SANTA ROSA, Calif. — The parishes in the Diocese of Santa Rosa and city of Napa, Calif., began 2015 with Divine Mercy activities: Leonardo DeFilippis’ Faustina: Messenger of Divine Mercy was performed throughout the diocese Jan. 9-14. Then, from Jan. 17 to 21, all three of Napa’s parishes — Sts. Apollinaris, John the Baptist and Thomas Aquinas — hosted Father Seraphim Michalenko of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass.

These events were a fitting precursor to prepare hearts for Divine Mercy Sunday, which is celebrated April 12, the Second Sunday of Easter, said Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa, who actively promotes the Divine Mercy message.

Bishop Vasa described Divine Mercy as a “growing devotion,” and he wants to do his part to see it grow.

As part of his efforts, the diocese provided the funding for DeFilippis’ drama to be performed. 

“Leonardo has been my friend for many years,” Bishop Vasa said. “He informed me when he was in the area. It was beautifully done; I thoroughly enjoyed it each time,” having attended every performance.

Added the bishop, “We have to have a proper understanding of God’s mercy. It’s about mercy and repentance. Self-righteousness paints mercy as accommodation — it’s about the conversion of sinners and turning to the merciful Father for forgiveness.”

Father William Donahue of St. Apollinaris says it is a timely message: “We live in a brutal, merciless world. The basic Gospel message is: being forgiven by God. It’s important for people to know that. It’s an entrée into people’s hearts.”

 

Changing Lives

This is the truth that actor-playwright Leonardo DeFilippis wants to get across to audiences through his  theater company, St. Luke Productions, which is based in Battle Ground, Wash.

“Having Christ appear to her changed her life,” DeFilippis said of St. Faustina. He was happy to bring Faustina to the faithful of Napa, as he and his family are longtime parishioners of St. Apollinaris; DeFilippis is originally from Napa.

DeFilippis began writing his Divine Mercy drama in January 2013; it premiered on Oct. 5 that year, St. Faustina’s feast day.

Above all, the play has Christ and his merciful message at the center, said DeFilippis: “I made it a multimedia drama because this is not about Faustina, but about Christ. It shows Jesus in a crucified and resurrected form. It is moving when Christ appears — that is the heart of the matter.”

“The most humbling thing is that God uses these plays to heal people and bring them back to the sacraments,” he said. “People go to confession. People come in wheelchairs to see the play before they die.”

The thespian hopes his Divine Mercy drama goes to World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland, in 2016, to impact many more lives.

Maria Vargo, who plays St. Faustina in the St. Luke’s production, is also eager to share how she has been touched by the saintly role and Divine Mercy.

“Portraying the role of St. Faustina is an honor. Her great love for the Lord has helped me to grow in my own love for the Lord. In preparation for playing the role, I studied not only her diary, but also how others viewed her. It was important for me not to play a ‘saint,’ but a real woman who felt all the same emotions that I do,” said the actress, who will speak at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge on Divine Mercy Sunday. (EWTN will air Divine Mercy devotions from around the world on April 12; see “TV Picks” and story.)

“One of the things I enjoy most about the role is the ability to speak the truth. Faustina spoke the truth of what God told her and showed her, and this is exciting to me,” Vargo added. “I believe this to be an important way to open the hearts and minds of all who see this show.”

Vargo has come to appreciate Divine Mercy in a greater way through her acting.

“Divine Mercy, to me, is the immeasurable, infinite love that God has for each and every one of us, not to be earned, but given freely, just because we are his. I have experienced God’s mercy in my own life, and it has changed everything,” she said.

“Just knowing how much God loves me, and that there is nothing too big for our God to forgive, is the reminder I need in my daily life. This reminder gives me the confidence and peace to trust always in him.”

 

‘Message for Our Time’

Sharing that truth is the mission of Father Michalenko, who belongs to the order of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception and was a vice postulator for St. Faustina’s canonization cause.

“It fell to me to collect all the data about the miracles through her intercession,” he recalled. “It was a privilege to prove those miracles were attributed to God.”

He enjoys telling people the meaning of Divine Mercy. “Misericordia means ‘heart going out to misery,’ he explained. “G.K. Chesterton described mercy as ‘loving the unlovable, pardoning the unpardonable.’”

The Marian priest also enjoys spreading the Divine Mercy icon.

“It is one of the most widespread images of Our Lord,” he explained. “People receive graces through the image. A man ill with multiple sclerosis, who was wheelchair-bound, sat before an icon of the Divine Mercy. Jesus came to him five times. Finally, the man arose, and he was healed. This was witnessed by a neurologist.”

The priest continued, “In The Spirit of the Liturgy, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI talks about how images of Christ have to represent the Passion, Resurrection and Final Coming. The Divine Mercy has all three characteristics: Jesus is opening his vestment, with a red ray and a pale ray representing the blood and water from the cross. The icon’s signature is ‘Jesus, I trust in you.’ It shows the supreme act of sacrifice. Blood and water separate only at death. Jesus is standing, as if he were slain, and he is assuring people their sins are forgiven.”

Father Michalenko has seen the Divine Mercy bring about many conversions and praises Faustina as “the greatest saint of our century.”

In her diary — Divine Mercy in My Soul — he said, “You can trace her journey to the heights of sanctity; you can see her spiritual growth. St. Faustina’s Diary has been translated into over 20 languages. It’s very rich; it keeps growing on you.”

Of Divine Mercy, Father Michalenko added, “It is the most important message for our time. St. John Paul II said it was for this time. From my observation, having worked on this for decades, it is the greatest grassroots movement in the Church.”

 

Register correspondent Anna Abbott writes from Napa, California.