Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

SISTER FAUSTINA AS SEEN BY OTHERS A. Her Co-sisters in religion By n a tu re S ister F au s tin a was sociable. As she had been b rough t up in a large fam ily in a village, where th e collective life is trad itiona lly time-hallowed, her n a tu ra l tendencies developed into a dom inant t ra i t which took precedence over all others. Communal life in the community was thu s no t a hardsh ip for h e r and she soon fe lt a t home. In any case, the Congregation on its side tried to help th e young adepts to religious life. Each of them received a so-called "guardian angel". This was a senior novice, and h e r ta sk was to watch over a tim id pos tu lan t who as y e t was ill-informed about the conditions of the new life she was leading. S ister F au s tin a ’s "guardian angel" was S ister Crescen- tia, as young as she was, and, like her, a member of the second choir. They spen t th e communal life together under the eye of th e Directress of Novices, and they even worked together in the kitchen. S is te r F au s tin a gratefully received the help of the senior religious. She was open, ta lka tive and happy, and the friendship of the two happened the more easily because S ister Fau s tina , for the f irs t time in h e r life, h ad found someone who loved w ha t she did and was aim ing a t the same goal. In a sho rt time, the two young sisters had begun a friendsh ip which was to las t throughou t th e ir lives in religion. 415