Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

L e t ‘you.r mercy, O Jesus, be impressed upon my heart and souC tike a seat, and tftis zvill be my badge in this and the fu ture tife.' (Diary, Notebook IV, para. 1242). Ecstatic declarations of love, to have real meaning, m u s t be p u t into practice in real life. In S ister Faus­ t in a ’s situation , th is m ean t th a t she was to accept, not only witout resisting, b u t willingly, adversities caused by others, and also all sufferings of h e r progressive disease, which indeed a t th is time gave almost constant occasion for such sacrifice. The tuberculosis of the in testines had developed fully, bringing almost daily a ttacks of searing pain. For readers no t fam iliar with th is disease, one m igh t compare the pain to ano ther more widely known - th a t occurring in cancer. Although of ano ther type, h e r pains were no less in severity than those in the most acute stages of cancer. S ister F au s ­ t in a ’s oblation was of heroic proportions and Jesus aided h e r in every effort with supe rna tu ra l food, w ithout which he r hum an s treng th would have failed her. With Divine patience He tau g h t her time and again how to profit from it. 't/know, my daughter, that your siten t day-to-day martyrdom in complete submission to M y zv ill ushers many souts into heaven. Lind when i t seems to you that your suffering e?(ceeds your strength, contemplate M y wounds.' (Diary, Notebook III, para. 1184). 'Meditate frequently on the sufferings which I have undergone fo r your sake, and then nothing o f what you suffer fo r Me w id seem grea t to you ... Join your lit tle sufferings to M y Sorrowful (Passion, so that they may have infinite value before M y M ajesty...Do not forget, 328