Marian Helper Summer 2019

nursing assistant, but I still didn’t feel that I was doing enough. In prayer, I told Jesus I wanted to serve Him by serving the imprisoned, and in 2014, through His grace, I met a nun, Sr. Marta Cichon, who had a suggestion for me. She suggested I visit a woman in prison named Elzbieta who, at the time, was awaiting sen- tencing for a horrific crime committed in 2012 that had drawn a lot of media attention. I was uneasy about meeting this woman. Thankfully, I was introduced to Robin Hersma, who had been visiting Elzbieta from the very beginning of her incarceration. Robin shared with me that when she first found out about Elzbieta and her crime, she, too, was uneasy. Her initial reaction was a desire to con- demn Elzbieta. But then she heard Jesus in her heart tell her, “Don’t judge this woman. Go to her. Be her friend.” Ever since then, Robin has been a friend to Elzbieta. During my first visit with Elzbieta, I reminded myself of the words of Jesus to St. Faustina when He said, “With My mercy, I pursue sinners along all their paths, and My Heart rejoices when they return to Me. I forget the bitter- ness with which they fed My Heart and rejoice at their return” ( Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska , 1728). Jesus forgives those who repent. When I first met Elzbieta, with prison glass separating us, I saw a woman who was not at all who I imagined I’d be meeting. I imagined she would be hardened, pos- sibly cynical, possibly angry. Instead, she was a woman discovering Divine Mercy, humbly begging for God’s forgiveness and struggling to forgive herself. We became very close right away. She had just recently experienced the death of her mother, a woman who had stood by her and never stopped loving her, even while the rest of Elzbieta’s family turned away. And now she was gone. Elzbieta told me that her mom always brought her fresh flowers to make her happy. I vowed from then on that I would stand by Elzbieta, continue visiting her, and bring her flowers. The first time I brought flowers, she cried and laughed and said, “I think my mom sent you.” I met other women who lived in the same jail as Elzbieta. They spoke of how Elzbieta tries to help others, teaches them how to pray, and tells them about Jesus and God the Father, rich in mercy. Elzbieta herself says that she had to fall so that Jesus could pick her up. In 2017, after spending five years in a corrections facility awaiting sentencing, she was given a sentence of life with- out parole and transferred to a prison. She authorized me to retrieve her personal belongings from the correc- tions facility. In her belongings I found many prayer cards — prayers to the Mother of God and the Stations of the Cross. They were so worn out that they were hardly legible. She also had a Bible and St. Faustina’s Diary , both of which were worn from use with her favorite passages underlined. She let me read her own diary in which she writes of the importance of helping people who are alone and experiencing spiritual and mental anguish. She stated how, before her crime, she had many problems and sought help, but was unable to find it. Her last words in court were a warning to everyone about the importance of following Jesus. On my most recent visit to Elzbieta, the prison was crowded with visitors. You could see the sadness of the women there. Elzbieta said that she is the most joyful prisoner there because, by the grace of God, Jesus is now with her. My own journey with Jesus continues, strengthened by the guidance of many priests and the support of my husband, John, who gave me the freedom to help where the need is greatest. Finally, a special thanks to Fr. Andy Davy, MIC, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Plano, Illinois, for inspiring me to write this. He visited Elzbieta and sang her the song “I Love You, Lord,” which touched her heart. Maria Kuliga Saeli lives in Sugar Grove, Illinois. M arian H elper • S ummer 2019 • marian . org 5 One of Elzbieta’s many drawings. This one shows names on a cross of all those people for whom Elzbieta is praying.