Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

YOUTH Helenka remained in the p a ren ta l home un til she was sixteen. Among h e r loving family h e r personality and charac ter were formed w ithou t traum a , mentally, though not always physically, hea lthy . Although they were poor, th is had no influence on th e ir fundam en ta l life-style. Being poor was no excuse for less than stric t observance of the generally accepted moral and re li­ gious norms. Insufficiency of food was not an excuse to ignore the church fasts , the desire for money for even th e most essential needs could no t lead to a depa rtu re from morality, and weariness a fte r work was not allowed to mean m issing prayers. The ir duties were to be supplemented if conditions allowed. When Helenka went into service, she was shocked to see th a t i t was possible not to observe a fast. At home, God’s com­ m andm en ts and the Church’s were all observed. But le t us not ru n ahead. Helenka was an able and discerning child. She studied willingly, and, because she had a very good memory, she readily absorbed w ha t th e school was able to teach her. Sadly, h e r en tire school career was limited to th ree classes of e lem en tary education. Why was this? The school was a t Swinice, where stood the parish church, b u t the distance of two kilometres was no obstacle to a child hungry for knowledge. She went to school daily on foot both ways, and hu rried home. She knew she had chores awa iting her. She divided he r 29