Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

In the then ensuing struggle of S ister F au s tina with God, the contradictions of h e r feelings and aims can clearly be seen: on the one hand , with all he r soul she wishes to fulfill the will of God, and on the o ther she defends h e rse lf stubbornly aga in s t th is la te s t wish of Jesus . According to h e r reasoning, i t cannot be done. Her service to God up to th is point opposes it, for would th is not be an in su lt to the community of which she was a member, a community, moreover, chosen for her by Je su s Himself? His la te s t wish raised an incomprehensible question m ark over everything. I t is not surprising then , th a t h e r b e s t in ten tions were as if paralysed, and she was speechless. We shall never learn e ithe r the words in which Je su s expressed His will, nor the circumstances in which th is took place. S ister F au s tina closed h e r eyes, shu t h e r ears and even silenced h e r though ts so as somehow to escape from th a t voice which appeared to h e r to be asking some­ th ing impossible. Humanly speaking, the Lord’s reques t came a t the worst possible time. For i t was ju s t a short time ago th a t S ister F aus tina had had the opportunity to th ink over h e r vocation once more, and to appreciate what the Congregation m ean t to her. In the middle of February, 1935, h e r family h ad summoned h e r to the ir dying mother. W ithout difficulty, S is ter F au s tina had received permission to h u r ry home. Her arrival tu rned out to be the most efficacious remedy. Her mother became stronger and began to feel unexpectedly better. The danger of death passed. Her family received S is ter F au s tin a emotionally. The atmosphere a t home was a lmost exalted, and they spent th e ir time in p rayer toge ther and in conversa­ tions on religious themes. S is te r F au s tin a enjoyed he r apostolate to the full, and in a wider circle, for the village people, hea ring th a t she was back, came around in crowds, and as they listened to w ha t she h ad to say, were surprised and delighted to find h e r "as wise as a priest." This was, then , an experience full of joy and 226