There’s a lot more to the spiritual legacy of St. Faustina Kowalska besides the popular Divine Mercy chaplet. But for a long time I’d shied away from reading her writing, figuring that it would be complicated and intimidating. Aside from quotes in other spiritual books, I haven’t read her Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul.
Susan Tassone, well-known for her other writing on Purgatory, Adoration, and Divine Mercy, has taken St. Faustina’s Diary and made it accessible in a new daily devotional from Sophia Institute Press. Day by Day with Saint Faustina: 365 Reflections is a page-per-day devotional that bridges the gap between the spiritual and the practical.
While the monthly sections of the book are not organized by theme, Susan’s choice of readings for each day of the year are often informed by the liturgical calendar. Each day’s reflection is made up of three parts: a quote from the Diary, a short reflection (just a few sentences) that’s instructional and also a call to action or sometimes a quote from Scripture, and a simple prayer to wrap it up.
The simplicity of Susan’s writing is an excellent foil to the more formal style characteristic of St. Faustina. Susan has the ability to get to the heart of the message in each selection and frame it in language that inspires, edifies, and motivates. For example, here’s the closing prayer for Sunday, July 21’s reflection:
Thank you, Lord, that I don’t have to understand Your peace in order to receive it.
Jesus, I trust in You.
Why are we talking about a daily devotional in the middle of the year? Why not? You can start praying with this devotional anytime you like (that’s what bookmarks are for!), so there’s no need to feel that you must wait until January to add Day by Day with Saint Faustina to your daily prayer time.
Copyright 2019 Barb Szyszkiewicz
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I was given a free review copy of this book, but no other compensation. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.
Its sad that you think St. Faustina’s diary is hard. You are cheating yourself,there is so much in it. My first copy of the diary was while she was “Servant of God Faustina”.I found it easy to read,hard to read without a pencil or highlighter. The first copy is falling apart. I got a new one with sewn binding,but end up checking in my old one…now held together by big rubberbands. A devotional only scrapes the very surface. If you wonder why I’m so passionate about this:I was in mortal sin a long time…this was my lifeline. It gave me hope.
Thank you for your feedback. I think that spending time using this devotional will encourage me more to read the primary source.
[…] and also a call to action or sometimes a quote from Scripture, and a simple prayer to wrap it up. Read my full review. Review copy received from […]