The "Master Yoda" of Divine Mercy

By Br. Stephen J., MIC

In the Star Wars saga, the wizened little figure of Master Yoda presided mysteriously over the treasures of Jedi lore, which had otherwise been lost to history. In the great story of Divine Mercy, a similar position was held by another diminutive but venerable sage: Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, who died one year ago on Feb. 11, 2021.

By the time I entered the Marian Fathers in 2016, Fr. Seraphim was already a legend in the Congregation. So, coming up to Stockbridge to enter the novitiate, I was naturally eager to meet him.

My first impression was not as grand as my imagination: Father Seraphim was both shorter and leaner than I had expected, though rather spry for being in his mid-80s. As he ate breakfast at the kitchen table with other Marians, his round-rimmed glasses magnified calm but attentive eyes, and his words, though gentle, were few. My first indication of his greatness was rather in the respect the others paid him: When he spoke, they listened.

Words and acts
When you know about a thing, that knowledge usually consists of facts, which are expressed in the form of an explanation. When you come to know a person, that knowledge consists of words and acts, which typically takes the form of a story. The observable facts about a person rarely reveal his story, and never immediately: An educated guess may hit the truth but miss the person.

Saint Paul is not remembered in history for his weak bodily presence that did not even cast a stone at Stephen (see Acts 7:58-8:1), and which was derided by boasters in Corinth (see 2 Cor 10:10). Rather, his spirit in speaking led the inhabitants of Lystra to mistake him for the messenger god Hermes (see Acts 16:12), and his inspired letters echo down the centuries in every place where Jesus' name is adored.

What little I know of Fr. Seraphim's story from before I entered the Marians is mostly drawn from the recollections of others; he was unwilling to talk of himself. He would much rather speak of St. Faustina's life and mission, or relate the Divine Mercy Image to the description of Christ the High Priest in the Book of Hebrews.

Spreading the message
It was from others that I heard how he smuggled the full text of St. Faustina's Diary out of Communist-occupied Poland on microfiche; that he was one of its main translators into English; that he had perhaps done more to spread the Divine Mercy message than any other priest except Bl. Michael SopoÄ?ko himself. From others I learned that Fr. Seraphim would start new initiatives wherever he was stationed; that he would spend whole nights working; and that he could say Mass in place of another Marian at 10 minutes' notice with excellent homilies he had pre-written.

These and many other stories about Fr. Seraphim I heard from those who had lived and worked with him longer. What I saw were the smaller details, such as the way he never complained when he hit his head against a pantry door that a less thoughtful person (occasionally myself) had left open. I saw how his Friday fast began with a smaller meal Thursday night, and how he waited to pack for a trip to the Holy Land until the night before. When I asked him how much he had to pack, his reply showed the depth of his trust in Providence: "As little as possible."

Absolution
I remember his patience with me practicing the piano after dinner under the room where he stayed, and his late-night theology discussions with our provincial superior, Fr. Kaz Chwalek, MIC. If one were to ask Fr. Seraphim a question, however, he would usually answer only briefly. The best way to start him talking (I learned) was to hazard an incorrect opinion or "fact" about St. Faustina or some topic relating to Divine Mercy. His soft but insistent "no, no, no ... " was often the beginning of an illuminating journey through Faustina's life and the events of her canonization process.

Father Seraphim's room was a perfect scholar's chaos, but he would willingly admit me and hear my Confession anytime I asked. His prayer after absolution was always the same, and always relevant:

"May the life, Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ; may the merits and prayers of His most holy Mother and all the saints; may all the good that you do and all the evil you endure serve as a healing remedy for the wounds of your sins, be an increase in merit, and the assurance of divine protection. Amen."

Single-minded devotion
Father Seraphim was animated by a single-minded devotion to Jesus Christ, the Divine Mercy. When he spoke about Him, his frail hands gestured more vigorously and his voice grew stronger.

Truly, Fr. Seraphim's enormous effectiveness for God in the world is an example of the proverb of old Master Yoda: "Size matters not." It is not the size of the person or the personality, but the greatness of his love that determines a person's effectiveness in promoting the word of God. Father Seraphim was, after all, a little man. But, being inflamed with Divine Mercy, he was an apt instrument for that Mercy to envelop the whole world.