In St. Faustina’s Diary, she writes about a private revelation she had of Jesus speaking to her about Poland and a “spark” that would come from the country, heralding Jesus’ second coming.
As I was praying for Poland, I heard the words: 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.
Diary, 1732
These cryptic words of Jesus are never fully explained and have been the subject of much interpretation over the years.
When visiting Poland in 2002, St. John Paul II, quoted these words of Jesus and believed they were referring to the Divine Mercy Devotion.
Today, therefore, in this Shine, I wish solemnly to entrust the world to Divine Mercy. I do so with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful love, proclaimed here through Saint Faustina, may be made known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope. May this message radiate from this place to our beloved homeland and throughout the world. May the binding promise of the Lord Jesus be fulfilled: from here there must go forth “the spark which will prepare the world for his final coming” (cf. Diary, 1732).
This spark needs to be lighted by the grace of God. This fire of mercy needs to be passed on to the world.In the mercy of God the world will find peace and mankind will find happiness! I entrust this task to you, dear Brothers and Sisters, to the Church in Kraków and Poland, and to all the votaries of Divine Mercy who will come here from Poland and from throughout the world. May you be witnesses to mercy!
Some believe that it was not only St. Faustina and the message of Divine Mercy, but also St. John Paul II, who together were Poland’s “spark” to the world.
While we will never know the day, nor the hour of Jesus’ second coming, we can still make our preparations today, immersing ourselves into the message of his Divine Mercy.
God wants us to know the love and mercy he has for humanity, and St. John Paul II believed that this message was the antidote to the violence in the world.
In every continent, from the depth of human suffering, a cry for mercy seems to rise up. Where hatred and the thirst for revenge dominate, where war brings suffering and death to the innocent, there the grace of mercy is needed in order to settle human minds and hearts and to bring about peace. Wherever respect for life and human dignity are lacking, there is need of God’s merciful love, in whose light we see the inexpressible value of every human being.
And today we celebrate...