Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

in te rio r m a tte rs - h e r mystical intimacy with Christ she never confided. These m a t te rs were known only t< h e r confessors, possibly the superiors of the house, anc in the novitiate to the Novice M istress. To all otheri she kep t a stony silence, and when she was asked the sisters, who might have hea rd something some where, for an explanation, or when th e ir a tten tion was caught by h e r "otherness", she would avoid th is, smiling silently or changing the subject, and she did th is sc cleverly th a t i t often seemed as if she had not hearc the question. She even said little to h e r superiors aboul he rse lf in la te r religious life, lim iting he rse lf to whal was absolutely necessary. However, if m a tte rs concern­ ing h e r sp iritual life simultaneously affected others, she was frank and open. This is very well illu s tra ted b> something th a t happened with h e r second superior in Vilnius, Mother Borgia. These a re the Mother’s words: "This took place during the January Chapter in V ilnius in 1936. By way o f explanation, I should say tha t according to our Ru le the superior o f a house m ust call a Chapter every month, the chapter of faults, at which all sisters are present. Such a chapter has more or less the following procedure: a spiritual reading followed by the remarks o f the superior, and then the sisters in turn accuse themselves o f their external faults, after which there are prayers, con­ secration to the Blessed Virgin, and resolutions for the next month... A s the superior o f the house I sat that day under the Crucifix hang ing on the wall, with the group o f sisters opposite me. I do not remember at what moment during the chapter I became conscious o f the strange behaviour o f S is ter Faustina. She seemed fidgety, her behaviour annoyed me a little; it disturbed me and I thought, "What is the ma tter?" A fter the chapter had fin ished I went to my cell intending to call S is ter Faustina to explain the matter. Bu t before I had sent for her, someone 430