Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

So she wen t to Him not only for "advice" and teach­ ing. She also took h e r complaints to Him, those h u r t feelings and th a t sense of injustice which pa ined and could no t be dismissed. One or ano the r sister, or even the wards, would find h e r weeping in the chapel. Obviously Je su s knew the proper medicine for he r aching soul, because she w en t back to work already calm, though with traces of fresh te a rs on h e r face. She was a prayerful soul. Bu t the prayerfulness of h e r m anne r m us t no t be understood as a simultaneous tendency to lim it the am oun t of work she did, or to avoid it. Quite the reverse. She ne ithe r neglected nor avoided tasks, b u t would add to h e r own a number performed for o ther sisters, when she saw they needed help. The heav iest work of h e r own did no t make h e r insensitive to the needs of o thers. This was a basic element in h e r charac ter from childhood, which was sublimated as she grew in g rea te r intimacy with God. However tired or ill she was, whoever tu rned to h e r for help or a service found i t given politely, kindly and humbly. She could overcome h e r tiredness, h e r im­ patience, or th a t reflex of unwillingness. A ward from Cracow, Leokadia 0 . , who worked together with S ister F au s tina in th e garden du ring her novitiate recounted how she was ir r i ta ted th a t S ister F au s tina could never defend herself: "she was taken advantage of, she d id not know how to refuse and did whatever other sisters wanted o f her." This ward felt she ought to be decisive and not behave "like a tim id c a l f . She angrily called th e young nun the la t te r scornful ep ithe t to h e r face. S is ter F au s tina quietly explained th a t "in the convent tha t is the correct behaviour." She recommended th a t th e ward pray "for a better understanding o f obedience and to be able to do her duties better." Finally, i t is worth saying th a t S is ter F au s t in a was not ashamed of any work. I f she were su rp rised in the middle of some chore by even the most distinguished 409