English 
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”
(2 Timothy 4:7)
With these words of the Apostle Paul, we can tell the story of Sr. Daisy Jacob Chakkalackal, a Missionary Sister of the Immaculate who concluded her earthly pilgrimage leaving behind the testimony of a vocation lived with faithfulness and simplicity.
The Roots of a Calling
Born in Meladoor, Kerala, Sr. Daisy felt the call to consecrated life from her early years. A call to which she responded with that totality of surrender that would characterize every stage of her journey. From southern India, her path led her toward distant horizons, to lands where missionary presence becomes a silent witness of faith.
For nineteen years she served in Papua New Guinea, where she carried out her ministry as a teacher and diocesan coordinator of religious education. Villages reachable only through dirt paths, schools where children learned barefoot in the forest, communities where each day meant sowing faith “one life at a time.” Language barriers, geographical isolation, and daily difficulties never became insurmountable obstacles, but occasions to discover in every challenge a purpose, in every face a reflection of Christ.
The Rhythm of Prayer
Sr. Daisy’s day began long before dawn, in the silence of the chapel that became her personal sanctuary. Her relationship with God was not characterized by external manifestations, but by an interior constancy that radiated tranquillity in everything she did. From prayer she drew the strength that she then carried into daily activities, maintaining that joyful discipline that made her punctual and methodical without ever being rigid.
Those who knew her remember her ability to bring warmth wherever she went. Her laughter could lighten the most difficult moments, her eyes reflected authentic kindness. She never sought recognition, but responded with availability to every need that presented itself to her.
The Gestures That Remain
One episode well illustrates her way of living charity. One Christmas, while the neighbourhood was celebrating, she noticed that some elderly people were too frail to participate in the festivities. She then prepared small gift packages – each containing a piece of cake, a candle, and an image of the Infant Jesus – and went door to door to deliver them. A simple gesture that created moments of grace, bringing smiles to tired faces and warmth to the most modest homes.
These small acts of compassion reflect a life rooted in prayer and oriented toward those who often remain in the shadows. Sr. Daisy had learned to see beyond appearances, to recognize need even when it wasn’t expressed in words.
The Final Steps
When her health began to fail, she faced every difficulty with the same quiet resilience that had characterized her entire life. Medical tests and painful episodes never drew a complaint from her. Her final days were marked by peace, with a soul that showed itself stable and serene.
In one of her last conversations, she had expressed the desire that her passing might be peaceful. So it was: surrounded by the affection of her sisters and the prayers of those who accompanied her, she gently breathed her last, completing her race with the same grace with which she had run it.
A Living Legacy
The memory of Sr. Daisy Jacob is not crystallized in monuments or recognitions, but lives in the hearts she cared for, in the minds she formed, in the faith she helped to grow. She leaves no material possessions, but the fragrance of a life spent in service, rich in love and faithful to the end.
Her example poses questions that challenge each of us: who are the forgotten people we are called to remember? What small gesture of kindness can we offer today, without expecting anything in return?
Sr. Daisy lived by choosing prayer before pressure, love before convenience, service before self. The torch she has handed down continues its journey, waiting for hands willing to take it up.
