My precious and most treasured gift

Sister María Begoña D. Divinagracia, OP

The seed of religious vocation implanted by God in my soul in the moment when my mother conceived me, was still dormant at the moment of my birth. But as years went by this was awakened by my mother who was a devout and practical Catholic. She was a fervent devotee of our Blessed Mother and a great lover of her rosary.

Every morning at 4 o’clock she would sing the “Dios te Salve María” to wake up her eight children to pray the rosary with her. Her love and devotion to our Blessed Mother was bequeathed to her children, especially to me. Every night before we went to sleep she used to tell us the stories of the saints and of what vocation they were patrons.

With regards to dress, she never allowed us to wear immodest dresses. Our dresses were always with sleeves, close necked and below the knee. She would always tell us, “all who see you will see Mother Mary in you, and not only in the way you dress but also in the way you behave.” And before we left for school she used to tell us, “My children, everywhere you are, and whatever you say and do, remember your father and me.” Yes, we tried to honor them in our words and actions and avoided dishonoring them by our misbehavior.

My mother had a special devotion to the holy souls in purgatory. As a point of fact every time there was an agonizing person in our neighborhood she was always called to pray and to prepare him or her for a holy death. I was always her companion every time she was called so much so that at the age of six I had already memorized the prayers she prayed for the dying person, “De profundis ad te clamavi Domine” and “Fidelium Deus omnium.”

Once I went to my aunt’s house and I saw on her altar a large picture frame of people passing through two roads. One road was very wide and good and beautiful road and the people passing there were singing and dancing, eating and drinking but at the end the devils were waiting for them and threw them into hell. The other road was very narrow and thorny and the people passing there are all dressed in white. They could hardly pass by the road, but at the end there were the Triune God, Mother Mary, Saint Joseph and all the angels and saints awaiting them.

This picture had a deep impact on me. From then on I wanted my dresses to be all white. At the age of 12 the desire to enter the convent was so strong in me that I lost my interest in other things, including my studies. I told Sisters Rosario and Angela, the Carmelite Sisters to tell their superior to admit me to their convent. But they said I was too young to enter, that I had to finish my studies first, and then they could recommend me to their Mother General.

But I did not stop. I knocked at the door of the other convents, but the oft repeated words: “You’re too young to enter. Finish first your studies.”

After long years of waiting, at last I entered the convent. I wanted very much to be a contemplative nun but the Lord wanted me to be a missionary sister. Hence I was admitted to the Congregation of the Religious Missionaries of Saint Dominic and I am still here, celebrating the 50th anniversary of my religious profession, continuously imploring God to give me the grace of final perseverance until death in my precious and most treasured gift, my religious vocation; the seed He planted in my soul and was nurtured by my saintly mother.