Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

th e proverbial la s t straw which broke the camel’s back of h e r physical endurance. For the course of the preceding two years had left its m ark on h e r indelibly. Always having to adap t to new conditions - six t ra n s ­ fers - had weakened an already feeble body. Thus, after a few months in the kitchen a t Plock, h e r s ta te of hea lth had worsened so considerably th a t the superior, Mother Rose Klobukowska, sen t h e r to Biala, the daugh ter house of Plock, about six miles away, to res t and recover in more comfortable conditions, with easier work and in a smaller and qu ie ter house. The convent a t Biala was indeed no t large: there was a 70-hectare farm (about 175 acres) run by three sisters, including in th a t the help of the recen t­ ly-arrived S ister Faustina . There was also a small group of wards, who came for occasional holidays or convalescence. S is te r F au s t in a was really assigned to the kitchen, b u t she g radua lly came to deal with other kinds of work, because with such a small community it was often necessary to sub s titu te for ano ther sister, or even to change places with her. She did so willingly, as usua l easy to ge t along with, qu ie t and cheerful, b u t "hiding he rse lf ', as S ister Z ita J . noted uncharitably . This la te s t fea tu re in h e r personality, noticed by he r companion, was a new characteristic, indicating a coming inner transformation. This "secretiveness" about he rse lf would increase as the years passed, because of the necessity of concealing h e r intimacy with Jesus. Towards the end of h e r life, S ister F au s tin a was to say very little. In Biala, hav ing less to do, S is te r F au s tina found time for the wards as well, who g rea tly appreciated he r company. When the girls went home and recalled the ir impressions of Biala, they could no t pra ise h e r enough. For example, the ward U rsu la had no words for he r adm iration of S ister Faus tina , who, a fte r her work in the kitchen was done, would play with the girls there on holiday. She took p a r t with them in th e ir game of quoits. She would give them some variety and help them spend the time pleasantly. U rsu la often said: 108