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In the midst of the 1930s, a Polish nun named Faustina Kowalska received several visions and messages from Jesus. During these private revelations a great emphasis was placed on the Divine Mercy of God, which eventually led to the institution of “Divine Mercy Sunday.”
Angelic presence
During these mystical visions, St. Faustina was typically accompanied by a “spirit,” an angelic presence who stayed with her even after the vision was completed.
She writes about the experience in her Diary.
One day, when I was at adoration, and my spirit seemed to be dying for Him, and I could no longer hold back my tears, I saw a spirit of great beauty who spoke these words to me: “Don’t cry — says the Lord.” After a moment I asked, “Who are you?” He answered me, “I am one of the seven spirits who stand before the throne of God day and night and give Him ceaseless praise.” Yet this spirit did not soothe my yearning, but roused me to even greater longing for God. This spirit is very beautiful, and his beauty comes from close union with God. This spirit does not leave me for a single moment, but accompanies me everywhere.
She also wrote, “Then I saw one of the seven spirits near me, radiant as at other times, under a form of light. I constantly saw him beside me when I was riding on the train. I saw an angel standing on every church we passed, but surrounded by a light which was paler than that of the spirit who was accompanying me on the journey, and each of these spirits who were guarding the churches bowed his head to the spirit who was near me.”
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Presence of light
St. Faustina describes her Guardian Angel as a beautiful presence of light. The Catholic Church teaches that guardian angels do not possess a body or any type of physical form as they are by nature a pure spirit. What this means is that they are naturally invisible to the eye.
However, they can take on a physical form, whether it be a presence of light or even a human body, so that we are able to see them. They do this for our sakes and can be likened to putting on a mask or costume. Once it is no longer needed, they return to their original state as an invisible spirit.
St. Faustina was granted the special grace of seeing her Guardian Angel, along with other angelic creatures, a privilege that is only given to a select few, always with a specific purpose in mind. These angels were created by God to help us along the path of virtue and are here for our benefit, inviting us to join them in Heaven.
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And today we celebrate...