10 quotes on suffering and humility from the diary of St. Faustina Kowalska

CNA Staff, Oct 5, 2024 / 04:00 am

On Oct. 5 Catholics around the world celebrate the feast of St. Faustina Kowalska, the polish nun who received the image of divine mercy during revelations from Jesus.

St. Faustina was born Helena Kowalska on Aug. 25, 1905, to a poor but devout Polish family. At the age of 20, with very little education and having been rejected from several other convents because of her poverty and lack of education, Helen entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. There, she took the name Faustina.

Jesus appeared to St. Faustina 14 times, and with each vision and conversation she had with him, she recorded it in her diary, called “Divine Mercy in My Soul.” In her diary, she wrote about the words she received from Jesus and his message of divine mercy for the world, her own suffering, and her spiritual life.

Here are 10 quotes about suffering and humility from St. Faustina’s diary:

1. “Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.”

2. “Jesus loves hidden souls. A hidden flower is the most fragrant. I must strive to make the interior of my soul a resting place for the heart of Jesus.”

3. “Some day, we will know the value of suffering, but then we will no longer be able to suffer.”

4. “In difficult moments, I will fix my gaze upon the silent heart of Jesus, stretched upon the cross, and from the exploding flames of his merciful heart will flow down upon me power and strength to keep fighting.”

5. “The Holy Spirit does not speak to a soul that is distracted and garrulous. He speaks by his quiet inspirations to a soul that is recollected, to a soul that knows how to keep silence.”

6. “A humble soul does not trust itself but places all its confidence in God. God defends the humble soul and lets himself into its secrets, and the soul abides in unsurpassable happiness which no one can comprehend.”

7. “Have great confidence; God is always our Father, even when he sends us trials.”

8. “He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God. As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart.”  

9. “Suffering is the greatest treasure on earth; it purifies the soul. In suffering, we learn who our true friend is.”

10. “God, who is light itself, lives in a pure and humble heart, and all sufferings and adversities serve but to reveal the soul’s holiness.”