Today we celebrate the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680). Kateri belonged to the Turtle Clan of the Mohawks, an Iroquois community. She lived near today’s Auriesville, New York. She lost most of her family to a smallpox epidemic that broke out in her village. She herself was left with poor eyesight and facial scarring because of the smallpox.
Kateri’s uncle raised her after the passing of her parents and brother. As a teenager, she had a conversion to the Catholic faith. She refused to get married, as she wanted to give her life through consecration to the Lord. This angered her family, especially her uncle. She was baptized and received into the Church when she was 20 years old. She was taught the faith through Jesuit missionaries. It was not easy for her to live out the faith; the rest of her tribe, including the children would mock, refuse to feed, and throw stones at Kateri. She eventually escaped to live with a Christian community. She would go to Mass daily, often visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, prayed the Rosary, served the sick and dying, and taught children about the faith.
St. Kateri died at the age of 24, and her final words were “Jesus, I love you.” At the moment of her death, the scars suddenly disappeared. On October 21, 2012 she was canonized a saint by Pope Benedict XVI. She is known as the “Lily of the Mohawks”.
Kateri teaches us the importance of living the faith and remaining in hope, even when the world seemed to be against her. She trusted that the Lord had great things for her life. Often times we are faced with trials when living the faith.
Christ assures us, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” (John 15: 18-19).
If there is one thing that is certain is that the Christian life is going to be difficult, but the corollary is that Christ will give us the grace to overcome even today’s persecutions. We are reminded in the Sermon on the Mt. that the reward is eternal life with God. “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt 5:10-12).
Kateri, among the many saints, suffered persecution. She chose to consecrate her life to God, even when it seemed silly to do so because at this time, a woman’s life depended on marriage to be sustained. She trusted in the Lord, when it was most difficult, and today, she resides in heavenly joy with out Lord in Heaven. We are called to do the same.
Below are some additional resources to celebrate today: