Digital Continent Digital Continent_Template amended | Page 93

II B.28 Suffering: A Means to Learn Patience, to Purify the Soul, and to Emulate Jesus 173
At some point, Sr. Faustina became quite sick and physically “weak.” Her physical frailty
meant that greater effort on her part was needed to meet her obligations in the convent. Thus, her
physical limitation became “a school of patience” for her. She was also subject to great
emotional suffering. She felt totally “abandoned” by her community of Sisters. Her good
intentions were often misunderstood, which was “most painful” to her. For a long time, she could
not understand why Jesus directed her to “tell everything” to her Superiors, which became an
ordeal to her. Unfortunately, they also did not believe what she told them. And they “treated her
with pity,” believing that she was “deluded” or possibly “imagining things.” At some point, she
also started believing that she was “deluded” herself, thus, her resolve “to avoid God interiorly
for fear of these illusions.” But, God’s grace remained a steadfast support to her, including those
unexpected times, when He came to speak to her. She then came to understand that, “God allows
suffering…in order to purify a soul…We must accept suffering because in this way, we become
more like Jesus” (Diary, # 38).
II B.29 Suffering: The Lord Accepts It as a Spiritual “Bouquet” for Him (Diary, # 65, 184)
(Diary, # 65): Sr. Faustina wrote that once during the novitiate, when the Mother
Directress sent her to work in the wards’ kitchen, she got very upset with herself that she could
not handle the huge pots. The hardest job for her was draining the potatoes; often, she spilled
half of them with the water. She reported it to the Mother Directress who encouraged her that in
time it would get easier, when she developed the basic skill for it. Unfortunately, it did not
materialize that way; and she was getting “weaker” each day. Thus, despite her willingness to
173
Ibid., Faustina, Diary, # 37-39.
82