Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

'M the hour o f their death, I defend as 9dy own glory every so id that w ill say this chaplet [to the Divine Mercy]; or when others say i t fo r a dying person... When this chaplet is sa id by the bedside o f a dying person, Qod’s anger is placated, and unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths o f 9dy tender mercy w ill be movedfo r die sa le o f the sorrow ful ‘Passion o f 9dy Son.' (Diary, Notebook,II, para. 811). “Oh, i f only everyone realized how great the Lord's mercy is and how much we a ll need that mercy, especially a t that crucial hour!" w rites S ister Faustina (Diary, Notebook II, para. 811). 7 always pray un t i l I e?(perience in my soul that the prayer has had its effect." (Diary, Notebook II, para. 834). The chaplet to the Divine Mercy contains g rea t help for the dying, as S ister F au s t in a could say on the basis of he r own practice. She is clearly g rea tly affected by seeing the efficacy of the p rayer recommended by Jesus. Even for h e r i t was a discovery. Her life up to th a t point had no t afforded h e r the opportunity to see how quickly i t acted. This was only possible to observe in the dying. In those la s t hours of life, when there is no going back, the hum an soul’s "yes" or "no" is decisive and, in the na tu re of things, immediate. Everything is resolved now and a t once, and th e resolution is simul­ taneously the measure of th e value and efficacy of th is prayer. Although S ister F au s tin a ’s generosity really knew no bounds, he r illness imposed some lim itations. Rising from bed a t the leas t suitable times and kneeling for hours with the dying was beyond h e r s treng th , and 318