Marian Helper • Spring 2025 • Marian.org 11 the inner life of an obscure Catholic nun has no earthly business selling so well! Father Seraphim also documented the canonization miracle, for which his close collaborator and Marian brother, Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, was present. The night before the big day, word came from the Vatican that Fr. Seraphim was to report at once. When he returned, he very calmly and casually told Fr. Kaz that the Pope would announce the addition of Divine Mercy Sunday to the universal liturgical calendar of the Church. Father Kaz was electrified, but Fr. Seraphim persisted in his calm. Anyone who knows them both can easily imagine! Crowning the vision “This canonization is the crowning of the vision that the Fathers of the province had,” Fr. Seraphim told Marian Helpers Bulletin at the time of the canonization. “People continue to look to the Marians as a reference point when it comes to the Divine Mercy message and devotion.” While St. Faustina’s canonization and the establishment of Divine Mercy Sunday was certainly a red- letter day for Fr. Seraphim, it was not the end of his long labors. Far from it. By the time he died on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in 2021, his service to St. Faustina, the Divine Mercy message and devotion, and to Christ and His Church had taken him around the world. He had been instrumental in many conferences, congresses, and other Divine Mercy gatherings, culminating in the World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM), whose structure also included continental, regional, and national Congresses on Divine Mercy. His work shall bear fruit for the Church till the end of time. It’s no wonder, then, that many of us who worked with him are convinced he was the prophesied “S.M.” in St. Faustina’s Diary (1689). Also present that historic day was Fr. Walter Pelczynski, MIC (1916-2000), founder of the Association of Marian Helpers. He told Marian Helpers Bulletin that, for many years, many Helpers encountered opposition in their parishes to the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. “This was a confirmation for them and for the whole Church,” he said. “It validated the efforts that we Marians and our Helpers have expended for so long in promoting the Divine Mercy message and devotion entrusted to Sr. Faustina.” The work begins anew, added Fr. George Kosicki, CSB (1925-2014), part of the triumvirate with Fr. Seraphim and Vinny Flynn that spread the message of Divine Mercy far and wide. “What can I do now that Sr. Maria Faustina has joined the major leagues with all the officially recognized saints?” he asked. “I can follow the way Jesus revealed to her — the merciful way. In my misery, I can plunge into the infinite ocean of God’s mercy with complete trust in Jesus. When doubts assail me, I can pray unceasingly, ‘Jesus, I trust in You!’ I can decide to ‘nestle close’ to the merciful Heart of Jesus (Diary, 1726).” The next 25 years Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, herself assured St. Faustina that she would one day be a saint like Thérèse, canonized and everything (see Diary, 150). The Marian Family continues active efforts to see St. Faustina also join St. Thérèse as a Doctor of the Church! A quarter-century from the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 to the Jubilee Year of Hope. Heaven only knows what the next 25 years will bring. One thing’s for certain: The Divine Mercy message and devotion will go on illuminating, cleansing, transforming, and reinvigorating hearts, minds, the Church, and the world. Saint Faustina’s legacy lives on in us, in all whom her work, her merciful love, and her words touch. Saint Faustina Kowalska, Secretary and Apostle of the Divine Mercy, pray for us! Processing into Mass are Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC (right), and Fr. Ron Pytel, whose miraculous healing led to Sr. Faustina’s canonization. More than 200,000 filled St. Peter’s Square on Divine Mercy Sunday 2000.
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