Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

he r dark mystical n igh t when she was a novice; he r companions, some of whom she had known since the beginning of h e r religious life. The ir prayers in common surrounded h e r soul like a warm, snug cloak, which protected h e r aga in s t h e r long journey. I t was no t ha rd to join spiritually in th a t flow of prayers and be carried along on its cu rren t toward God, Who was waiting for h e r any moment now... But as h e r death agony did no t approach, the sisters, hav ing said prayers for th e dying, left, and one of the infirmarians, S is te r L., rem a ined with her. S is ter Fau s tina died in h e r presence shortly afterwards, a t 10.45 p.m. She crossed the threshold into e tern ity so quietly and peacefu and so quickly, th a t S is ter L. did not even have time to call back the Superior. The funeral took place on 7th October, on the Feas t of Our Lady of the Rosary. The Mother of God, who had led h e r to th is Congregation - as her bes t Guide in making h e r f irs t steps in e terna l life - said farewell to h e r temporal rem ains on th is earth . She was buried in the convent cemetery which was in the garden of the convent, and she lay the re for twenty-eight years. On 25th November 1966, a t th e end of the informative process, with regard to the absence of a public venera­ tion, she was exhumed and tran sfe rred to the S isters’ chapel, where she res ts today. S ister F au s tina ’s apostolate a fte r h e r death began almost a t once. I t increased slowly, firs t w ithin the Congregation, and gradually spreading to the outer world. When, a t the outbreak of th e Second World war, th e S isters’ chapel was opened to the faithful, the devotion increased enormously. From then on, h e r tomb was rare ly w ithout someone pray ing by it, ask ing for he r intercession, or th ank ing her. W hat of the devotion to the Divine Mercy? I t was no pa rticu la r surprise to anyone. The S isters and the ir wards had become used to i t even during the lifetime of S ister Faustina . Mercy as such was always a p a r ­ ticu lar fea tu re of th is Congregation, so th a t when S ister F au s tina spoke of it, no one was amazed; people only 379