Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, called during a vision of the Suffering Christ, on August 1, 1925 she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and took the name Sister Mary Faustina. She lived in the Congregation for thirteen years and lived in several religious houses. She spent time in Kraków, Poland and Vilnius, where she worked as a cook, gardener, and porter. Externally nothing revealed her rich mystical interior life. She zealously performed her tasks and faithfully observed the rule of religious life. She was recollected and at the same time very natural, serene, and full of kindness and disinterested love for her neighbor. She hid within herself an extraordinary union with God. At the specific request of and following the example of the Lord Jesus, she made a sacrifice of her own life for this very goal. In her spiritual life, she also distinguished herself with a love of the Eucharist and a deep devotion to the Mother of Mercy.
Francis of Assisi was an Italian mystic, poet, and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he became a beggar and itinerant preacher. He is commonly portrayed wearing a brown habit with a rope tied around his waist, featuring three knots symbolizing the three Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. According to Christian tradition, in 1224 Francis received the stigmata during the apparition of a Seraphic angel in a religious ecstasy. Francis is associated with patronage of animals and the environment. It became customary for churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of the fourth of October, which became World Animal Day. He was noted for his devotion to the Eucharist.
Bibliography for Saint Maria Kowalska Faustina and Saint Francis of Assisi
SAINT FAUSTINA:
- Faustina, Saint Maria Kowalska. Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. Stockbridge, MA: Marian Press 2004.
- Kosicki, George W. Herald of Divine Mercy Meet Saint Faustina. Cincinnati, OH: Charis Books 2021.
- O’Boyle, Donna-Marie. 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina A Year of Grace & Mercy. Stockbridge, MA: Marian Press 2018.
- Sosnowski, Leszek. The Gospel of Lagiewniki: The Life and Work of Saint Sister Faustina. Cracow, Poland: Bialykruk 2002.
- Tarnawaska, Maria. Sister Faustina Kowalska. London, UK: Veritas Foundation Publication Centre 1989.
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI:
- Cunningham, Lawrence. San Franciso, CA: Harper & Rowe Publishers 1981.
- De la Bedoyere, Michael. Francis of Assisi. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press 1999.
- Deacon, Fr. Angelo (translator). Francis of Assisi. Freiburg, Germany: Herder KG Publishers 1975.
- North, Wyatt. Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life Inspired. Boston, MA: Wyatt North Publishing 2014.
- Schatzlein, Joan and Sulmasy, Daniel. Francis the Leper. Phoenix, AZ: Tau Publishing 2014.
- Simsic, Wayne. Living the Wisdom of St. Francis. New York, NY: Paulist Press 2001.
- Van Doonik, Fr. N.G. Francis of Assisi: A Prophet for Our Time. Chicago, IL: Franciscan Herald Press 1979.
- Velar, Editrice. Francis of Assisi: Innovator for a New Society. Waterford, WI: Franciscan Missions, Inc. 1994