Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

its unobtrusive heroism, so h a rd to achieve because it is demanded so frequently. 7 am striving fo r sanctity, because in tfiis zvay I sfaCC be usefuC to t fe Cf-urcf. I make constant efforts in practising znrtue. I try fa i t f fu t ty to foCCozv Jesus. A n d I deposit this zvhoCe series o f daity virtues ■silent, hidden, almost imperceptible, but made zvith great Cove - in the treasury o f Qod's Church fo r the common benefit o f souCs. I feeC interiorly as i f I zvere responsible fo r aCCsouCs. I knozv very zveCC that I do not live fo r myseCf aCone, but fo r the entire Church." (Diary, Notebook V, para. 1505). This heroism necessary in each successive day now absorbed all the slender s treng th S is ter F au s tina had left. Although she was in severe and overwhelming physical pain, she gladly gave Je su s h e r daily offering of suffering undergone. Bu t i t was an effort so grea t th a t it left no space for o ther reflections. The time had now come for pu tting into practice the decisions she had made du ring the re trea t . Close a tten tion had to be paid, so as no t for a moment to lose h e r goal from sight. In reality , h e r though ts of sanctity confined themselves to thoughts of love, because th a t active love of God was w ha t was im portan t: to love God, and out of love for Him to love souls. In the b ra in of S is ter Faus tina , weakened and b a tte red by suffering, th is single though t was re ta ined , clearly, precisely and obstinately. She had no s treng th to reflect on other problems of sanctity. She was wholly consumed in what she was giving, ne ithe r weighing nor pricing the grea tness of h e r gift. So we a re not surprised by the incident which took place on th e F ir s t Friday of April 1938, five months a fte r h e r la s t r e t re a t - an incident which demonstrates how much rea l hum ility there was in S ister F au s tin a ’s soul. 338