Pillars of Fire In My Soul

Sanctification Sanctification, or deification, is the third step of mercy. This is the merciful gesture of God that allows us to be holy as God is holy, and only as God is holy. Deification is our participation in God by God’s permission. The canonization of St. Faustina seems to make her deifica- tion obvious, yet it was the road she traveled during her lifetime that helped to form her in holiness for participation in God. God gives us free will so that we might deliberately choose to do His will during our lifetime. God’s will as expressed in the Gospel is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; to love our neighbor as ourselves; to forgive and be reconciled with one another; to respond to violence with peace; and to con- front the darkness of evil with the light of love. A part of the message that St. Faustina shares with us is that Jesus wants us to show mercy to each other through deeds of mercy that come from hearts filled with the love of God. In our faith tradition we have what are called Works of Mercy, which carry out the will of God in various ways. The Spiritual Works of Mercy are admonishing sinners, instructing the uninformed, counseling the doubtful, comforting the sorrowful, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving offenses, and praying for the living and the dead. The Corporal Works of Mercy are feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, comforting the imprisoned, visiting the sick, and burying the dead. Unless our deeds of mercy are the fruit of our love for one another, they are merely a kind of detached social service. Followers of Christ act mercifully when we understand the great gift of God’s mercy in our own lives and wish to share that mercy with others. If her deeds of mercy are any indication, St. Faustina showed a profound understanding of God’s dynamic presence in her life even as a girl. For example, she would get up several times during the night to pray. Her mother remon- 144 Pillars of Fire in My Soul