When it comes to picturing ways of serving the Church, many people likely think of priests celebrating Mass, missionary work, teaching and catechizing, or volunteers feeding the poor. These are all visible works of charity that are critical to the Church’s mission. Similarly, when we think of religious vocations, we tend to picture religious orders with which we are most familiar, given their visible activity in the world. Our diocesan priests dispense the sacraments every day, the Sisters of Charity tend to the poor and marginalized, the Fathers of Mercy come to our parishes for our Advent and Lenten missions, and so on. Again, these visibly active religious orders are a necessary and life-giving part of our Church’s mission. Still, there is another hidden type of religious community that offers a form of service just as essential to the life of the Church, even if few people ever witness it ­— cloistered religious orders.