The Divine Mercy Devotion

On October 5, 1938, a young religious by the name Sister Faustina (Helen Kowalska) died in a convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Cracow, Poland. She came from a very poor family that had struggled hard on their little farm during the terrible years of WWI. Sister had had only three years of very simple education. Hers were the humblest of tasks in the convent, usually in the kitchen or the vegetable garden, or as a porter.

On February 22, 1931, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ appeared to this simple nun, bringing with Him a wonderful message of Mercy for all mankind. Saint Faustina tells us in her diary under this date:

"In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, 'paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.'"

Some time later, Our Lord again spoke to her:

"The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous; the red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My most tender Mercy at that time when My agonizing Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross....Fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him."

Diary, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul (c) 1987 Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge, MA 01263. All rights reserved. Used with permission

Master Plan & Architect Announcement

Dear Friends of the Divine Mercy Retreat Center and Family Camp,

We have stepped out of the boat in faith, again ~ and The Lord provides!!!

Last month, through the grace of God and your generous financial support, we entered into the Master Planning Phase of the Divine Mercy Retreat Center and Family Camp! Praise HIM!!!

It was on the Feast of St. Joseph, March 19th, when we officially hired an incredibly gifted church architect named John Clements with Jackson & Ryan Architects, Inc. Are you beginning to see how the Holy Family has all of this covered??!! We think John is THE best church architect in the entire Houston metropolitan area and he has already begun working on the 4 month long process to develop the Master Plan for the Retreat Center and Family Camp.

When the completed Master Plan becomes available to view, we will post it on our website for everyone to see!  www.divinemercyretreatcenter.org

Currently, however, we do have a financial deficit of $5400.00 needed to pay off the balance for these Master Planning services. You can make a donation online at our website right now or send a check in the mail to the address listed below. We thank each one of you for your generous support of prayers and financial gifts. Your gift is a tax-deductible donation.

We are SO excited about this step in Master Planning!!! We trust in The Lord who is the Great Architect. As always, we'll keep you posted! And . . .there's more BIG news coming in May! The Lord is blessing and moving and working this Easter season!

HIS peace and joy be with you ~

Andrea, David & Michaela Barta, Founding Family