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By Rachel Richmond
Nancy Scimone began spreading the message of Divine Mercy after being inspired by Scripture about a year ago. Since then she’s performed her one-woman show, “Saint Faustina – Messenger of Mercy,” for the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., and other religious locations.
“Through this performance I desire to portray both the chosen soul who receives extraordinary graces as well as the soul who, like each of us, seeks to know, love and serve our Lord,” said Ms. Scimone, a classically trained singer and performer from the Diocese of Arlington, Va.
Ms. Scimone’s devotion to St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun who received messages from Jesus in the early part of the 20th century, began about seven years ago. She began reading Sister Faustina’s diary, which recorded her visions of Jesus and the message of divine mercy he gave to her.
“One morning when I was praying a psalm…about suffering, I thought to myself, ‘Wow St. Faustina could probably identify with this psalm,’” Ms. Scimone remembered. “And the idea hit me to put this one-woman show together.”
With the help of Brother Leonard Konopka, M.I.C., another devotee of divine mercy, Ms. Scimone wrote scripts and arranged songs to go with seven scenes from St. Faustina’s life.
“The script is 100 percent from the diary,” said Ms. Scimone, noting that she chose both dramatic parts of Sister Faustina’s personal accounts and more ordinary moments from her life.
“The main image we wanted to convey was trust,” Ms. Scimone said, citing the words “Jesus, I trust in you,” which are written at the bottom of the Divine Mercy image.
The 50-minute show doesn’t require any special lighting or scenery. Ms. Scimone clothes herself in a dress and veil in the style of St. Faustina’s Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy habit, something she at first hesitated to do.
“The first night I performed with (the veil) was an amazing transformation,” Ms. Scimone said. “When I put that veil on, it enmeshed me in her character and her life so much more. I just felt I had disappeared beneath that veil. Suddenly I was with her pain so much more, I was with her joy so much more.”
Ms. Scimone said that the feedback for her show has been positive and she hopes that it will spread the message of mercy further.
“The first thing is trust in Jesus and obedience. That’s important on a day to day level,” she said. “And on a larger scope, peace.”
Even before the war in Iraq broke out, Ms. Scimone included in the show’s program Jesus’ words to St. Faustina, “Mankind will not know peace until it turns to the font of my mercy.”
Ms. Scimone also seeks to spread St. Faustina’s devotion to Mary, love of the Eucharist and the Divine Mercy feast (the first Sunday after Easter) and the chaplet.
All her life Ms. Scimone has been a singer and performer and her one-woman show expands upon her calling.
“I love St. Faustina,” Ms. Scimone said. “I want the world to know about her.”
St. Faustina served humbly as a nun in Warsaw, Poland, and died of tuberculosis in 1938 at age 33.
For more information on Ms. Scimone’s show, go to her website. For information on Divine Mercy celebrations on April 27, contact your local parish.
(This article courtesy of the Catholic Review.)
