Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/661462
National Catholic Forester — 2015 Annual Report 20 A WomAn nAmed HelenA Helena Kowalska, was the third of ten children. Her father was a carpenter peasant and the family was poor but religious. Since the young age of seven Helena felt a deep calling to the religious life — she yearned to enter the convent after completing her time at school, but her parents would not give her permission. A vision And A journey When she was 19, Helena and her sister Natalia went to a dance in a nearby park. While at the dance, Helena had a vision of a suffering Jesus. She then went to the cathedral, where she says that she was told by Jesus to leave for Warsaw immediately and join a convent. She packed a small bag that night and took a train for Warsaw (85 miles away) the next morning, without the permission of her parents and without knowing anyone in Warsaw. Helena approached several convents, but was turned down every time because of her poverty. After several weeks of searching, the mother superior at the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy decided to give her a chance and conditionally accepted her, provided she could pay for her religious habit. Helena worked as a housemaid to save money, making deposits at the convent throughout the year. Finally, on April 30, 1926, she received her habit and was given the religious name of Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. THe pATTern you see Five years later, Sr. Faustina wrote that Jesus appeared to her as the "King of Divine Mercy" wearing a white garment with red and pale rays emanating from his heart. Jesus told her to paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: "Jesus, I trust in You" in Polish: "Jezu, ufam Tobie" I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Humanity will never find peace until it turns with trust to the Divine Mercy JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA