Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

is a time in which both sides observe each other intently: th e community checks w he ther the candidate is suitable, and the candidate whe ther life in th a t pa rticu la r community is w ha t he or she wants. The true religious formation begins only after these firs t a ttem p ts , in the novitiate. This is even emphasized externally, by the pu tting on of the religious habit. Helena was accepted into th e Congregation of the S isters of Our Lady of Mercy as a sister of the second choir, i.e. to the company of the sisters-coadjutrices who do m anual work such as cleaning, cooking, gardening, etc. The candidates to the Congregation divided th e ir time between lessons p reparing them for the religious life, and perform ing some introductory duties in th a t field of work appropriate to the choir to which each was assigned. The two types of occupation were so arranged th a t one type of occupation should not in terfere with the other. The postulancy, like the novitiate, was basically the same for each of th e two choirs; th e firs t lessons and the recreation periods were he ld in com­ mon. Thus, the convent formation was more or less identical for all the religious. The difference between the two choirs was a m a t te r of education, of the mental prepara tion for the filling of appropriate functions within the Congregation. They were thu s divided for lessons and practical experience in the sphere of craft or profession, which was different for th e two choirs. Helena began h e r firs t introduction to th e religious life and its religious duties while also helping in the kitchen. Up to th is point, she knew nothing of convent life; everything was new, sometimes surp rising and not easy to accept. She had mixed feelings. The convent of h e r dreams and the convent of rea lity seemed like two totally different worlds, which h ad nothing in common. The confrontation of the rea lity w ith the imagined ideal th a t Helena treasu red and b rough t with h e r m us t have been a painful shock, so th a t a crisis began to form for her. We find traces within h e r Diary, b u t the bes t 58