Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

SISTER FAUSTINA’S MOST DIFFICULT TRIAL The yea r 1935 was an emotional one. I t began with April, crowned with the celebrations of the G rea t Jub ilee of the Redemption of the World. The experien­ ces S ister F au s tina had then made h e r unde rs tand fully h e r mission in life. The Lord had most beautifully included h e r in His plans for salvation: she was not only to strive th a t the visible expression of th e Divine Mercy in the form of the image revealed to h e r should be made available to the public and publicly venerated , and th a t Divine Mercy be honoured in the estab lish ing of Its solemn feas t on the f irs t Sunday a fte r Easter; she was also to rem ind those who had grievously sinned and lost hope of th e i r salvation th a t Divine Mercy always awaits the s inner who has repented. I t was th is la t te r duty which now increasingly absorbed S ister Faustina . The sp ir it of the apostolate consumed all h e r being like a flame, changing h e r into a fire of th a t single longing. W ith h e r whole soul she absorbed the g re a t mystery of th e Divine Mercy. She adored the p a tien t and tru s ting , ever ready to forgive, love of h e r Lord. She too en tru s ted he rse lf to it, and simultaneously strove - like some careful housewife - to b ring to the Lord all obstina te and rebellious souls, often so unhappy and abandoned to despair, which like a dark wall cut them off from th e arm s of God aw a it­ ing them. Up un til now, the role of S is te r F au s tin a h ad mainly been to inspire F a th e r Sopocko, who was to be the 221