Feast of Saint Faustina

Reflection Date: October 05, 2026 | Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin
Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest
Daily Readings: Galatians 1:6-12; Luke 10:25-37

Children of God:
October 5 is the feast of Saint Faustina of Poland. She was born on August 25, 1905 into a poor farming family and was the third of ten children. 

She left home as a teenager to work as a housekeeper before entering the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. 

In religious life, she performed humble tasks such as cooking, gardening, and serving as a porter in different convents. Despite the simplicity of her daily work, she experienced a profound spiritual life centered on trust in God and mercy toward others. 

She then met Father Michael Sopocko, who became her confessor and spiritual director and helped her communicate the message she believed Jesus entrusted to her. At his encouragement, she kept a spiritual diary that eventually became known as Divine Mercy in My Soul. 

She recorded her mystical experiences and the message of Jesus calling people to trust in Divine Mercy and to practice mercy toward their neighbors. 

Through her spiritual experiences, the Divine Mercy devotion became associated with the image of Jesus with the words “Jesus, I trust in You,” the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Hour of Mercy, and the Feast of Divine Mercy. 

The first Divine Mercy image was painted in 1934 with the involvement of Faustina and Father Sopocko, and the devotion eventually spread far beyond Poland. 

Faustina died in Kraków on October 5, 1938, at the age of thirty-three, and Saint John Paul II canonized her on April 30, 2000, presenting her message of Divine Mercy to the universal Church.

The life of Saint Faustina gives us a helpful doorway into the gospel story of the Good Samaritan. The question presented to Jesus sounded simple: “Who is my neighbor?” 

But Jesus answered it with a story that shifted the focus from identifying who deserved love to becoming a person who showed mercy. 

A man was attacked, stripped, beaten, and left on the road. A priest saw him and passed by, and a Levite also saw him and continued on his way. A Samaritan then came upon him, was moved with compassion, treated his wounds, brought him to an inn, and paid for his care. 

Jesus ended by asking which person became a neighbor to the wounded man, and the answer was clear: the one who showed mercy. “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37) 

What are our inspirations for today?

First, we are called to allow ourselves to notice someone else's pain.

The Samaritan did something very simple before he offered any help: he saw the wounded man. The others also saw him, but seeing did not automatically lead them to compassion. 

The difference was what happened inside the person who stopped.

There are people around us whose struggles can easily become invisible because everyone is busy with personal concerns. Someone may be carrying grief behind a smile, anxiety behind silence, financial difficulties behind a respectable appearance, or loneliness in the middle of a crowded room.

Mercy begins with attention. We can become more merciful when we slow down enough to notice the person who needs encouragement, the family member who needs listening, the colleague who needs understanding, or the stranger who needs assistance. 

Jesus said that the Samaritan “was moved with compassion” when he saw the wounded man. (Luke 10:33)

We are called to allow ourselves to notice someone else's pain.

Second, we are called to do something about another person's suffering.

The Samaritan did not stop with sympathy. He approached the wounded man, treated his injuries, placed him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and made arrangements for his continued care. 

His compassion became action.

Sometimes we feel compassion but remain at a safe distance. We may say, “I will pray for you,” when the person also needs someone to listen. We may notice a problem but wait for someone else to solve it. 

We may recognize injustice but remain silent because involvement requires effort.

Jesus placed action at the center of His answer. After hearing the response that identified the merciful person, He said, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37)

Mercy therefore asks us to translate concern into something concrete: a visit, a conversation, forgiveness, assistance, protection, encouragement, or simply the decision to stay beside someone who is suffering.

We are called to do something about another person's suffering.

As we reflect, we ask ourselves: Who is the person whose suffering I am noticing right now? 

Where in my daily life am I being invited to slow down and pay attention to someone who needs compassion? What concrete act of mercy am I willing to do for another person today?

Children of God:
We live in a world where people can easily become statistics, profiles, posts, or passing faces. 

Jesus reminds us that every person carries a story that deserves our attention and compassion. 

We are invited to become people who see beyond appearances and recognize the needs around us. 

We are invited to respond with practical kindness rather than stopping at good intentions. 

May the mercy we receive from God become mercy that other people experience through us.