National Shrine of The Divine Mercy Bulletin: August 22, 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 descended from heaven, leaving His eternal throne, And took Body and Blood of Virgin’s Heart. O Mother, Virgin, purest of all lilies, Your heart 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 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 t h e Diary of St. Faustina please go to divinemercygiftshop.org. or call our Gift Shop at1-888-484-1112 During a meditation on humility, an old doubt returned: that a soul as miserable as mine could not carry out the task which the Lord was demanding [of me]. Just as I was analyzing this doubt, the priest who was conducting the retreat interrupted his train of thought and spoke about the very thing I was having doubts about; namely, that God usually chooses the weakest and simplest souls as tools for His greatest works; that we can see that this is an undeniable truth when we look at the med H echoes to be His apostles; r again, when we look at the history of the Church and see wh t great works were done by souls that were the least capable of accomplishing them; for it is just in this way that God ’ s works are revealed for what they are, the works of God. When my doubt had completely disappeared, the priest resumed his conference on humility. Jesus was standing, s He usually id during each conference, on the altar and said nothing to me, but with His kindly gaze pierced my poor soul which no longer had any excuse. Diary 464 St. Jane Frances de Chantal M ary, Q ueen of the A ngels Feast Day: August 22nd “ By this Encyclical Letter We are instituting a feast so that all may recognize more clearly and venerate more devoutly the merciful and maternal sway of the Mother of God. We are convinced that this feast will help to preserve, strengthen and prolong that peace among nations which daily is almost destroyed by recurring crises. Is she not a rainbow in the clouds reaching towards God, the pledge of a covenant of peace?[62] "Look upon the rainbow, and bless Him that made it; surely it is beautiful in its brightness. It encompasses the heaven about with the circle of its glory, the hands of the Most High have displayed it."[63] Whoever, therefore, reverences the Queen of heaven and earth - and let no one consider himself exempt from this tribute of a grateful and loving soul - let him invoke the most effective of Queens, the Mediatrix of peace; let him respect and preserve peace, which is not wickedness unpunished nor freedom without restraint, but a well-ordered harmony under the rule of the will of God; to its safeguarding and growth the gentle urgings and commands of the VirginMary impel us. ” excerpt from Encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam by Pope Pius XII. For full article go to: www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.html