Jesus called Sister Faustina Kowalska His “Secretary of Mercy.” She recorded many conversations with Jesus in her diary, “Divine Mercy In My Soul.” In her diary, she writes, “”At the hour of their death, I defend every soul that will say this Chaplet as I do my own glory. When this Chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated and His unfathomable mercy envelops the soul.” (Diary, 811)”
My story begins with a phone conversation with Stan. Stan worked for a Wall Street firm, commuting between his offices in Connecticut and Manhattan, New York. He often asked my opinion about the technical nature of the stock market, as his work was in corporate communications.
One particular day, I noticed that Stan seemed distracted and glum, so I asked him if there was a problem.
His answer, “Yes. My mother is dying and she’s afraid of death. I am going to the hospital to visit her and I don’t know what to say. I am not looking forward to our visit.”
He revealed that he and his mother were estranged since his parents were divorced. Stan lived with his father until he graduated from the University. Furthermore, Stan was brought up as a Catholic, going to Catholic schools until going to the University, although is father was not practicing his faith. His mother remained a Methodist, although she rarely attended church.
Stan, “Well, I have to go. I’ll call you later.”
“Wait a minute, Stan. Do you know about Divine Mercy?”
Stan, “Divine What???”
“The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. It’s prayers that are said for the dying, asking for God’s Mercy.”
Stan, “Where do I find these prayers?”
“You can look them up on any search engine. Just look for “Chaplet of Divine Mercy.”
A moment later, Stan said, “I found it.”
“Print the prayer and take it with you. You can leave the picture of Jesus with your mother.”
Stan, “Thank you. I will.”
The next day, Stan called me. He said that he drove to the hospital in a driving rain storm. When he got to the hospital it was so dark that all of the lights were on, despite it being the middle of the day. His mother’s room was dark, even though her bed was next to a window. The only other person present was his mother’s Methodist minister. He showed her the picture of Divine Mercy.
Stan, “Can I pray this Chaplet with you?”
His mother was surprised. “Yes, Please pray it with me.”
The minister asked Stan to make a copy, so they all prayed together.
At the end, they prayed (Three times), “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Then they prayed the final invocation, “Jesus I trust in you.”
At that moment the sun broke through the clouds and a ray of sunlight lit up his mother’s face. She smiled, then went limp. She died with a smile and the sun illuminating her face.
The minister was astonished. He asked if he could keep his copy of the prayer. Of course, Stan agreed.
The minister said, “This is the most powerful prayer I have ever prayed with the dying. I will use it again, I promise.”
Needless to say, this had an effect on Stan, as well.
Stan had married a woman from Eastern Europe, who was Russian Orthodox. They had a baby daughter, whom he dearly loved, but she was not baptized. He made a point of attending Mass on Christmas and Easter with his wife and mother-in-law, but that had been the extent of it.
Suddenly, Stan started attending Sunday Mass with his wife , daughter and mother-in-law. His wife was surprised, but didn’t say anything. His mother-in-law thought he had gone crazy. He proposed that they baptize their daughter in the Orthodox Church.
He met with the Orthodox Priest and told him about Divine Mercy and the effect it had on his dying mother. He asked the surprised priest if there was anything he could do to help the Church. Stan was a changed man.
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