Faustina: The Apostle of Divine Mercy DVD

Faustina: The Apostle of Divine Mercy DVD

Faustina is a film that details the life and work of a nun named Faustina, who later became known as the "Apostle of Divine Mercy". This film gives viewers a unique look into the life of nun and mystic, Faustina. She claimed to have divine visions of Jesus Christ himself and was rumored to have had conversations with him. Because of this, Faustina believed that she was to promote devotion in the church to the Divine Mercy. Faustina is a wonderful biography that vividly highlights this woman's life and the work that set her apart.

Biography

Faustina is a DVD that tells the story of Helena Kowalska, later known by the name Faustina. She was born into a large family in Poland, and her parents were very poor. Though they did not have many possessions or any wealth at all, the Kowalska family was devoted to their religion.

This film follows Faustina as she grows up, and provides background into why she joined the church. At just seven years of age, she was attending the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and felt her first divine calling to join the church and lead a religious life. She desperately wanted to join the convent, but decided to wait until she was finished with her schooling. Faustina expressed this desire to her parents, but they refused to let her enter the convent.

When she was nineteen years old, Faustina attended a dance with her sister Natalia. While here, she claimed to see her first vision of Jesus Christ. She saw him suffering on the cross and this led her to go to the cathedral nearby. Here, she felt the calling once again to join the church, and decided that she could not ignore it this time. That night, Faustina packed her things and hopped on a train to Warsaw the next morning. This was done without any permission from her parents, and without any guidance. She did not know a single person in Warsaw, but felt strongly enough that God was calling her to be a nun there. She had no plan in mind, but trusted that this was God's will for her life and that he would take care of her.

As soon as she arrived in Warsaw, Faustina went into the first church that she saw. There, she talked to the priest who referred her to a woman named Mrs. Lipszycowa. This woman would house Faustina and help her find a convent. She approached several different convents in Warsaw, eager to begin her life as a nun, but was rejected by all of them. Because of her family's immense poverty, she could not read or write and only had a few years of education. This led the convents to turn her away because they believed she was unfit to become a nun. Faustina searched for several weeks, until she finally found the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. Here, the mother superior gave Faustina a chance, so long as she proved herself and could pay for her own habit. The young woman knew not what she was getting herself into, but knew that God had called her there so she had to follow through.

Two years after joining this convent, Faustina took her final vows as a nun. Her parents attended this and gave her their blessing. They could no longer deny that God had called her to a life in the church, and were grateful that their daughter was so open to God's will and calling. From here, Faustina was transferred to a convent in Plock, Poland. She became ill with a disease that would later lead to her death, but she recovered from the small spell that she was dealing with.

While in Plock, Faustina had another vision of Jesus Christ. She claimed that Jesus appeared to her as the "King of Divine Mercy" and commanded her to have a picture painted of him as he appeared to her. She was confused and unsure of how to proceed, but once again she knew that she could not deny what she had seen. After three years of receiving almost no assistance from her fellow nuns, Faustina finally was able to find an artist who helped her with this artistic endeavor. Under her direction, this artist painted the first rendition of the Divine Mercy.

In 1933, Faustina decided to take her final vows with the church, and became a perpetual sister of Our Lady of Mercy. She was then transferred to a convent in Vilnius. Here, she met with Father Michael Sopocko. He had been recently appointed as the confessor to the nuns in that convent. After talking with Faustina, he advised her to write down every instance that she could remember of Jesus talking to her. The Divine Mercy painting that Faustina had ordered begun was finally completed, and Jesus appeared to her once more. This time, he told her that this image was to be publicly honored, and Faustina obeyed, ordering that the Divine Mercy painting be displayed and renowned.

As her life went on, Faustina grew closer and closer to Jesus Christ. She experienced more visions from him and dedicated herself to the Divine Mercy. She promoted this and made sure that the Church recognized the authority that she believed her visions had. Toward the end of her life, Faustina predicted that a terrible war would come upon Poland, and advised al of the nuns to pray for their city. She then died of a disease that was later speculated to be tuberculosis. When her prediction of war upon Poland came true, Archbishop Jalbrzykowski declared that the image of the Divine Mercy must be honored by the Church and acknowledged that the crowds and the Church should be devoted to this image.

Faustina's life was an unusual one, as she led a life as both a mystic and a nun. Her visions were believed to be from Jesus Christ, and she lived her life solely based on what these visions told her. She was full of passion and devoted to the work that the Lord had given her. Faustina is a vivid and dramatic retelling of this woman's life, and will enthrall viewers in her complex and unique story. This DVD is perfect for families to enjoy together and provides all viewers with a good historical look into the life of Faustina.