Interview with Ana Piles, mother of the novice Marcos
Behind every vocation, there is a family, and behind Brother Marcos Caras, a novice of the Legionaries of Christ since this Friday, September 11, are his parents José Miguel and Ana, and his sister Anamari. We spoke with Marcos’s mother — an ENT doctor, specialized in voice pathology — about her son’s vocation, how to support him, his relationship with God, his experience at Highlands School Los Fresnos… And she shared things like how Marcos’s vocation is lived “with deep gratitude and a bit of bewilderment,” because a religious vocation is something “so vast that I think no parent can imagine something like that in their home.” Her words reveal emotion and admiration, but also realism: “The absence?: Ugh!, I know it will be painful, but it’s a ‘beautiful suffering,’ it’s missing someone out of pure love. But yes, as a mother, I worry that he might need me, see that he’s doing well, educate him… so I will have to pray more.”
How did you experience your child’s decision to enter the novitiate? How did you support him? How is that decision or clarity in him being shaped? What role do you and the family play? What did you want to contribute?
We experience it with deep gratitude and a bit of bewilderment. A religious vocation is something so vast that I think no parent can imagine something like that in their home. We are unworthy. The only explanation is that children are not ours; they are precious creatures of God.
At first, you think it’s just good-heartedness or spiritual longing, but Marcos’s vocation has grown and matured with him. It became increasingly stronger, “Mom, I don’t have an ‘Option B’.” At the Legion, his eyes light up, and his heart vibrates. We have talked about it many times, about giving oneself, about the greatness of the sacrament, about the demands, about responsibility, about possible loneliness. Everything is “perfect” for him.
So, we have been by his side, believed in him, encouraged him… and prayed for him to do what God wills. The only thing we told him is that “if you want to be a priest, you must be a holy priest.”
Your son studied at Highlands School Los Fresnos, what has the school and being a Regnum Christi school contributed to your son? And to you as a family?
The school was, as I said, a discovery. At the school, in its chaplains, its management, and its teaching staff, we got to know the congregation and all of Regnum Christi. It was like finding the perfect fit. For me, it was like the “right measure”: Christ at the center of everything, with deep respect, but always easy; discipline but with tenderness; God’s love in abundance. That is felt in every corner of Highlands Los Fresnos, which is also a very special school. I would say it has “soul,” if that expression is allowed.
The school allowed us to mitigate the longing for family, gave us the friends we have today, and helped us grow in faith, starting many activities and apostolates. Our children are largely the way they are because of the school.
And how did you decide to send your children to a Regnum Christi school?
We moved to Madrid in 2009 because of José Miguel’s work. Marcos attended first grade at Dominicos, and Anita was in the preschool. We were looking for a school in the area, Catholic and preferably bilingual. José Miguel, who visited it first, loved it. Later, we took the children for a day: they entered and left happy. They wanted to stay for lunch on the trial day, and we picked them up at 5 pm. We didn’t know Regnum Christi. It was a discovery!
How can parents support their children’s discernment of vocation? How have you done it? Does it hurt? Does it move you?
All parents want the best for their children. So, although separation is hard, what you want is to see your child in fullness. What better way than being consecrated to God, who can never fail him!
I don’t fear absence, because ugh, I know it will be painful, but it’s a beautiful suffering, missing someone out of pure love. But as a mother, I worry that he might need me, see that he’s doing well, educate him… so I will have to pray more: the Virgin must be my hands and eyes, and Saint Joseph, to whom we have devotion through Anita, must be his guardian.
The vocation is not only Marcos’s; it’s also yours as a family of a seminarian: how do you plan to accompany your son from now on?
We can only accompany him through prayer. Being by his side as much as possible, and praying. It’s a great responsibility. We will have to pray more. We will have to be better.
What has God told you or revealed about Himself to you along this journey you are living?
Throughout this journey, which is vocation, God cares for His creatures and has the last word. He sustains them through the people He puts in your path… It is God who shapes it; He guides your steps, especially in difficult moments. Yes, He cares.
Besides being the school mom, I believe you lead the choir, how did this initiative come about?
Yes, I am part of the “mothers’ choir,” as we call it… We started gathering three or four mothers to learn new songs for the daily Mass. And we had the idea to include the children from the school; I sang in my school choir, and later in the parish’s. Highlands Los Fresnos, which has always supported us, not only gave us the go-ahead but also the structure and support for rehearsals. That’s how we started singing at celebrations inside and outside the school. It’s a “liturgical choir.” It’s to give glory to God, pray, and help others to pray. It’s a beautiful blend of mothers, teachers, and children, who are the best. Everyone can join the choir, everyone sings well: you just need to put your heart into what you’re singing and love Jesus very much.
