06/10/2026
As a teenager, Helen Kowalska (later St. Faustina) felt a strong call to religious life, but her parents refused permission because they could not afford the required dowry. She continued working as a domestic servant and tried to put the vocation aside.
One evening she attended a dance with her sister. While others enjoyed the music, her soul was in deep torment. Suddenly Jesus appeared at her side, wounded and covered in pain. He spoke clearly: “How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting Me off?”
The music and the crowd vanished from her sight. Only Jesus remained. Overcome, Helen slipped away unnoticed and went straight to the cathedral, where she prostrated herself before the Blessed Sacrament. There she heard the Lord’s next instruction: “Go at once to Warsaw; you will enter a convent there.”
The next day she left home with almost nothing and set out for Warsaw. The appearance at the dance marked a decisive turning point: Jesus would no longer allow her to delay. In the midst of ordinary worldly pleasure, He revealed the urgency of her vocation and the depth of His merciful love, launching her on the path that would make her the Apostle of Divine Mercy.
St. Faustina of Kowalska, pray for us!
