Marian Helper • Summer 2023 • Marian.org 21 Heavenly intercession Saint Faustina’s childlike trust in Mary was especially evident in times of great suffering. It was then above all that she placed herself in the arms of her mother Mary and entrusted herself completely to Mary’s tender care and heavenly intercession. For example, Faustina prayed: Mother of God, your soul was plunged into a sea of bitterness; look upon your child and teach her to suffer and to love while suffering. Fortify my soul that pain will not break it. Mother of grace, teach me to live by [the power of] God (Diary, 315). As her physical and spiritual sufferings increased, St. Faustina again entrusted herself to the care of the Mother of God, and found strength through meditating on Mary’s own patience and courage: O Mary, today [probably it was Good Friday] a terrible sword has pierced your holy soul. Except for God, no one knows of your suffering. Your soul does not break; it is brave, because it is with Jesus. Sweet Mother, unite my soul to Jesus, because it is only then that I will be able to endure all trials and tribulations, and only in union with Jesus will my little sacrifices be pleasing to God. Sweetest Mother, continue to teach me about the interior life. May the sword of suffering never break me. O pure Virgin, pour courage into my heart and guide it (Diary, 915). Before Holy Communion Whether in times of sorrow or of joy, again and again the Blessed Virgin Mary was the one St. Faustina turned to for help in living in close union with Jesus Christ. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Mother of God often appeared or spoke to St. Faustina right before Holy Communion, as if Mary’s special task was to prepare Faustina for receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (see, for instance, Diary, 449, 597, 608, 846, 1414). As Faustina wrote: I am spending this time with the Mother of God, and preparing myself for the solemn moment of the coming of the Lord Jesus. The Mother of God is instructing me in the interior life of the soul with Jesus, especially in Holy Communion (Diary, 840). This is precisely what we should expect. Jesus says to us in the Book of Revelation (3:20): “Behold. I stand at the door and knock: if any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” So at each Holy Communion, Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks — but He will not force His way in. As He said, He waits for us to “open the door” and let Him in of our own free will. We may think to ourselves: “Of course I will let Him in; I will welcome Him and accept Him as my Lord and Savior every day of my life, and at every Holy Communion.” Open the door Sadly, however, it is not as easy as that. The door of the human heart is heavy with pride; the hinges, rusted by our doubts; the latches, chained by our fears. It is not so easy to swing such a door open, even if we want to do so. And that is another reason we have such need of Mary, our Mother of Mercy. She is always ready to help us by her prayers to open the door of our hearts to her Son. We, too, can come to know and cherish Mary, as St. Faustina did, as our spiritual mother who intercedes for all our needs. Relating to Mary in this way was not just a special privilege given to the saints; it is open to all the People of God. Father Peter John Cameron, OP, humorously sums up this truth in his book Mysteries of the Virgin Mary: “Adam was the only man in history who did not have a mother. God saw what a mess it got him into, and made sure that that never happened again. As a result of Adam’s sin, God would save humankind, and salvation would have a mother.” Indeed! Robert Stackpole, STD, is the director of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy and the author of Mary: Who She Is and Why She Matters, available on ShopMercy.org/b58 (Product Code: B58-MBK). “O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer you my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will follow it. I place everything in your hands” (Diary, 79).
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