Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

as herse lf to travel alone into the d istan t, unknown world of the capital? This was th e f irs t problem and the most important. Another was ju s t as difficult, and far more emotionally loaded. W ha t was she to do about he r paren ts? Helenka was 19, and still a minor. Her pa ren ts had refused th e ir consent. She well knew th a t h e r behaviour would grieve and d isappoint them , bu t she understood th a t no m a t te r how she m ight wish no t to cause them pain, i t was unavoidable. She would, unfortunately, have to p re sen t them with a fa it accompli, otherwise they would never agree. She knew all the reasons h e r paren ts had for wishing to keep h e r with them in the world, and she did not delude herse lf th a t they would not do all they could to preven t her. With all h e r h e a r t she wanted to be obedient and to help them in th e ir approaching old age, b u t h e r two duties - to God and to her paren ts - could no t be reconciled: indeed, they were in sharp conflict. She m u s t choose, and she h ad done so: she would disobey he r earth ly paren ts , and obey h e r Heavenly Fa ther. She decided to ac t courageously and quietly, though such a decision made i t impossible to continue collect­ ing information about the various religious communities and th e ir requirements. From necessity h e r knowledge was limited to th a t she had obtained from h e r confes­ sor. But he was h e r confessor and through him God was speaking to her. Her confessor had told h e r to go to Warsaw. There was thu s no choice - to Warsaw she m u s t go. She gave up h e r job w ithou t giving a reason, nor saying where she was going. She packed h e r th ings - the few clothes she had - and took th e little bundle to h e r uncle’s house, ask ing th a t i t should be given to he r paren ts and sisters a fte r h e r departu re . She remem­ bered every member of h e r family, designating some trifle for each from h e r modest possessions. She took nothing with her. She though t worldly clothes would no longer be of use to her. W hatever she did need, Jesus 42