Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

fed from the ir grazing.At the beginning of h e r plans, there was very nearly a serious m isapprehension. Their fa ther, knowing nothing of his daugh ter’s plan, on Sunday morning found the byre empty with wide-open doors. He was terrified th a t thieves had stolen his cattle. He ran out of the farmyard and was surprised to see Helenka bringing the cows back from grazing. The animals walked between two fields of wheat slowly, along the path , stopping to graze th e grass growing beside the track , w ithout - strangely - reaching for the ears of wheat. Kowalski was struck dumb - he had been sure th a t the animals would have damaged the crop - and the be lt he had intended to use on Helenka fell from his hand. For a long time afterwards the story went around in the family as "miraculous", because the cows, as if in the grip of an invisible force, were contented with the poor grass beside the track , and did not reach for the wheat. In the ir simple naivete i t seemed to them like an unm istakable proof th a t God had helped Helenka in h e r plans to a ttend church. Was it naive? W ha t forces could help the child in h e r stubborn wish to be with God? There was yet ano ther problem in connection with church-going. I t was the lack of sufficient Sunday-best clothing. In the Kowalski family there was never enough for everyone. The girls len t each o ther the ir dresses, working out the order in which each would wear the best. Helenka well knew h e r p a ren ts ’ money problems-, so, like h e r sisters and brothers, she did not ask for new clothes. Because she was not selfish, she was often the one to remain a t home. She would re tre a t to a corner in the garden with a large book of devotions and there she prayed the Sunday prayers. This was the only time she did no t respond to he r mother’s calls for help. She did no t s t ir from her place un til Mass had finished in th e parish church. Then she immediately ran up to h e r mother apologizing and kissing he r hand , explaining why she had been dis­ obedient: Jesus would be angry if she did no t perform 22