Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

"‘Today, I am leaving fo r ‘PradnitQ ju s t outside Cracow, to undergo treatment. I am to stay there fo r three months. I am being sent there through the great solicitu­ de o f my superiors especially that o f our dear Mother Qeneral, who is so solicitous fo r the sisters who are ill. I have accepted the fa vo r o f this treatment" - she writes - "but I am fu l ly resigned to the w i l l o f Qod. L e t Qod do zvith me as Tie pleases... ‘When I was somewhat overcome by the fea r that I was to be outside the community fo r so long a time alone, Jesus sa id to me, ]you zv ill not be alone, because I am zvith you alzvays and everyzvhere. Ofear to M y Tfeart, fea r nothing (Diary, Notebook II, para . 797). Her stay in hospital proved less arduous th an S ister F au s tina had expected. She was p u t in an isolation ward not fa r from the chapel, which enabled h e r during th e day to go in to say th e rosary or to v is it the Blessed Sacrament. Je su s in the E ucha ris t was there as nea r as He was a t home, and to v is it Him, though it m ean t effort, was possible. The effort m u s t have been in fact very great. Pa tien ts several tim es came to the nurses to tell them th a t S is te r F au s tin a was walking by holding on to the walls, in h e r weakness. S ister F au s tina unexpectedly found some kindred spirits in the hospital environment. The nu rs ing was done by the Sacred H ea r t S isters, people who were, like her, consecrated to God. Both p a t ie n t and nu rses were glad to make each o ther’s acquaintance. The sisters quickly perceived S ister F au s t in a ’s unusua l sp iritual qualities. They looked a fte r h e r w ith a tru ly sisterly affection, with th a t pa rticu la r warm th of th e com­ munity-family. Compared to o ther pa tien ts , she was, for them , a rea l oasis of th e sp iritua l life, with an intensive atmosphere to which they responded with recognition. Being nurses , they fully understood h e r 272