In today’s world, there is a lot of talk about beauty. What is “beautiful”? Do we have an unhealthy view of it? Does society impose unrealistic pressure on both men and women to attain an impossible level of perfection?

“I was thinking about how I would like my funeral to be. First, some intense prayer and then a great celebration for everyone,” said Sister Cecilia Maria.

Everyone is asking these questions — from the designers of Barbie to the mothers of everyday teenage girls all over the world.

But every so often a reflection of true, undoubtable, and mysterious beauty graces our viral world of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter — and recently it came in the form of a terminally ill Argentinean nun, Sister Cecilia Maria.

At age 26, Sister Cecilia Maria made her first vows — the initial step in becoming a Discalced Carmelite, Catholic News Agency reported. She made her final profession in 2003 and lived at Saints Teresa and Joseph Monastery in Santa Fe, Argentina. Sister Cecilia Maria had become a nurse before entering the convent.

In the monastery, she would entertain her fellow sisters by playing the violin and was known throughout the community for her deep kindness to everyone.

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Sister Cecilia Maria is shown in the weeks before her death in a Facebook image posted by her religious community.

But six months ago, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer of the tongue, which had already spread to her lungs. She fought the excruciating disease but had to be hospitalized when her conditioned worsened.

Despite the terrible pain she endured, she kept smiling all the way through it, knowing her day to meet God was soon at hand.

In her final note she wrote: “I was thinking about how I would like my funeral to be. First, some intense prayer and then a great celebration for everyone. Don’t forget to pray but don’t forget to celebrate either!”

Sister Cecilia Maria continued to pray and offer up all her pain and suffering right until the very end. She died heroically on June 23, 2016, at just 42 years old.

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Her convent announced her death on social media, featuring many pictures from her final days on Earth.

“Jesus! Just two lines to let you know that our dearly beloved sister gently fell asleep in the Lord, after such a painful illness, always borne with joy and her surrender to her Divine Spouse,” the post read (originally written in Spanish and translated by Catholic News Agency). “We send you all our love, grateful for your support and prayer during this entire time, so painful yet so wonderful at the same time. We believe she flew directly to heaven, but we also ask you to not cease commending her to your prayers, so from heaven she may repay you. A big hug from her Sisters in Santa Fe.”

The photos from Sister Cecilia Maria’s final days have spread widely on social media, with many people wondering how a woman who was dying from a terrible disease could look so stunningly beautiful. The answer lies not in the superficial beauty of our culture.

The beauty found in the images of this religious servant represents a life lived for God and a death embraced heroically. Sister Cecilia Maria rejoiced in seeing God’s face, strengthened by His grace. She is the epitome of beauty as a woman completely and authentically in love with God.

See the original Facebook post and more images of Sister Cecilia Maria below:

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