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“Enough.” “There is nothing that could lessen my sacrifice (Diary, # 1785).
(22.2) Heroic Suffering to the End, Buoyed by the Bridegroom’s Call 282
(Diary, # 1786): Sr. Faustina underwent much suffering especially during her final
months. She wrote in her Diary on June 17, 1938 (less than four months before she passes away):
Right away, on the (First) Friday after Corpus Christi, I felt so unwell that I
thought the longed-for moment was approaching. I had a high fever and spat up
much blood during the night. Yet, I did go to receive the Lord Jesus in the
morning, but I could not stay for the Holy Mass. In the afternoon, my temperature
dropped suddenly to 35.8° C. I felt so weak that it was as if everything inside me
were dying. But, when I steeped myself in profound prayer, I understood that it
was not yet the moment of deliverance, but only a closer call from my
Bridegroom (Diary, # 1786).
When I met with the Lord, I said to Him, “You are fooling me, Jesus; You show
me the open gate of Heaven, and again You leave me on earth.” The Lord said to
me, “When, in heaven, you see these present days, you will rejoice and will want
to see as many of them as possible. I am not surprised, My daughter, that you
cannot understand this now, because your heart is overflowing with pain and
longing for Me. Your vigilance pleases Me. Let My word be enough for you; it
will not be long now.” And my soul found itself once again in exile. I lovingly
united myself to the will of God, submitting myself to His gracious decrees
(Diary, # 1787).
III B.23 On Suffering and the Gift of Time
(23.1) The Time to Gain Merit for Heaven as the Saints Did is Now (Diary, # 351) 283
Sr. Faustina wrote in her Diary, “ O my God, how sweet it is to suffer for You, suffer in the
most secret recesses of the heart, in the greatest hiddenness, to burn like a sacrifice noticed by no
one, pure as crystal, with no consolation or compassion. My spirit burns in active love. I waste
no time in dreaming. I take every moment singly as it comes, for this is within my power. The
past does not belong to me; the future is not mine; with all my soul I try to make use of the
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283
Ibid., Faustina, Diary, # 1786-1787.
Ibid., Faustina, Diary, # 351, 1373.
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