“Jesus, I Trust in You” : Divine Mercy Collection

Growing up, I always knew my life was going to be different. Different in a way that the Lord knew I needed to trust Him in all things—career paths, life choices, my vocation, and even in my day-to-day life. I have always chosen to follow the desires He has laid upon my heart, even when I didn't know where they would lead me.

With my life being so spontaneous, He has given me so many opportunities to fully trust Him. One of the biggest was when He led me to Poland, where so much of my life changed.

How ironic is it that He would lead me back to my roots, being Polish, while also allowing me to fully embrace the journey of St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy?

Prior to this trip, I would pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet simply because it was a prayer I knew and loved. I would often pray it during family prayer or on my own, sometimes just because it was something different from the Rosary. But this trip gave me a whole new understanding of the power behind this prayer and opened my eyes to the story of St. Faustina and the message she was called to share.

I could relate to St. Faustina in the way the Lord called her in different directions throughout her life. She, too, was called by Jesus to a life she never could have planned for herself. She describes being at a dance when Jesus appeared to her and called her to leave and come to Him.

Without a plan. Without knowing what was going to happen next. Just taking the next step and trusting, “I’ll lead the way.”

That is something I have found myself learning over and over again in my own life.

This collection has always been something I wanted to create. The Divine Mercy and St. Faustina mean so much to me that sometimes I think I must somehow be related to her. There is something about her story that feels so close to my own heart.

I feel like the Lord made the message of Divine Mercy for someone like me—someone who is learning to listen to that inner voice, even when it doesn't come with an immediate solution. Sometimes following that voice can be uncomfortable, especially for someone who wants to know the outcome first rather than step into the unknown.

But the Lord has truly led me in ways I never thought would be possible. He has led me into places and seasons that required a lot of discomfort, trust, and letting go of my own plans.

And that is where this collection comes from.

I wanted to create something beautiful that was meaningful to me. Something that could be more than just a piece of clothing, but a little reminder that could be carried with you throughout your day.

For this collection, I created two t-shirts—one inspired more directly by St. Faustina and the other inspired by the Divine Mercy message.

The symbolism behind the stars in both designs is especially meaningful to me. In paragraph 1601 of the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Jesus describes chosen souls as spiritual lights in the darkness of the world, illuminating the earth like stars in the night and spreading holiness even when they are completely hidden and unknown.

The stars became an important part of this collection because of that message: that even when we feel unseen, our little lights still have a purpose.

The “Mercy Saves” Long Sleeve carries this symbolism of the stars and the light that Divine Mercy brings into the world. The patches on the sleeves feature Jesus at the center of an illustration I created to represent the Divine Mercy image. Below that illustration is a silhouette of the church where the Divine Mercy image is venerated at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Poland, a place so closely connected to St. Faustina and her life in the convent.

I was able to see this place in person and spend a couple of days there in Kraków. Being able to physically stand in a place so closely connected to St. Faustina and Divine Mercy made this collection even more personal to me.

It wasn't just something I was drawing from a picture or reading about. I had been there. I had seen it. I had experienced a small piece of the place where so much of this story unfolded.

And the collection couldn't be complete without St. Faustina herself.

She was the messenger Jesus chose to share the beautiful message of Divine Mercy, and I wanted to create an illustration that honored her in a way that felt joyful, colorful, and personal. I first painted this illustration of St. Faustina after returning from Poland, and bringing it into this collection felt like another way of carrying that experience with me.

I surrounded her with stars, again representing those spiritual lights in the darkness. In a way, I see those stars as a reminder of all of us—called to carry His light, even in small and seemingly hidden ways.

At the heart of this entire collection is one simple prayer:

Jesus, I trust in You.

I know I will spend my whole life learning what those words truly mean in each season the Lord takes me through.

Trusting God doesn't always mean knowing what comes next. Sometimes it means taking the next step without having the whole plan in front of you. Sometimes it means allowing Him to lead you somewhere you wouldn't normally take yourself.

Take the leap. Trust in Him.

That is what St. Faustina's life reminds me of.

And that is what I hope this collection can remind you of, too.

Whether you have a devotion to St. Faustina, love the message of Divine Mercy, or simply need a little reminder throughout your day to surrender what you cannot control, I hope these pieces point your heart back to those four simple words:

Jesus, I trust in You.

I wanted to share this collection with you around St. Faustina’s feast day, because it felt like the most fitting time to finally bring this project to life. After everything the Lord allowed me to experience in Poland and everything I have continued to learn about Divine Mercy, it felt right to honor her story and the message she was entrusted to share in this way.

Thank you for allowing me to create something so close to my heart and for supporting the art that the Lord has placed on my heart to make.

May this collection be a little reminder to trust Him, take the next step, and let Him lead the way.

With love,
Hannah