Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

PERPETUAL VOWS J u s t a change of place b rough t m en ta l relief. In Warsaw, where S is ter F au s tina had arrived, summoned to undertake h e r th ird probation, obligatory before tak ing perpe tua l vows, they welcomed h e r with tremendous kindness. She in tu rn reciprocated. She was happ iest of all to see he r f irs t Directress of Novices, Mother M argare t G imbutt, and to learn th a t she was to have th a t same post during S ister F au s t in a ’s proba­ tion. This probation is the la s t stage in religious formation. I t allows the nun to review h e r experience h ithe rto of life in the community and to th ink over once more h e r own vocation on the basis of w ha t she has experienced, before she takes an irrevocable decision. For the community, the probation period decides the final acceptance of the candidate, who has been tes ted in community life, into the p e rm anen t membership of the Congregation. Probation is, then , a period of intense in terio r work, and is ended by a few day’s re tre a t which, in cleansing the soul, prepares it for the ap ­ proaching vows. When S is ter F au s tina arrived in Warsaw, the annua l eight-day re t re a t had ju s t begun in nearby Walendow, about 12 1/2 miles away, where the S isters ran an educational ins titu tion for girls. As S ister F au s tina had no t ye t had a re trea t, S ister M argare t directed h e r to go th e re a t once. 123