Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha July 14

There is a piece of wisdom which says: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of saints.” In 1656, nine years after two Jesuit priests, Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf, were murdered by Iroquois Indians, an Algonquin baby girl was born where they died, near what is today Auriesville, New York. This child, named Tekakwitha (“she who puts things in order”) was orphaned at age four when her parents both died from a smallpox epidemic. Attacked by the disease herself, she somehow survived but was left partially blinded and disfigured by the pockmarks left on her face. She was adopted by her uncle, a Mohawk chief, and grew up as a traditional Indian maiden, helping her aunt with chores and communing with nature. However, because of her disfigurement and blindness, she led a more solitary life than the other Mohawk girls.

Tekakwitha remembered that her mother, who had been baptized a Christian, had taught her some prayers and told her stories about God. After her mother’s death she would talk with God quietly in her heart, and so it was no wonder that when Jesuit missionaries came to her village she was attracted to their way of life and the lessons they taught. These “Black Robes,” as the Mohawks called them, were kind to her and instructed her in the faith, in spite of much opposition from her family and tribe.

Something within her, however, knew and loved the one true God, and she kept up her instruction until she was finally baptized with the name Kateri (Katherine) when she was 20 years old.

After she was baptized, her persecutions grew worse. She was treated like a slave and constantly threatened with abuse. Her family would not feed her on Sundays because she refused to work on the Lord’s Day. Still, she filled her life with prayer and penance, staying on her knees for hours and making small prayer stations in the woods. She visited the sick and tried to teach whoever would listen about Christ. Although her family tried to force her to marry, she took a vow of virginity, something which no Mohawk woman had ever done. Finally, when she feared for her life, she left her village and traveled more than 200 miles to the mission of St. Francis Xavier near Montreal. There she received her first Holy Communion on Christmas Day, 1677.

It was only three years later, at the young age of 24, that Blessed Kateri’s poor health finally overcame her strength, and she died during Holy Week in 1680. Her last words were to call out to Jesus. It is said that at her death her face was restored to its true beauty, with all traces of the disfigurement erased.
Kateri Tekakwitha was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980.

Saints and our lives
• While we may not be as ostracized as Kateri for our faith, we may face opposition from family or friends when we hold fast to Christian ideals. Jesus taught that we would, indeed, be persecuted, and we should follow Kateri’s example and turn to Him in humility and prayer when we are. Staying firm in our beliefs will not only increase our own faith but will give a strong witness to those around us.

• Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is the patroness of ecology and the environment. Following in the way of Blessed Kateri means a raised awareness of how we treat the planet we live on. We are all called to be good stewards of the earth.

• One of Kateri’s favorite sayings was: “Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may do it?” Surely we can endeavor to keep our hearts close to Christ throughout the day by asking, “What shall I do now, Lord?” in the various situations of our lives. A small whisper to Him, a turning of our thoughts, a touch of our rosary beads (Kateri loved them), all help us keep a loving connection with our Lord and Savior.

Taken from “Evangelization and the Lives of the Saints: Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha” produced by the diocesan Office of New Evangelization. For the complete pamphlet, visit the Office of New Evangelization at www.drvc.org.