Meet God within you

BY COLLEEN CONSTABLE

Helena Kowalski was born in 1905 in Poland, entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925 and took the name Sr Mary Faustina. She shot to prominence through the private revelations on Divine Mercy.

But there is another facet to Faustina. This uneducated Polish nun who had no theological training set a new rule in spirituality: contemplating God in everyday life and proving that contemplation can be done anywhere. Faustina gave birth to modern day contemplatives: “contemplative in action”. She did not restrict contemplation to specific prayer time: for her it was “business as usual”.

The Spirituality of Saint Sister Faustina, edited by Robert Stackpole STD, explains that “the knowledge of Divine Mercy enabled her to discover God in her soul, and so she did not seek him somewhere in the distance, nor did she have to go to the tabernacle to meet him. Instead, she communicated with him in the depths of her being wherever she was”.

According to book, anyone can develop “acquired contemplation”. The state of “acquired contemplation…is a process of discovering God in one’s own soul and of experiencing his power. This lies within the bounds of every human spirit’s power when it cooperates with the grace of God”. This teaches us that the tendency to seek miracles “out there” must change: the greatest miracle takes place in our own souls—to seek God from within our own soul and communicate with him there anytime, anywhere.

Faustina offers modern women an olive branch: you don’t have to go into a cloister to become a contemplative; you can be one right where you are.
She directs us to have an ongoing mystical conversation and relationship with God while doing everyday tasks.

She adds a new dimension to multitasking, a specialty of women. Pondering the greatest attribute of God, namely his mercy, became the lifeblood of Faustina. It became her ladder for spiritual development. A daily way of living close to God: allowing him unlimited access to her soul.

She held the opinion that a presence of God in our soul does not interfere with our daily duties. That it poses no distraction or limitations. And she also externalised this inner contemplation: she had a high level of awareness to the presence of God everywhere. “She saw his goodness…also in circumstances that are difficult for us to accept,” writes Siepak & Dlubak in The Spirituality of Saint Sister Faustina.
Faustina modelled the practice of mercy on the life and character of Jesus. She used it as a survival strategy in difficult moments.

Her diary mentions the encounter with a person who had “abused her goodness”. Meeting this person clearly caused her blood pressure to rise. During this encounter she weighed her options: to firmly expose her neighbour or to consider what Jesus would have done. She chose to follow his example: to be gentle. This tactic clearly displaced the other person, who might have had an uneasy conscience.
The person requested a discussion with her. Faustina then used this opportunity to act as a mentor, gently making the person aware of areas for personal development.

Faustina adopted the approach that any act of mercy shown towards others must be done in the spirit of Christ. Faustina saw Christ in her encounters with others: she respected them as the creation of God, according to his image and likeness.  She directs us towards Christian asceticism: how to cooperate with God.

Henryk Wejman in the book Cooperation with God emphasises the spirituality of Faustina, and argues that “the operation of divine grace in the soul of the Christian is not automatic; it requires cooperation, including the elimination of obstacles which block this work of grace”.  Faustina surrendered to God: she gave up her own will and accepted the will of God as the ultimate indicator.
The means of cooperation with God can be improved through participation in the Eucharist, asceticism and spiritual practices.

According to Wejman, Christian asceticism is also connected to the removal of “obstacles that lie in the path of this life and to shape certain abilities which would ensure the realisation of humanity in the dimension of the sanctity of God’s calling”.

In Faustina’s spirituality a “particular type of asceticism” is practised within the context of one’s state of life, character and occupation. It eliminates copycat behaviour and directs each person to embrace a form of asceticism that corresponds to their circumstances. It directs towards a focus on spiritual development that encompasses integration of body, mind and soul: to seek internal harmony through love of God, neighbour and self. It does not alienate from the world, nor does it over-indulge in the world or in acquiring spiritual values. It emphasises that there are “boundaries and conditions of asceticism” and that asceticism can only be truly achieved if love is based on full cooperation with God.
Faustina also teaches us the value of spiritual exercises. This refers to Eucharistic adoration, devotions, veneration of saints, and so on.

But the most important lesson in modern times could be the daily examination of conscience: a practice Faustina never abandoned. To monitor her advancement she developed a matrix to measure her rate of compliance and failure. And she worked diligently to overcome her shortcomings, following the simple standard, “what would Jesus have done”, and by giving up her self—will.

Faustina leaves us with a challenge: If you are “running on empty”, you cannot give. Faustina’s spirituality requires us to ponder our spiritual development in the context of our world, the personal and professional lifestyles we choose and the relation to our neighbour and to a merciful God.

Faustina also leaves a new challenge to our catechists: to mentor their learners to find God within themselves.
What an inspirational task!