Susan Conroy, best known to EWTN viewers for her series involving her friendship with Mother Teresa, visited EWTN this week to talk with “EWTN Live” Host Father Mitch Pacwa and “Life on the Rock” Host Father Mark about her newest series, “Coming to Christ.” (Premieres 6:30 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, June 9-13.)

The series is one of the most aesthetically pleasing EWTN has ever filmed since it takes place entirely outdoors on the shores of Maine, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Spending time in Calcutta with Mother Teresa made her appreciate the saint’s sacrifice to leave her home country even more. Conroy says living conditions in Calcutta are “hell on earth” and it took visit to hell for her to appreciate all that Maine has to offer.

“Calcutta changed my life,” Conroy said. “It gave me an attitude of gratitude. Before Calcutta, I never thought to thank God for grass, a tree, flowers. Here in America, we see natural beauty all around — even in our workplace — and we take it for granted. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”

Conroy said her first summer in Calcutta, she breathed in so much heavy pollution and soot that she thought she would develop respiratory problems. “I never thought to thank God for fresh air,” she said. “Back home in Maine, I take a deep breath and I smell fresh air, and the ocean, and pine trees.”

In Calcutta, the water was so polluted that she could see organisms swimming in it. She had to boil it and use water purification tablets – chemicals – to make it safe to drink. “I never thought to thank God for fresh water or a soft pillow.” To the latter point, Conroy said she saw many people sleeping on the streets – laying their heads on hard, filthy cement infested with rats and cockroaches. There were no soft pillows for them.

After taping each episode of her new series “with the Atlantic Ocean in the background and the sun rising up in the background,” Conroy said she and the EWTN crew would all say, “’We couldn’t have done this in the studio.’ Anything manmade doesn’t come close to what God has made.”

Conroy says her mother was very aware of her blessings. In fact, she taught her daughter to say this prayer every day: “Thank you my Lord and my God for all your wonderful blessings that we can feel so greatly.” But it took the Calcutta experience for Conroy to truly take this prayer to heart.

Would you like to develop a greater appreciation for the gifts God has given you? Join Conroy on the set in Maine for her new series, “Coming to Christ.”

“Give me the choice of the most fancy museum on the planet or watching the waves on the shore, feeling the fresh air, feeling the sunshine, and I’ll take what God has created every time,” Conroy added. “This beauty isn’t lost on me. It makes me love God even more!”