Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

spring from th is new form of social action. In conse­ quence a strange situa tion arose; although the Congre­ gation in Laval accepted the founding and Rule of Mile, de Lamourous and even from tim e to time received financial assistance from he r , formally speaking i t was a separa te and independen t community. Nevertheless, Mile, de Lamourous had considerable influence upon it. The f irs t elementary propositions, which were la te r the basis of the Constitutions, were the work of h e r hand and introduced by her. The cooperation between the two Houses speaks highly of the charac ter of both Foundresses. The tw in foundations were never rivals. In fact, th e reverse was tru e , for the experience of the one invariably supported the work of th e other, and a t specially difficult times Mile, de Lamourous, as the older and more experienced, h a s tened to offer help and counsel. The Congregation of S isters of Our Lady of Mercy, fighting for its life, had grasped a serious social evil and h ad done so unerringly. As to how very necessary th is type of Christian action was, the facts showed: although a t f irs t th e re were few vocations to the Congregation, for women were frightened by the need to live alongside "social pariahs" and by the extreme severity of th e life, the num ber of pen iten ts applying grew and grew. When i t was observed how many of the "fallen" girls had much good will, and in how many cases they were the victims of m isfortune, vocations began to arrive. Thus the f ir s t difficulties proved to be a blessing, because the Congregation blossomed in adversity, consolidated, and formed its own spirituality . There was only one problem to be resolved, a p a r t from exterior circumstances dictated by local opposition, bu t i t was serious: w ha t form of conventual life to adopt, so th a t constan t contact with th e antisocial and frequently destructive wards should no t ha rm the sp ir it of the cloister? How was i t to be made possible, living among those "of th is world” and even fam iliar with its murky 391