Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

Those around he r noticed the happ iness and the unfailing smile of S ister F au s tin a throughou t her sufferings, and rightly pra ise h e r heroism in the bearing of pain. But th is is not the whole picture. The inner cheerfulness shining through the physical suffer­ ings was so n a tu ra l th a t i t was surely reflecting the true s ta te of h e r soul. She was happy in the face of all sufferings, even the most acute pain. She was simply happy. “L id things zvill have an end in this vale o f tears, Tears zvill ran dry and pain zvill cease. OnCy one thing zvill remain- Love fo r fo u , O Lord. L id things raid have an end in this e?(ile, The ordeals and zvddemess o f the soul. Lind though she live in perpetual agony, I f Qod is vXth her, nothing can shake her." (Diary, Notebook III, para. 1132). Although S ister F au s tina had made h e r peace with herself, and, to use the well-known saying of Pope John XXIII, had he r bags packed, she had not finished he r apostolic work, which now expressed i tse lf through the medium of p rayer and the diary-writing, for the value of the la t te r was still emphasized by Jesus . Her diary becomes a dialogue, in which the words of Je su s th read through h e r own prayerful u tterances. God speaks to us through them , and S ister F au s tina is the in te rp re te r of His love. "Write doom everything that occurs to you regarding M y goodness. ..J o as I te d you. Jour thoughts are united to My thoughts, so unite whatever comes to your mind, fo u are the secretary o f M y mercy. I have chosen 310