Pillars of Fire In My Soul

strated with her, saying, “Go back to sleep or you’ll lose your mind.” But Helen answered, “I think it’s my angel calling me to pray.” Helen seemed to understand the deep need for con- stant prayer in what is still a troubled world. Stanislaus Kowalski dealt severely towards his children in terms of punishment, even for minor transgressions. Helen, because of her mild nature and easy obedience to her parents, was almost never the object of this kind of punishment. However, she would often step between her father and whichever sister or brother was about to be whipped. She seemed to know that the answer to violence was peace, and she seemed to have an instinct to protect the weak. She would also gently admonish her sisters and brothers to practice obedience so as not to provoke their father. Although Helen’s family was very poor, still people would come to their door begging for food. Helen would intercede on their behalf with her mother so that they would not go away empty-handed. On some occasions, elderly women would come to the door begging for alms for the poor in exchange for which they promised to pray for the family. Again Helen would intercede for them, and one time, when she was about twelve years old, she dressed up like these women and went door-to- door begging for alms for the poor, promising prayers in return. Her own sister said that Helen was so convincing that she did not even recognize her! Helen turned the alms she had begged over to the parish priest to distribute to the poor. Helen thought of other creative ways to help the poor and needy. One time she devised a kind of lottery — people in the neighborhood donated simple trinkets and she sold tickets to be drawn to win the donated goods. Again she gave the parish priest the few pennies she earned from the lottery to help those in need. Generous, innovative, compassionate toward the poor and weak, constantly at prayer: Helen’s girlhood was the beginning of the road to sanctification. She seemed to relish The Road to Canonization 145