Jesus appeared to St. Faustina on February 22, 1931, in Poland saying: "I desire that this image be venerated throughout the world. 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 #47, #48) The image she saw was Jesus with His right hand raised in blessing and His left hand pointing towards His Sacred Heart, which emitted two rays: one pale, the other bright red. These rays represent the Blood and Water which flowed from Jesus' pierced side while on the Cross. They symbolize the purifying power of Baptism and Confession and the regenerative power of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus Himself explained the significance of this devotion: "I am Love and Mercy itself." (Diary #1074, #1075) "Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy.(Diary #965, #848) At the same time as He manifested His Infinite Mercy, the Lord also showed St. Faustina hell. "Today, I was led by an Angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of conscience; the third is that one's condition will never change; the fourth is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it--a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger; the fifth torture is continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own; the sixth torture is the constant company of Satan; the seventh torture is horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies..."Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity;I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like..What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw." (Diary #741) Let us guide our thoughts and actions to grow in holiness. Let us understand that all we do affects our eternal soul. May we come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation often to protect our mortal soul and may we come to Divine Mercy Sunday to heal all the wounds we have inflicted on Jesus and affect our eternity. To learn more about St. Faustina, her visions, writings, and Divine Mercy Sunday, visit www.marian.org, or read the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul. Come to the Holy Mass and Adoration.