Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

and to Cove whiCe suffering, fo r t i f y my souC that pain un.CCnot hreak. it." (Diary, Notebook I, para. 315). In answer, th e Most Holy Mother tau g h t h e r ’to accept aCC that Qod asked o f me Cike a CittCe chiCd, unthout questioning; otherzvise it wouCd not he pCeasing to Qod.' (Diary, Notebook II, para. 529). In 1937, when physical pa in and exhaustion through disease were so in tense t h a t they dom inated all he r thoughts and feelings, and S ister F au s tina taugh t he rse lf to transform them into an oblation for sinners, h e r prayers to Our Lady took on a completely different tone. S ister F au s tina realized th a t in order to w ith ­ s tand th is tr ia l of suffering given h e r by God she would need heroism, and th a t th is was a tta inab le only in close union with Him. In boundless torm en t, as usual she approached th e Mother of God, for comfort: “O Mary, your souC does not hreakl it is hrave, hecause i t is zvith Jesus. Sweet Mother, unite my souC to Jesus, hecause i t is only then that I zviCC he ahCe to endure aCC trials and trihuCations, and onCy in union zvith Jesus zviCC my CittCe sacrifices he pCeasing to Qod. Sweetest Mother, continue to teach me ahout the interior Cife. May the sword o f suffering never hreak. me." (Diary, Notebook II, para. 915). Thus, we see throughou t th e life of S is ter F aus tina w ha t an absolutely essential help the Mother of God is for her, and th a t such help was never lacking a t any critical moment. I t was n a tu ra l th a t S ister Faustina felt herse lf to be Our Lady’s child and quite na tu ra l th a t she has tened to h e r in h e r need. She receive the 350