Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

you, too, in a special zvay, be M y child. I desire, M y dearly beloved daughter, that you practice the three virtues that are dearest to Me - and most pleasing to Qod. The f ir s t is humility, humility, and once again humility; the second virtue, purity; the th ird virtue, love o f Qod. !As M y daughter, you must especially radiate zvith these virtues." (Diary, Notebook V, paras. 1414,1415). S ister F au s tina received the instruc tions of Our Lady with joyful readiness. She confesses in h e r Diary th a t her h e a r t "became so wonderful attracted to these virtues" th a t they are 'as though engraved", and th a t 7 practice them fa i th fu l ly ." (Diary, Notebook V, para . 1415). I t can easily be seen th a t S ister F au s tina ’s a ttitude to Our Lady had all the m arks of the fam iliarity which daily intimacy gives. Fu rthe r , we are aware th a t i t was h e r usual practice to ask H er for help in p reparing for Holy Communion. An especially intensive period of prayer for F au s tina was Advent, the liturgical period serving to make ready the soul for the b irth of the In fan t Jesus. S ister F au s tina took th is du ty very seriously so th a t even more th an usual she would ask the Holy Mother of God to help h e r and direct h e r in accomplishing th is duty. The prayers mentioned above were p a r t of her daily programme and were constant. There were others, according to the need of the moment or the particu lar stage in sp iritua l development. For S ister F au s tina ’s sp iritua l needs found immediate expression in he r prayers. Thus, for example, in 1933, when, after he r perpe tua l vows she left Cracow for Vilnius, on h e r way 348