Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

requirements. Complete friendliness and a quasi-family bond on the S isters’ pa rt , and on the wards’ side the knowledge th a t a t any time when life in th e House ceased to hold them , they m igh t leave, created ap ­ propriate conditions for these e r ra n t and injured souls to re tu rn to mental equilibrium , and a considerable percentage no t only re tu rn ed to such equilibrium bu t reached a high scholastic s tanda rd and g rea t piety. Such girls gave g rea t joy and pride to the Congrega­ tion, as visible evidence of th e appropriate n a tu re of the work they had unde rtaken and th e sacrifices they had made. Perhaps the b e s t illustra tion of th e atmosphere and aims of the community is given by the words of the Foundress: "My dear Sisters," Mother Therese would say, "let us be real mothers and not stepmothers to our girls. Let us find our own happiness in surrounding them with love, and care for their good. L e t us not seek our own diversions and recreation away from them. We m ust show them tha t it is our pleasure to be among them. God looks a t us w ith more loving eyes i f we are w ith our class, busy in watching over souls for love o f H im , than i f we are in the raptures o f contemplation . " "We must know how to leave God for God’s sake", she reminded, when some S is te r had sa t too long in chapel, neglecting h e r duties. "We m ust not try to make our girls into nuns, or, as the world sees it, bigots, but we m ust bring them up to be good Chris­ tians. Otherwise we would turn our g irls into hypocri­ tes. Let us try to inculcate real piety, which will lead them to God in the greatest simplicity." "We must know how to w in them over, and let us not be discouraged i f it is necessary to convert them. I f there are among them some who are stubborn and faulty, fa lling a t every step, let us try to get them as fa r as Purgatory at least." 394