In 1931, our Lord appeared to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Most Blessed Sacrament OLM ( b. 25 August 1905 – d. 5 October 1938) in a vision. She saw Jesus clothed in a white garment with His right hand raised in blessing. His left hand was touching His garment in the area of the Heart, from where two large rays came forth, one red and the other pale. She gazed intently at the Lord in silence, her soul filled with awe, but also with great joy. Jesus said to her:

Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. 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. (47).

I Myself will defend it as My own glory (Diary, 47, 48). 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 (327). I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and (then) throughout the world.

The Divine Mercy front page display Image

Visions of Jesus and Conversations with Him

At the request of her spiritual director, St. Faustina asked the Lord about the meaning of the rays in the image. She heard these words in reply:

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 depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (299). By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works (742).

The original Divine Mercy image was painted by Eugene Kazimierowski in Vilnius, Lithuania under St. Faustina's direction.

However, according to her diary, she cried upon seeing that the finished picture was not as beautiful as the vision she had received. She wept in disappointment and complained to Jesus: "Who will paint You as beautiful as You are?" (313). Jesus comforted her saying, "Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace" (313).

Below is the before, during, and after of the 2003 restoration project of the original Divine Mercy image that was painted by Eugene Kazimierowski in Vilnius, Lithuania:

The Hyla image remains one of the most reproduced renderings.

After the Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on 30 April 2000 popular new versions on the image have emerged from a new generation of Catholic artists. Many different versions of this image have been painted, but our Lord made it clear that the painting itself is not what is important. When St. Faustina first saw the original image that was being painted under her direction, she wept in disappointment and complained to Jesus: "Who will paint You as beautiful as You are?" (313).

No matter which painting of the image we are drawn to, we should strive to be drawn to His mercy, pray for the Novena intentions of Our Lord and bring His mercy to others.