Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

to become the dwelling place of Her Son, no one bu t she could make sure th a t everything necessary for th a t step was accomplished - so though t S ister Faus tina in h e r h ea r t, and he r love and g ra titude to th e Blessed Virgin grew. She had never avoided close spiritual contact with her, and as h e r sp iritua l life developed the contact became closer, tak ing on a more in tim a te and strictly personal character. I t is even possible to pinpoint accurately the time a t which th is occurred. In her Diary for the day of h e r perpe tua l vows, S is ter Faus tina rem inds Our Lady th a t she has acquired new "rights” in relation to her: “Mother o f Qod, Most Moly Mary, my Mother, f o u are my Mother in a special way nozu Because fo u r Beloved Son is my ‘Bridegroom, and thus we are Both, fo u r children, f o r f o u r Son's sake, f o u have to love me. O Mary, my dearest Mother, guide my spiritual life in such a way that i t w ill please f o u r Son." (Diary, Notebook I, para. 240). The whole format of th is invocation, as well as the ins is ten t tone, "You have to love me", shows th a t S ister F au s tina already had a deep devotion to Our Lady and th a t she connected i t with h e r inn e r life; the Mother of God was an integral p a r t of it. If we take a chronological view of th e role of Our Lady in the life of S ister Faus tina , we can find the f irs t clear trace a t the time when Helenka commended herse lf to the Mother of God, when h e r en try into religious life seemed hopeless. Helenka tru s ted the Blessed Virgin as the only one who could lead h e r to the service of Christ. In the ligh t of th is, the fact th a t the convent she actually en tered was under th e pa tron ­ age of the Blessed Virgin, and the Mother of Mercy a t th a t , has its own significance. 342