This weekend I had the privilege to attend the second World Youth Day meeting hosted by the Diocese of Sioux Falls with the other pilgrims attending the trip! As WYD draws closer and closer, I become more and more excited for everything I will be blessed to experience!
Our meeting started off with prayer, and we spent some time learning about the life of Saint Faustina, one of the patron saints of WYD 2016 in Krakow, Poland. This spiritual formation piece of the pre-WYD time is one of my favorites. Below is a transcribed copy of the notes I took during our lesson:
Saint Faustina
- birth name: Helen
- born in 1905
- heard Jesus' voice first at the age of 7
- at 16 she went out to work for a family to bring income to her own family
- after 1 year of working she wanted to go into the convent (her parents were not supportive)
- at 17 she had to go back out and work for another two years
- at 19 she first applies to the convent
- she must work for another year to raise the necessary funds
- at 20 she applies to the convent again and is finally accepted
- 3 weeks later she realizes she wants more (stricter, more time for prayer)
- she becomes sick and is sent away for a time
- eventually died at the age of 33 from tuberculosis
- **God raised St. Faustina up with a group of other saints (St. Maximillian Kolbe and St. John Paul II) when Poland needed them
I am especially looking forward to an action item off the agenda- we will receive 3 book recommendations, one for each saint, to read through and pray on for the remaining time before we depart for Poland in July!
As always, thank you for following my journey! You can find more regular updates on my GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/getmaggietopoland :)
