National Shrine of The Divine Mercy Bulletin August 1, 2021

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, Pure crystal for my heart, You are my strength, O sturdy anchor! You are the weak heart’s shield and protection. O Mary you are pure, of purity incomparable; At once both Virgin and Mother, You are beautiful as the sun, without blemish, And your soul is beyond all comparison. Your beauty has delighted the eye of the Thrice-Holy One. He desce nded from heaven, leaving H is eternal throne, And took Body and Blood of Virgin’s Heart. O Mother, Virgin, purest of all lilies, Your hea rt was Jesus’ first tabernacle on earth. Only because no humility was deeper than yours Were you raised above the choirs of Angels and above all Saints. O Mary, my sweet Mother, I give you my soul, my body and my poor heart. Be the guardian of my life, Especially at the hour of death, in the final strife. Diary 161 From the Diary of St. Faustina In the Spotlight... Blessed Oil of St. Faustina Oil Blessed in honor of St. Faustina is available at the Shrine Reception Desk. A suggested donation of $5.00 is being requested to help fund all our Shrine Ministries. To order your copy of The Diary of St. Faustina please go to divinemercygiftshop.org. or call our Gift Shop at 1-888-484-1112 O my Jesus, You alone know what persecutions I suffer and this only because I am being faithful to You and following Your orders. You are my strength; sustain me that I may always carry out what You ask of me. Of myself I can do nothing, but when You sustain me, all difficulties are nothing for me. O my Lord, I can see very well that from the time when my soul first received the capacity to know You, my life has been a continual struggle which has become increasingly intense. Every morning during meditatio n, I prepare myself for the whole day’s struggle. Holy Communion assures me that I will win the victory; and so it is. I fear the day when I do not receive Holy Communion. This Bread of the Strong gives me all the strength I need to carry on my mission and the courage to do whatever the Lord asks of me. The courage and strength that are in me are not of me, but of Him who lives in me – it is the Eucharist. Diary 91 Saint John Vianney Patron of Parish Priests - Feast Day: August 4th God bestowed on St. John Vianney the grace of reading souls - he could sense exactly what troubled a soul and divine a penitent's sins even if withheld. He brought some of the most hardened sinners to repentance and soon, faithful from across Europe came to see him for confession. For most of his priestly life, he spent more than 12 hours each day in the confessional, sometimes more during the summer. Pilgrims often waited in line weeks to see him. He heard as many as 400 confessions each day on average, and in this way became a captive of his own parish. Though he served Ars from this poorly ventilated box for much of his life, his name became known throughout Europe. On Aug. 4, 1859, Saint John Vianney died after serving as Curé of Ars for 41 years. His body remains untouched by decay to this day, a miracle testifying to his sanctity. excerpt from Feast of St. John Vianney-Aug 4. https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/feast-st-john-vianney-aug-4 Saint John Vianney was born in 1786 to poor peasants in rural Dardilly, France, where he spent his adolescence as a shepherd on his father's farm. His pious parents brought him long distances to attend Masses said by priests who ministered in secret, remaining faithful to the Church. If discovered, they could face the punishment of the guillotine. So, Saint John Vianney studied catechism from private tutors and received his First Communion in a home with the windows covered. The heroism required to remain a faithful Catholic during such a dangerous time inspired St. John Vianney's ever-deepening faith. One day, after returning from working in the fields, St. John Vianney told his family, "If I ever were to become a priest, I would win many souls for God." At age 22, he followed a call to the seminary. God bestowed on St. John Vianney the grace of reading souls - he could sense exactly what troubled a soul and divine a penitent's sins even if withheld. He brought so e of the most ardened sinners to r pentance a d so n, faithful fr m across Europe came to s him for confession.