Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

The a tti tu d e of S ister F au s t in a to Je su s now took on a new colouring. Although in principle i t was the same as before, i t had become deeper and richer. As she felt it, h e r consciousness th a t God is approached in Christ was clearly emphasized. She understood th a t through Him she a tta in ed not only God, b u t also came to know and contemplate His Mercy. Je su s confirmed S ister F au s tin a in th is deeper u nd e r­ stand ing of His Person and mission, and, w ithout allowing h e r to roam freely in the Divine regions, He H imself gave h e r the subject on which she was to concentrate. ,(Today Jesus said to me, 7 desire that you know more profoundly the Cove that hums in tMy “Heart f o r souls, and you u n t t understand this when you meditate upon *My tPassion' "she writes in the Diary, Notebook I, para. 186. When S is te r F au s tin a began th e med itation she was given, Je su s helped h e r with visions of the stages of His Passion: once she saw Him in the Crown of Thorns, ano ther time scourged, sp a t upon and covered in blood. The frequency and in tensity of these visions allows us to suppose th a t He wished to engrave on h e r soul for ever precisely th is image of Himself. Again i t is necessary to s tress how very much His p resen t teaching harmonizes w ith h e r devotion to Him up to th is point. I t was ju s t such a torm en ted Je su s she found i t easiest to love, i t was for such a Divine Bridegroom th a t she wished to be a spouse, and for he r He was most approachable in th is form. I t is therefore no t surp rising th a t she quickly understood th e Lord’s supplementary teaching and responded with even more ferven t love, imbued with a feeling of g ra titude and the wish to comfort Him in His suffering. 174