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A MEMORABLE TRIP
My dear friends, I’d like to share with you a beautiful experience that touched my heart and soul very deeply. By the grace of God, and through the generosity of one of our supporters (Stasia) and some of my family members in Germany, I was able to travel to St. Faustina’s homeland for the first time since my calling to this Apostolate.
On the 27th of April, I flew from Montreal to Amsterdam; from there, I went on to Zurich, where one of my sisters picked me up so that I could be part of the First Communion festivities for two of my nephews.
Seeing my elderly and ailing mother after an eight year separation was a heart-wrenching meeting since we had both expected that my visit in 1996 would have been the last until we met again resting on the Father’s bosom. So, after many joyful tears were shed, many hours of talking had passed clasping each other’s hands, we concluded that God is certainly full of surprises and definitely full of mercy!
While I was in Germany, I was able to meet with many beautiful souls and share the moving testimony of my conversion. One of my sisters and her husband drove me to Bad Wurzach, the German seat of the Salvatorian Fathers, where I met with the Vicar Provincial and some of his Priests. There, in the spectacular surroundings of the Alps, I had lunch with them and shared how God has been working with me in His Vineyard of Divine Mercy. May the blessings of our merciful Lord be with the Priests at the Bad Wurzach Shrine of the Precious Blood of Christ! Thank you dear Reverend Fathers!
The First Communion celebration held in my old home parish was another heart-warming experience as I met with family members from far and near. I thank the Father Almighty for such wonderful graces!
Then, I was off to Warsaw – a short one-and-a-half hour flight from Stuttgart; when booked in Germany, the ticket was less expensive than driving a car there! By taxi, I went to the Convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy – the very convent where Saint Faustina had knocked on the door on July 1st in 1924. This brought a flood of feelings to the surface; let me share with you some of my journal entries.
My Lord and my God! Oh, my Lord and my God! How You stir my heart being permitted, after all this time of working in Your Vineyard of Divine Mercy, to set foot into the home country of Your Secretary of Divine Mercy, Saint Faustina. I am in the home country of the “star” (the late Pope John Paul II) which shone so brightly, guiding the ship of the Church, by Your grace, for so many years.
Nothing, but nothing, could have prepared me for what you are doing in my heart and my soul. The moment I set foot on Polish soil at the airport in Warsaw, my heart started to race towards You, my Lord and my God. Then, I stand with trembling body in front of the same convent and knock at the same door as Your holy Bride Faustina did.
You, O Lord, are so immensely good to my soul! You fill me with great expectation and kiss my soul with love and peace. You cradle me in Your arms and hold me upright, for I can hardly contain Your graces. I am in a state of fever from within and, yet, I have no temperature.
The convent door opens and I am led by a Sister with a gracious smile to the waiting room where I am to meet with Mother Benedicta and her translator, Sister Donata. How Lord, can I hold myself together? My whole body is shaking like a leaf in the wind. I literally feel that I am falling apart. So I implore You, merciful Lord of all the Universe, to help me, that I may honour You in my conduct and my words. Still, my beloved Jesus, even though peace enters me, I can hear my own heart beat and even see my garment moving by it.
As the waiting room door opens, another great grace is poured upon me as Sister Coletta comes in to greet me in my own German mother tongue. Oh, my Lord, how this young Sister loves You and bubbles with joy to serve You and others! Then, I meet with Sisters Benedicta and Donata. Oh, my Lord, have mercy on me! The joy, the peace and the love these Sisters have for You is so evident that it jumps right out of their hearts and into mine. The way these Sisters conduct themselves, my gracious Lord, the beauty and warmth they radiate, is a sure sign to all that You, O merciful Lord, still walk on this earth! I am so keenly aware that You still call souls. I hear You say in my heart: “Knock and it will be opened unto you; seek and you shall find.”
What’s next, my Lord? I haven’t even been in the Sisters’ Chapel – I have just spent three hours in the presence of You radiating through these Sisters. Then, Sister Benedicta invites me to go into the House of the Lord to pray at the Hour of Great Mercy.
(to be continued next month)
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