Pillars of Fire In My Soul

isfaction wherever she worked. She refused her services, how- ever, to any family that she felt did not live a Christian life. Helen even set the terms of employment in one position with three women who belonged to the Third Order of St. Francis: she would accept a modest salary, but insisted that she be allowed to attend daily Mass, have free time to visit the sick and pray for the dying, and that the women’s chaplain become her confessor. With her attention to details about her work situa- tions, Helen again showed that the practice of purity was inte- gral to her everyday life. Sometimes work engrosses all of our life and we become workaholics, neglecting our families, our health, and our God. St. Faustina teaches us that our work must be an opportunity for us to practice purity of intention and holiness as we seek to uphold the Gospel imperatives – love of God, neighbor, and self; taking care of the poor and needy; choosing peace over vio- lence; serving all with whom we come in contact with kindness. Always, no matter what job she held, Helen’s desire was to enter a convent. While she was working for the three women, she was under the care of a priest who told her that she needed to be confirmed if she wanted to enter the religious life, and so she made the necessary preparation and received the sacrament. Purity of thought, purity of attitude, purity of behavior, purity of intention: St. Faustina’s example helps us to transform our negative patterns of living. She teaches us to center our thoughts on God’s command to love one another, helping us to see everyone we meet as a living icon of God, as a precious and beloved child of God. She helps us to change our attitudes, showing us how to eliminate indifference and lack of trust from our interactions with God and others. She leads us to choose actions that are based in loving kindness, compassion, and mercy. She shows us how to act frommotives that are untainted with selfishness or greed, so that we intend always to do God’s will to the best of our ability. Purity is a quality that renews our innocence. St. Faustina put 152 Pillars of Fire in My Soul