By Angela E. Pometto
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 4/15/04)

Eternal Father, in whom mercy is endless, and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase your mercy in us that in difficult moments we might not despair, nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to your holy will, which is love and mercy itself. — St. Faustina

"This needs to be heard aloud," said Nancy Scimone, a member of Holy Spirit Church in Annandale. During morning prayer two years ago, Scimone was inspired to begin reading the psalms out loud. She was alone in her home and after finishing the psalm picked up Divine Mercy in My Soul, the diary of St. Faustina, and continued reading aloud.

Scimone is the creator and performer of the one-woman drama about St. Faustina and her message of mercy. The audience is led through seven vignettes of the saint’s life that are taken, verbatim, from the diary. "I looked for a balance of the extraordinary graces with the every day issues that each of us face," Scimone said. She had read the diary before and had developed a devotion to the divine mercy message. While re-reading, Scimone chose her seven scenes from the hefty 600-page diary by looking for events or reflections that could tell a story. "These lend themselves to acting out in a drama," she said.

She did not do it alone, however. Shortly after the initial spark of inspiration, she was informed of a nearby talk on St. Faustina. The speaker was Marian of the Immacualte Conception Brother Leonard Konopka, originally from the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge, Mass., but stationed in the Washington area. Scimone met with Brother Konopka several times, and with his help, narrowed the wide variety of stories to the seven she now performs.

The performance itself is rather simple. There are no props, no set, no special lighting — only piano and vocal music and a costume of the nun’s habit.

"The spacing changes because each place I go is different," said Scimone. "I don’t change the space. I adapt whatever space I’m at."

The costume is based on photos taken of the 20th century Polish nun. It is not an exact replica, but the appearance is similar in the length, collar and veil. Scimone has sewn most of her life, so she was able to use her experience to create the costume herself. She is happy that this talent is "being useful for his kingdom."

Scimone sees that there are more blessings than difficulties in her portrayal of the saint. "I had to focus on her writings more," she said. "There is a symbiotic relationship between the actress and getting to the core of what she was writing about."

She also said she loves the opportunity to travel and meet new people. To date, Scimone and her St. Faustina drama have traveled to Baltimore, Md.; Syracuse and Buffalo, N.Y.; Toronto, Canada; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Lincoln and Omaha, Neb.; Kansas; and Ohio.

"People don’t come to hear me; they come to hear St. Faustina," Scimone said. "I feel so blessed to be able to share what she has to say."

Of the people she meets, some usually mistake her for a real nun, others ask her to pray for them, and many of the strangers are kind and ready to help.

"People open themselves up to me," she said. "It is humbling and more of a responsibility than I knew when I started it."

Above all, Scimone wishes to point to the message of mercy that the saint spread to the world.

"(St. Faustina) is the first to say that it is not her extraordinary graces that is her sanctity," Scimone said. "Her sanctity relies on her doing God’s will, and she does this through trust, obedience, graces of God and through the sacraments." St. Faustina died at age 33, and she relied on holy Eucharist and on confession for strength — just like the rest of us.

Scimone will present segments of her one-woman drama at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass. She will be there for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 18, and has been chosen to cantor the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

St. Faustina’s feast day is Oct. 5. In May 2000, Pope John Paul II declared that the second Sunday of Easter would be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. For more information on St. Faustina and her message go to www.NancyScimone.com.