Upon visiting these committed heroes of prayer and suffering, I reflected upon memories of my late grandmother MariaLuisa.

“Bita,” as we all called her, was a Third Order Carmelite in the Philippines. For many years, she lived in imitation of Our Blessed Mother by praying, suffering and being present to her children, expressing love to them the best she could. She also visited people in hospitals and prisons, in whom Christ hides Himself in “distressing disguise.”

Bita prayed the Rosary every day. I often saw her lips silently mouthing the prayers of the Rosary. She and her husband seemed to habitually finger their rosary beads while calmly—but intensely—praying to God. I believe my vocation to religious life is a direct result of her prayers and the fruit of her little sacrifices and acts of love. I thank God for the gift of her life.

No matter what we experience in life, we can always pray, love and offer sacrifices, however brief or small. “Offer it up,” my mother always said (she learned this from Bita). “OK, mom!”