Blessed Pope John Paul II: "The Message of Divine Mercy has
always been near and dear to me… which I took with me to the See of
Peter and which it in a sense forms the image of this Pontificate."
Please order here. We also have some seconds (slightly
blemished)
on
sale.
New
painting of Saint
Faustina now available.
NEW! California artist Patricia Henderson has just made available a brand new image of
St. Faustina.
From the artist who also gave us a brand new, very popular
St. Therese the
Little Flower, comes another beautiful image of one of today's
most significant saints.
Please visit the St.
Faustina section of our online store or call us at
866-440-5058 for more information.
New Testimonial from Harrisburg, PA
Dear Mercy Films,
I received the beautiful image today-during the hour of mercy. I
also received the DVD's. I can not wait to view them. Thank you so
much for shipping it so that we received it before Divine Mercy
Sunday. What a blessing it will be for our parish.
You were wonderful to work with. Thank you so much for your
ministry and for promoting the very important message of Divine
Mercy. May all people come to know and trust the all-sufficent,
fathomless mercy of Our Lord and Savior. May you, your apostolate
family and your loved ones have a blessed Holy Week and Easter
Season. In His love and mercy,
Sue M.
(see more testimonials)
The Restored Vilnius Divine Mercy Image
On October 4, 2003, our late beloved Holy Father Pope John
Paul II blesses one of our Images en route to the diocesan
shrine in Camaroon, Africa.
The restored Divine Mercy Image
Today there are many variations of the Divine Mercy Image
around the world, the most famous being the Hyla, Vilnius, and
Skemp Images. The Vilnius Image, featured on this page, is the
original and only Divine Mercy Image painted under
Sister Faustina's direction. It was painted in 1934 by Vilnius
artist Eugene Kazimirowski, who was retained by Fr. Michael
Sopocko, Sister Faustina's spiritual director. This image is
named after the town where the Image was painted and first hung
for public display. Both the Hyla and the Skemp are named after
the artists who painted them.
To understand the true depth of what this Image is all about,
you may order the "Oceans of Mercy
Retreat" DVD, produced here at Mercy Films, Inc., in
association with the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy. On
the DVD there is an 80-minute conference on the Image given by
Father Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, former vice-postulator for the
cause of St. Faustina. (All together there are over 5 hours of
in-depth conferences on every major aspect of this message given
to St. Faustina). Please take advantage of this information and
learn all you can about what this message really means.
The Restoration Project
Before and after photos of the Vilnius Image after the
restoration process in 2003 by the Archbishop of Vilnius,
Lithuania.
During World War II, which Sister Faustina predicted two years
to the day before the Nazis invaded Poland, the original Image
fell into disrepair, having been improperly stored in a damp
attic. As the Image and message gained popularity during the war
as a comfort to souls, reproductions were made from a black and
white photograph taken prior, which was not-so-skillfully
colorized. In this form it was spread around the world. Sadly,
none of these Images ever reflected the true beauty and color of
the original painting. However, in June 2003, under the auspices
of the Archbishop of Vilnius, the original painting was restored
by an expert, and a photograph was sent to the Marian Fathers
along with permission to reproduce it as a thank-you for their
generous support in the building of a new Church there. The
photograph was then given to Mercy Films, Inc. to prepare it for
reproduction. The result is this stunning Image of Jesus, which
we have shipped all over the world to Churches, Cathedrals, and
homes.
The signature, "Jesus, I Trust In You", (or in Polish, "Jezu
Ufam Tobie") which the Lord told Faustina He wanted on the
Image, was not on the original painting. Therefore, font, color,
and language of this signature may be one's personal preference.
As part of our preparation for reproduction, we've made the
Image available in 14 different languages so far, including
Chinese, Gaelic, Latin, and Rwanda. We can add any other
language, or put up to 3 languages on larger-size images for
bi-lingual parishes.
Vilnius Image and the Shroud of Turin
Because
Sister Faustina was not an artist, her spiritual director,
Father Michael Sopocko, took her to a local Vilnius artist named
Eugene Kazimirowski, (left), who painted this Image
directly under Faustina’s supervision. From the time Sister
received the vision in 1931 to paint this Image, to the time it
was finished, three and one-half painful years had elapsed.
Painful because of the many
conflicts Sister Faustina had to endure. Sadly remarking,
“Lord, who will paint You as beautiful as you are” (Diary 313),
Faustina had the artist change the face at least 10 times.
Finally, Our Lord told Faustina that it was good enough - to
leave it in the state it’s in. In the mid 1990's it was
accidentally discovered that the face on this Image perfectly
matched the one on the Holy Shroud of Turin.
This restored Vilnius Image is the only Image painted under
St. Faustina’s direction. It is now available for the first time
as it was originally painted, here at MercyImages.com.
Here you can find out
more about the history of the Vilnius Image and the other images
that were painted after Faustina's death.
A little-known promise regarding the Image
The restored Divine Mercy Image makes a beautiful addition to
any room or chapel. But greater than it’s beauty are Our Lord’s
words, “Not in the beauty of the color, nor
of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace.”
(Diary 313). Here is just one of many stories regarding the
power and graces granted through this Image:
Saint Faustina depicted holding a plaque of the Image of
Divine Mercy painted by the famous artist Janice Balabon.
(Mercy Films, Inc. updated the Image with the restored
version).
Available here.
“In one of the first booklets that Sister Faustina’s
confessor, Father Sopocko, published, he mentioned a promise
made by Jesus regarding the veneration of the Image of Himself
that He told Faustina to paint, that we cannot find either in
the diary nor in her letters. Before St. Faustina was told by
her spiritual director to keep a diary of her spiritual
experiences, she used to record those, about which she thought
she ought to inform him, on pieces of paper and give them to
him. The Sister who was the vice-postulator for Poland knew that
there was a collection of these which ultimately must have been
given to the investigatory tribunal that was to inspect her
writings, and it’s possible that this promise was mentioned
among those papers."
Father Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, former vice-postulator, North
America, for Sister Faustina's cause.
"Anyway, Father Sopocko knew about it and I’m sure that
if it wasn’t true, he would not have included it
in that booklet. It was a promise that Jesus
made:
I will save those cities and houses in
which this Image will be found.
He also said: I will likewise
protect the persons who will honor and trust in
My Mercy."
"There were many reports of incidents sent to us by people who
said they believed this promise, and enthroned an Image of The
Divine Mercy in their homes and summer camps, and on numerous
occasions their places were miraculously preserved from damage.”
~ quote from Father Seraphim Michalenko, former
vice-postulator for the cause of St. Faustina in North America,
who shared this in a talk given in Florida on Oct. 13, 2003.
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