I am offering people a vessel with which
they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy.
That vessel is this image with the signature:
“Jesus, I trust in You” (Diary, 327)
On the 22 February 1931 Sister Faustina had a vision. Jesus Christ appeared to her and commended her to paint His picture with the signature: ‘Jesus, I trust in You’, according to the vision.
“In the evening, when I was in my cell I saw he Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale (…) After a while, Jesus said to me: ‘Paint an image according to the pattern you see: with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You’. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel and [then]throughout the world.“ (Diary 47)
Later the Lord Jesus explained to Sister Faustina what the rays meant:
“The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from wrath of my Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him” (Diary 299)
The image of the Divine Mercy reminds us of the painful Passion and death of Jesus Christ on the cross, when the Heart of our Savior was pierced with a lance by a Roman soldier:
“So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.” (John 19, 32:34)
The wounds of Jesus’ pierced arms and legs, visible in the image, also remind us of His painful Passion. Once the Lord Jesus said to Sister Faustina that His gaze from that image is like His gaze from the cross. (cf. Diary 326)
The image also refers to the glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The Lord told Sister Faustina that He wanted that image (painted with a brush) to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter. According to Our Lord’s desire this Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy. (cf. Diary 49) On this day, i.e. the Feast of Mercy, the Gospel of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is read in the Church. The image of the Divine Mercy is the image of the Risen Jesus, who appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room.
The image of the Merciful Jesus is to remind us not only of His painful Passion and His infinite Mercy towards us, but also of the necessity to do works of Mercy, without which the Christian’s faith is dead.
“I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it. I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first – by deed, the second – by word, the third – by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy (…) It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works.” (Diary 742)
The promises of the Lord Jesus connected with the cult of the image of the Divine Mercy are based on trust and works of mercy. The image of Divine Mercy with the signature “Jesus, I trust in You” is to inspire us to entrust ourselves fully to God and trust Him like a little child. Without a trusting attitude towards God, the devotion to the Divine Mercy will not be in accordance with the wishes of the Lord Jesus, who said to Sister Faustina that “from that fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust.” (cf. Diary, 1602)
The Lord Jesus promised that by means of that picture He would give many graces to souls (cf. Diary 742). A person who will venerate the image will receive great graces already here on earth, the grace of a happy, peaceful death and eternal salvation. Such a soul will avoid the righteousness of God, i.e. the just punishment for sins, and will be shielded from the wrath of God the Father.
“I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory.” (Diary 48)