By Nicholas Martell
It was an incredible day! After spending the first part of our pilgrimage focused on Pope St. John Paul II, we shifted gears slightly, as we did not completely move away from our St. John Paul II theme, and visited the Divine Mercy Shrine in Krakow, where St. Maria Faustina Kowalksa is buried. St. Faustina is known for receiving visions of Our Lord, during which, the Divine Mercy Chaplet was given to her.
This was the part of the pilgrimage that I was looking forward to most because my mother taught me the Divine Mercy Chaplet when I was very young, and I have been praying it for the salvation of souls ever since. St. Faustina, and of course Our Lord under the title of Divine Mercy, have held a special place in my heart and prayers for my entire life. So, I was so happy to be able to visit this shrine, not only to pray for the intentions of so many, but also to thank St. Faustina and Our Lord for the many graces that have been showered upon me throughout my life.
During the Mass at the tomb of St. Faustina, Archbishop Sample delivered a homily that was so important for us who are discerning the priesthood. He focused on the mercy of God and the fact that the priest is an instrument by which God dispenses his mercy. If a priest is not merciful, then he is not fulfilling his duty as a priest of Jesus Christ. Perhaps my favorite sentence in his entire homily was when he said, emphatically, that a priest should never be harsh with a repentant sinner, rather, to love the sinner, and be the visible mercy of God for that person. I have been blessed throughout my life to have
many confessors who have understood this, and I pray that I will also always be merciful.
After praying at the tomb of St. Faustina for a while, we then visited the Have No Fear! John Paul II Centre nearby. This was a very interesting place, as it houses many of the gifts that were given to St. John Paul II over the course of his papacy. Most notably for me was that the shrine also houses the blood- stained cassock that the Pope was wearing when he was shot on May 13, 1981. On that date, a gunman attempted to take St. John Paul II’s life in St. Peter’s square. He suffered severe blood loss and almost died from this assassination attempt. He eventually recovered and lived for another 24 years.
My favorite part of this story is the theme of mercy and forgiveness. After the Pope recovered, he went to the jail to forgive the man who tried to kill him. The simple act of mercy that St. John Paul II made toward this man transformed his life. The encounter sparked a long conversion process whereby his would-be assassin converted to Catholicism in 2007. When the prisoner was released, he visited St. John Paul II’s tomb and laid roses on it, showing his admiration and gratitude for the late pontiff. It is a lesson to all of us to be the visible mercy of God for those who need it most.
The graces flowing forth from this pilgrimage are immeasurable!