Today is the optional memorial of St. Faustina Kowalska who was the first saint canonized in the new millennium. She was raised to the altar on April 30, 2000 by her fellow Pole the Servant of God John Paul II.

St. Faustina is well-known for her spreading the message of God's Divine Mercy. She was compelled to tell about Divine Mercy through the messages from our Lord that she received in the many visions she had throughout her life.

Although God's Divine Mercy is not a new teaching, St. Faustina declared to the modern world the ancient and beautiful message that God has a deep love for every person He has created, especially sinners.

"I want to pour out My divine life into human souls and to sanctify them, if only they were willing to accept My grace. The greatest sinners would achieve great sanctity, if only they would trust in My mercy". (Diary, 1784)

"The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My
mercy". (Diary, 723)

This message of Divine Mercy is found throughout her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, in the image of Jesus that she was called to have painted, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

During her canonization, another part of her message of Divine Mercy was fulfilled. The Holy Father declared that for the Universal Church the second Sunday of Easter was to be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. In a decree dated 23 May 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stated that "throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience in the years to come."

For more information on St. Faustina and the message of Divine Mercy visit The Divine Mercy.