Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

Indeed, devotion to the Mercy and Providence of God are a chief and most typical fea tu re of the sp iritua lity of th is Congregation. As S ister F au s tina developed in the sp iritua lity of th is Congregation, i t may be well to rem ind ourselves of its principal elements: "Mercy is the essence o f our congregation. I f we remove mercy, we cease to be ourselves." "Mercy form s the whole inner life o f the S isters o f Our Lady o f Mercy and prepares them interiorly and exteriorly for the joy fu l fu l f illing o f their high voca­ tion. Mercy is the spirit o f our work, the apostolic work o f the Congregation." "The degree o f comm itment to the love o f God and the im itation o f H is desire to save sinners decides the degree o f comm itment to the spirit o f the Congregation and also o f the greatness o f personal sanctity o f each o f the sisters... who, in accordance w ith the spirit o f their vocation will offer for the intentions o f the souls entrusted to them their prayers, mortifications and work, in other words everything, even efforts made for their personal sanctity, without which it would be impossible for them to work effectively for the im ­ provement o f others." (Extracts from "Duchowosc Zgromadzenia M.B. Milosierdzia" 1967, i.e."The Sp iritua lity of the Congregation of S isters of Our Lady of Mercy"). The time a t which Je su s revealed to S is te r Faustina h e r g rea t mission was one of dynamic growth for the Congregation. Established in Poland, i t was now rapidly increasing. House after house was being established. Mother Michael opened four new ones: Jozefmek a t Grochow n e a r Warsaw, and others a t Rabka, in Lwow, and a t Biala n ea r Plock. They all requ ired staff to run them , so sisters were tran s fe rred from place to place so frequently th a t a t the time i t was normal in the lives of the sisters of the Congregation. 98