Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

"Mother, S ister Faustina has lots o f intelligence, and even more heart, because after all she works hard in the kitchen, so she could have ju s t rested in the shade o f a tree, but to give us pleasure, she would p lay w ith us." (Arch.S.F., Recoil, S. P au lin a K.). Her stay in B iala was no t be long. S tronger th an she h ad been, a t th e beginning of 1931 she came back to Plock, th is time to work in th e bakery and th e shop. • All our information abou t th e experiences of S ister F au s tina in the f irs t p a r t of h e r s tay a t the Plock house, before th e d epa rtu re for Biala, indicates th a t th is was a time of sp iritua l relaxation , of a joyful, in tim a te fam iliarity with Je su s . Her companions unanimously emphasise th e cheerful behaviour of th e ir new work-mate. Weeping and o ther outward signs of suffering - such as occurred in Cracow du ring h e r mystical darkness - h ad van ished w ithout trace. Constan t intimacy with God allows the elect souls to perceive God in th e everyday affairs of daily life. The deeper the intimacy with Him, th e g rea te r th e personal commitment, which leads in tu rn to closer cooperation w ith God. The lives of th e sa in ts provide u s with sufficient examples. "You a re n o t servan ts , b u t friends," said Je su s to His apostles and w ha t He said h a s been proved tru e th roughou t the en tire h istory of Ch ris t­ ianity. S ister F au s tina was no exception. She was one of the "friends" of God, according to Je su s ’ definition; she lived for God alone and h e r though ts were busy only with Him. Not much time had elapsed since she had been experiencing the mystical da rkness in Cracow - barely eighteen months - enough for h e r to recover from h e r previous terrib le sp iritua l experiences, and to regain h e r equilibrium and peace of m ind, and to be streng thened again. S is te r F au s t in a was bu rn ing with love which consumed h e r with overwhelming force. She sought some way to show th e Lord h e r submission, 109