Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

S is ter F au s t in a foretold several things, including details of w ha t would happen when the war came. For example, Mother Krzyzanowska writes: "Sister Faustina told S is ter A. the following; "There will be a terrible war, but the sisters will not leave th is House"... When the war broke out, we were threatened w ith resettlement, a t any moment, like the other religious orders. On three occasions there was a direct danger o f being thrown out by the Germans. A ll the sisters went to the grave o f S is ter Faustina to pray for her intercession to the Divine Mercy that we be left in peace. Each time the danger passed, and we d id not leave our house throughout the war." (Archives of S.F., Recollections). The facts quickly confirmed th e tru th of h e r prophecy. In any case, many hea rd th is from th e lips of S is ter Fau s tina he rse lf during her la s t illness. So, when war broke out, the parish dispersed th is information more widely among those who came to v is it the convent a t Lagiewniki n e a r Cracow, and th is helped a t the same time to propagate intercession for the Divine Mercy. The same necessity propagated the devotion to the Divine Mercy in i ts new form fa r beyond the frontiers of Poland. As Polish emigres dispersed, so the devotion spread almost over the globe. Particu larly dynamic centres of devotion, rad ia ting over wide areas, arose in France, B ritain , and the Un ited S ta tes of America. The story of the growth of th e devotion to the Divine Mercy is dramatic, ju s t as S is te r F au s t in a had foretold. I ti t es ap h p a e v a e rs be a e t n p o r v e e s r e c n o t m , e h , o a w n e d ve t r h , a t t h w a e t t h h a e ve m n a o in w d e i n f t f e ic re u d l a phase in which the devotion will be able to spread w ithout obstacle to th e wide m ass of God’s people, wherever i t is most needed, and in fac t a t the moment when hum an ity is a t the b rink of a precipice. Divine Mercy will be th e la s t hope of rescue. The message of S is ter F au s tina is the hand of God stretched ou t to help in these p resen t times. I t h a s been given to us 383