Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

O my Jesus, the misunderstandings are so great; some­ times, were it not fo r the ‘Eucharist, I wou ld not have the courage to go any fur ther along the way ‘You have marked out fo r me. ^humiliation is my daily food. I understand that the hride must herself share in everything that is the groom's; and so Jiis cloak. o f mockery must cover me, too. J it those times when I su ffer much, I try to remain silent, as I do not trust my tongue which, a t such moments, is inclined to talk, fo r itself, while its duty is to help me praise Qod fo r a ll the blessings and g i f ts which Jde has given me." (Diary, Notebook I, paras . 91,92). "E>o not Be surprised that you are sometimes unjustly accused. I myself f ir s t drank, this cup o f undeserved suffering fo r love o f you', were J e su s ’ words to S ister F au s tina noted in h e r Diary, Notebook I, para . 289. Je su s took the edge off h e r suffering by making he r contemplate Himself. Tu rn ing h e r a tten tion away from h e r own suffering, He led h e r w ithou t difficulty towards forgetting he rse lf for the souls of others. He had an infallible way to encourage S is te r Faustina . When He held out His hand to aid he r , i t was always a hand s tretched down from the Cross. And the comparison of h e r own love w ith the Divine Love as shown by Je su s always had the same effect: i t called up from th e soul of S is te r F au s tin a inexhaustible sp iritua l streng ths and became the leaven giving rise to h e r heroic efforts to fulfill His desires. S is te r F au s tin a never could have enough of contemplating God’s love. I t was th e guide which led h e r to develop h e r own. I t is also a love which reveals itse lf in th e acceptance of suffering. Thus i t is not surp rising th a t S ister F au s tina came to love suffering as an infallible way of pleasing God, th a t she 187