Mary MacKillop was a prolific letter writer, her many missives and diary entries providing an extensive record of her life, her mission of education and her work with the nation's poor.Ultimately the letters, signed in a beautiful copperplate script, and her response to the trials she faced, were used by the Catholic Church in its assessment of whether she was worthy of becoming Australia's first saint.When she was excommunicated by Bishop Laurence Sheil in September 1871 over a constitutional dispute involving the Sisters of St Joseph, she wrote: "When I was asked to kneel before the Bishop, I felt lonely and bewildered ... I do not know how long I knelt there facing the Bishop and four priests with all my Sisters standing around."I knew they were there but saw no-one and I think I was trying to pray ... I shall never forget the sensation of the calm, beautiful presence of God."Mary travelled to Rome in 1873 to seek formal approval of her constitution, but spent close to two years waiting for an outcome."Cried myself to sleep," she wrote in her diary. "Was so weary of the struggle and felt so utterly alone ... offered my weary heart's trials to my God with the wish that he could do his will and make of me what he pleased."With a base established at North Sydney in 1880, Mother Mary became a frequent visitor to the Illawarra, where she and and her Sisters established a series of schools and convents.Her many letters provided insight into her visits, on one occasion writing of the generosity of local farmers who donated fowls and a suckling pig."The suckling pig I begged for the fun of taking it home with me and shocking dear Sr Patrick ... Great fun getting back to the convent ... Committee men saw the livestock booked on the train to Sydney. Arrived safely, great amusement over poor piggy."In the final years of her life, disabled by a stroke, she used a typewriter to continue her communication.On January 12, 1909, she wrote a letter with the postscript: "Whatever troubles may be before you, accept them cheerfully, remembering whom you are trying to follow. Do not be afraid. Love one another, bear with one another, and let charity guide you all your life."Her final communication was sent on March 19, five months before her death, aged 67. It said simply: "God bless you all." Compiled with the assistance of research by the Sisters of St Joseph, www.marymackillop.org.au. NEXT MONDAY Souvenir liftout marking the canonisation of Mary MacKillop