Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

as Jesus is, I feCt very sad about it, but I h id this deep in my heart. 'When toe had (eft the artist's house, Mother Superior stayed in toton to a ttend to some matters while I returned home alone. I toent immediately to the chapel and wept a good deal I sa id to the Lord, ,fWho w i l l paint y o u as beautiful as yo u are?' Then I heard these words: 'Mot in the beauty o f the color, nor o f the brush lies the greatness o f this image, but in M y grace." (Diary, Notebook I, para . 313). F a th e r Sopocko looked a t th e p ic ture with a critical eye. For him as a p r ie s t i t was most im po rtan t to unde rs tand the iconographical significance of the image of Jesu s , and th e symbols of th e picture were not altoge ther clear to him. He therefore asked S ister F au s tin a for a fu r th e r explication. "I adm it that the picture d id not please me greatly from the artistic standpoint," w rites F a th e r Sopocko. "I then asked S ister Faus tina what the red and light rays meant. She d id not give me an answer at the time. I then told her tha t i f th is came from the vision, Jesus should be asked to explain, and she should ask H im in prayer what they meant." (Archives of S.F., Recollections). She answered, ’Very well, I w i l l ash the Lord." During prayer I heard these words zvithin me: 'The tw o rays denote 'Blood and 'Water. The pale ray stands fo r the 'Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands fo r the Blood which is the life o f souls. These tzvo rays issuedfo rth from the very depths o f M y tender 165