Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

h e r prayers and whose help she always sought when­ ever direct access to God, for wha tever reason, became difficult. So, for example, she asked Our Lady for help in finding a suitable convent for her, sensibly reasoning th a t only she could guide h e r to the r ig h t place. One of th e main elements in Helenka’s p rayer was praise. Sensitive to beau ty - pa rticu la rly the beau ty of N a tu re - she trea ted i t as the gift of a loving God. A s ta rry night, th e qu ie t sleep of th e whole of N a tu re , the sh in ing morning dew and birdsong, and flowers, all spoke to h e r in the language of adoration of the C reator. She kep t th is sensitivity to the beau ties of N a tu re to the end of h e r life. I t fascinated h e r as a revelation of th e beau ty of th e Divine world. She paid little a tten tion to beau ty as created by man. She was no t particu larly in te res ted even in the appearance or the in terio r decoration of a church, because she was totally absorbed in the presence of God w ithin it. Her a tten tion in church was focused upon the Blessed Sacrament. Prayerfully she k n e l t before th e tabernacle. I t is from th is, most probably, th a t the undeserved charge th a t she was practically illitera te and primitive arose. Indeed, she prayed little from prayerbooks when she was in church, b u t th is was by no means due to illiteracy. When she was still a t home, she would go to church with a large prayerbook. Most frequently, however, i t lay unopened while Helenka kn e lt sunk in adoration. But, according to h e r family and neighbours, whenever i t happened th a t she had to stay a t home on a Sunday, th a t prayerbook accompanied he r to some qu ie t corner of th e garden, where she said all the prescribed prayers. For a country girl, she read a g rea t deal, tak ing advan tage of every opportunity to do so. The five years she spen t away from home h ad no basic influence on the development of h e r character. They were years which prolonged the style of life in h e r family circle, although she was in different su r­ roundings. She was still w ithin the closed circle of family life, though the fam ilies were not h e r own. 53