Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

THE PLACING OF THE PICTURE IN THE OSTRA BRAMA GATE, VILNIUS In th e convent in Vilnius, various difficulties and troubles, not all connected with the mission en tru s ted to h e r by Jesu s , awaited S is te r Fau s tina . The firs t cares were associated with h e r change of work. S ister F au s tin a was an excellent cook. She had reached a large m easure of perfection in th is sphere, and so she expected to work in the kitchen. However, unexpectedly she was assigned to runn ing the garden. She had little idea of garden ing , and the extensive grounds around the convent in Vilnius, with th e ir different vegetable, f ru i t and flower plots, appeared to h e r to indicate a ta sk beyond h e r capability and s treng th . To aid her, seven wards were pu t in he r charge, too few for the work entailed , considering he r lack of experience. Her working conditions were th e re ­ fore hard , much more so th an those of he r predecessor, who, although she was a qualified gardener and physically far stronger then S ister Faus tina , had received much more capable help: fourteen careful­ ly-picked wards. How was she to manage? S is te r Fau s tina asked he rse lf th is question, frightened by th is new assignment of duty, though, as always, w ithou t p ro tes t she obedien­ tly agreed to the wishes of h e r Superior. The Mother Superior h ad h e r own reasons for preferring S is te r F au s tin a to work in the gardens and not the kitchen. Outside in th e gardens, she was more separa ted from o ther sisters th an she would have been 199