacraments, developing a strong prayer life (especially the Rosary, the Way of the Cross, and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy), and visiting Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

      Needless to say, all this can seem daunting. Perhaps it helps to think that God has invited us to join His “School of Mercy.”

      Then, too, we need to remember that, as St. Faustina teaches, mercy is not found in great deeds but great love. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we’ll be open to receive God’s love and mercy.

A Morning Offering

      [D]o what You will with me, O Jesus; I will adore You in everything. May Your will be done in me, O my Lord and my God, and I will praise Your infinite mercy. (78)

      Today, Dear Lord, help me see others through Your eyes, through the eyes of mercy. Help me do what You ask me to do. May my words and deeds bring them comfort and hope, and may what I do — in Your name — bring souls in purgatory closer to life eternal with You. Amen.

A Prayer of Surrender to God

      O Jesus, I want to live in the present moment, to live as if this were the last day of my life. I want to use every moment scrupulously for the greater glory of God, to use every circumstance for the benefit of my soul. I want to look upon everything, from the point of view that nothing happens without the will of God. God of unfathomable mercy, embrace the whole world and pour Yourself out upon us through the merciful Heart of Jesus. (1183)

      Heavenly Father, forgive me for getting lost in worrying about the future or trapped in stewing over the past. You offer me Your mercy here and now, to be received and shared here and now. Please, Lord, help me do that. Amen.

A Litany of Mercy for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

      Most merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of the purifying fire, that in that place, too, the power of Your mercy may be praised. (1227)

      Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for the sins of the souls in purgatory. Lord, have mercy.

      For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on the souls in purgatory. Christ, have mercy.

      Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on the souls in purgatory.