Over the years I had heard different opinions about the Divine Mercy Devotion and didn’t know exactly what to think about it. One thing that did concern me was that it seemed to be popular among the Charismatic “Catholics” and seemed to be used as a substitute for the Rosary. Some time ago I decided to quickly flip through the more than 600-page book Divine Mercy in my Soul Diary by Sister Faustina. Below are just a few strange things that I found that are enough to convince me that this “devotion” is something to be avoided.

On page 23 of the book Divine Mercy in My Soul (The Diary of Sr. Faustina), it says: “… and the host came out of the tabernacle and came to rest in my hands and I, with joy, placed it back in the tabernacle. This was repeated a second time, and I did the same thing. Despite this, it happened a third time…” (Marian Press, Stockbridge, MA, 1987)

On page 89 of the book Divine Mercy in My Soul, it says: “When the priest approached me again, I raised the host for him to put back into the chalice, because when I had first received Jesus I could not speak before consuming the host, and so could not tell him that the other host had fallen. But while I was holding the host in my hand, I felt such a power of love that for the rest of the day I could neither eat nor come to my senses. I heard these words from the host: I desired to rest in your hands, not only in your heart.”

On page 168, it says: “The moment I knelt down to cross out my own will, as the Lord had bid me to do, I heard this voice in my soul: From now on, do not fear God’s judgment, for you will not be judged.” (from Feb. 4, 1935)

On page 176, “Jesus” says to her: “You are a sweet grape and a chosen cluster; I want others to have a share in the juice that is flowing within you.”

On page 191, “Jesus” says to her: “For your sake I will withhold the hand which punishes; for your sake I will bless the Earth.” (see also page 378.)

On page 247, “Jesus” says: “And know this, too, my daughter: All creatures, whether they know it or not, and whether they want to or not, always fulfill my will… My daughter, if you wish, I will this instant create a new world, more beautiful than this one, and you will live there for the rest of your life.”

On page 260, “Jesus” says: “For many souls will turn back from the gates of Hell and worship My mercy.”

On page 374, “Jesus” says: “If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity.”

On page 382, “Jesus” says: “I desire that My mercy be worshipped.”

On page 288, “Jesus” says: “That is why I am uniting myself with you so intimately as with no other creature.”

On page 400, “Jesus” says: “I see your love so pure, purer than that of the angels, and all the more so because you keep fighting. For your sake I bless the world.”

On page 417, we read that “Jesus” supposedly gave Sr. Faustina this instruction: “Tell the Superior General to count on you as the most faithful daughter in the Order.”

On page 583, we read that Sr. Faustina said: “When I took the Messenger of the Sacred Heart into my hand and read the account of the canonization of St. Andrew Bobola, my soul was instantly filled with a great longing that our congregation, too, might have a saint and I wept like a child that there was no saint in our midst. And I said to the Lord, ‘I know your generosity, and yet it seems to me that you are less generous towards us.’ And I began again to weep like a little child. And the Lord Jesus said to me, ‘Don’t cry. You are that saint.’”

On page 602, we read that “Jesus” supposedly said: “I cannot stand them, because they are neither good nor bad.”

On page 612, we read that “Jesus” supposedly said: “I bear a special love for Poland, and if she will be obedient to My will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming.”

On page 643, we read that Sr. Faustina said after receiving Communion: “Jesus transform me into another host!…. You are a great and all-powerful Lord; you can grant me this favor. And the Lord answered me, ‘You are a living host.’”

On page 208 we learn that “Jesus” supposedly told Sr. Faustina about the new Divine Mercy Devotion and supposedly instructed her that it is to be said on the beads of the Rosary: “This prayer [the Divine Mercy Devotion] will serve to appease my wrath. You will recite it for nine days, on the beads of the Rosary, in the following manner: First of all, you will say one Our Father and Hail Mary and the I Believe in God. Then on the Our Father beads you will say the following words: ‘Eternal Father I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. On the Hail Mary beads you will say the following words: ‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.’ In conclusion, three times you will recite these words: ‘Holy God, holy mighty one, holy immortal one, have mercy on us and on the whole world.’” (Saturday, Sept. 14, 1935)

The above statements present a number of problems. The first problem is the promotion of Communion in the hand, which is supposedly endorsed by Our Lord. The Host flies into her hand numerous times, and Our Lord supposedly says that He desires to rest in her hands. I believe this is a diabolical snare to get Communion in the hand accepted in advance of the Vatican II religion.

Second, we see unnecessary praise heaped upon this sister. We see things said to her supposedly by Our Lord that wouldn’t foster humility, but vanity – that she is basically the greatest thing in the world. I don’t believe Our Lord would ever instruct her to tell her superior that she is the most faithful daughter in the Order. Our Lord could have told the superior such a thing if he wanted it known.

Third, we see that Sr. Faustina is told that God’s spark – which will prepare the world for His Second Coming – comes out of Poland! This has been interpreted to mean that God’s chosen person is John Paul II, who was from Poland! Since we know that John Paul II was an apostate, non-Catholic antipope, who literally preached the doctrine of antichrist in the Vatican while endorsing the false religions of the world, this shows us again that Sr. Faustina’s revelations were from the Devil. In fact, it shows us how much the Devil wanted to prop up support for John Paul II.

Fourth, the Divine Mercy Devotion is centered around mercy at a time when mankind was coming closer and closer to having filled up the cup of divine justice. The problem at that time, and today, of course, was that men didn’t fear God and continued to offend Him. They needed to hear about His justice. But the Divine Mercy devotion was the perfect false devotion to make people believe that they will receive God’s mercy even if they stay in their sins – instructing people to even “worship” His mercy.

Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, would God reveal a new devotion to be said on the beads of the Rosary shortly after His Mother came to Fatima to work a profound miracle to reveal, among other things, the necessity of the Rosary? The specific direction given to Sister Faustina for the Divine Mercy Devotion to be prayed on the beads of the Rosary is clearly, we believe, the Devil’s substitute for the Rosary. And we’ve seen it used that way with so many souls. The Divine Mercy Devotion is a clever counterfeit which, being traditional in so many ways, serves the Devil’s purpose to get this counter-devotion inserted into conservative-minded circles which the Devil hopes will be used as a substitute for the Rosary.

All these things considered, the Divine Mercy Devotion is something which should be avoided by Catholics. Catholics should say an extra rosary or the Stations of the Cross instead. People should know that, in the 1950’s, the Divine Mercy Devotion was suppressed and Sr. Faustina’s diary was on the index of forbidden books. It was rehabilitated around the world by John Paul II.