Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

Metropolitan Bishop of Cracow, Cardinal Francis Macharski came regularly. During the la s t war, devotion to the Divine Mercy spread throughou t almost the whole of Poland with an ex traord inary speed. Undoubtedly, the dom inant reason for its dynamic growth was th e need of the moment. S ister F au s t in a ’s he lp was pa rticu la rly consoling, bu t the circumstances in which th is intercession came down to th e people should also be taken into consideration. S ister F au s tina loved h e r country very much. P a tr io t­ ism is one of h e r special characteristics. When i t was th a t love of h e r country arose w ithin her cannot be established - one m igh t confidently say, "it was always there". I t appeared in various circumstances, always in a prayerful form, as has been reported by the wards and h e r sister-companions. She h e rse lf in the Diary writes about it, where i t is worthy of note th a t Jesus Himself very much encouraged love of he r country. For instance, in 1933 S is te r F au s tin a records: "On one occasion I heard these zvords in my souC, '9dake a novena fo r your country. ‘This novena zvill consist o f the recitation o f the litany o f the Saints /' (Diary, Notebook I, para . 59). In 1936 she had a vision, in which Jesus said: ' . . . I zvant a ll the sisters and zvards to say the chaplet zvhich I have taught you. (Ihey are to say i t fo r nine days in the chapel in order to propitiate 9dy fa th e r and to entreat Qod’s mercy fo r ‘Poland.’ (Diary, Notebook II, para . 714). In 1937, she states: 7 often pray fo r Poland, hut I see that Qod is very angry zvith it because o f its ingratitude. I expert a ll the 381