Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

a t any other k ind of work. Her Superior wanted S ister F au s tina to have as much freedom of movement as possible without draw ing a tten tion to herself. While gardening, her weekly visits to the p a in te r were far easier to conceal. Besides th is, the work-plan for gardening gave g rea ter freedom by far to dispose of h er time in additional p rayer or mortifications, for which she sometimes asked he r Superior’s permission. Although timorous about it, S ister F au s tina did manage h e r new assignment. Above all else a t First, she looked for an expert adviser. He was a Brother in the nearby Redemptorist monastery. Wherever she could, she gathered the information she needed. All th is helped so much th a t in a sho rt time not only was she doing all the essential garden work, b u t she had even s ta rted hot-beds so as to be able to provide fresh flowers for the a l ta r in winter. Te resu lts of her efforts were impressive. Je su s blessed her a ttemp ts: the fru it and vegetables gave good hea lthy crops, and the flowers were especially beautiful, though i t is tru e th a t she gave them g rea t a tten tion . W ha t a joy it was to decorate the Lord’s a l ta r with them! Ne ither h e r cares nor h e r ha rd daily work could deflect S ister F aus tina from th e main task Jesus had se t her. She had already crossed the threshold which m igh t divide these two spheres of work. While fulfilling h e r daily duties, she was simultaneously able to be constan t in he r though t of the Divine Mercy and its action, and, tak ing new confidence from it, she devel­ oped her th ink ing in the direction h e r Divine Master had given it. S is te r F au s tina was already a t the f irs t stage of fulfilling her mission: she had found a sp iritua l direc­ tor, and the image was painted. Bu t he r former doubts had not completely died down and they continued to course within her, with th is difference, th a t they now were principally concerned with the Feas t of Divine Mercy and the measures necessary to establish it. There can be no doubt th a t the m is tru s t fe lt by F a th e r 200