Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

T h a t incident was th e la s t drop of b itte rness in h e r chalice of sorrow and i t h ad a considerable influence on h e r deepening and already g rea t sp iritua l crisis. I t confirmed th a t there was a clash between the sp iritual experiences of S is te r F au s tin a herself, and the adverse view of them he ld by outsiders. How difficult i t was to live in th a t atmosphere of m is tru s t su rround ing her! Always tru th fu l, F aus tina had never in h e r life up till now been in a sim ilar situation . She did no t know how to adopt th e r ig h t a ttitude , e ithe r in h e r own inner life, or in respect of he r superiors and h e r confessor. Now th a t she was to go to confession, h e r fear grew, because in addition the p ries t indicated to h e r by Je su s as her confessor was a s tranger, and though he inspired t ru s t he did not know h e r and it would be necessary to tell him everything from the beginning. The time of h e r "appointment" approached. The p ries t gave a sho rt ta lk and immediately afterwards s a t down in the confessional. S ister F au s tin a watched him tensely. He was alone in the confessional and th e re was no one in front of the grating. She arose on a unexpected impulse and scarcely knowing how it happened she found he rse lf kneeling a t the confessional. She told the confessor he r business in a spontaneous reaction. W ithout reflection or choosing h e r words, she flung out, feverishly, everything th a t had collected w ithin h e r during those difficult years, ju s t as her memory had prompted h e r while she was waiting for confession. She poured ou t a chaotic mix­ tu re about the revelations in h e r mystic communion with Jesus , h e r own torm en t, h e r fear of others’ opinion, her helplessness and h e r pain, du ring th a t confession. The p ries t quickly rea lised he had an exceptional penitent. He stated, ' 'Sister > you distrust the Lord Jesus Because Me treats you so kindly. ‘Well, Sister, be completely at peace. Jesus 126