Thérèse: Saint of Divine Mercy — Discalced Carmelite Friars

Today is the Octave Day of Easter, a day designated by the Church as Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a time to recall with special attention the great gift of mercy that we receive from the risen Christ. Divine Mercy Sunday is intimately connected to the early 20th-century Polish nun Saint Faustina. Her famous diary recounts visions and revelations from throughout her life in which Jesus shared the abundance of His mercy and expressed His desire that this Sunday be dedicated to remembering that gift.

What a blessed day this is to drink from the overflowing springs of mercy offered to us through the Easter mysteries we’ve celebrated. Several decades before the birth of Saint Faustina, nearly 1000 miles west of Poland, another young nun was singing the mercies of the Lord: Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. There is an interesting connection between the Polish saint of Divine Mercy and the saint of Divine Mercy from Lisieux.  Saint Faustina wrote the following in her diary:

I want to write down a dream that I had about Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. I was still a novice at the time and was going through some difficulties which I did not know how to overcome...

Thérèse: Saint of Divine Mercy — Discalced Carmelite Friars