Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Who is Kateri Tekakwitha?

Actually, she is known as Blessed Kateri. Hers is a most amazing story. She was born in New York in 1656, the daughter of a Christian mother of the Algonquin tribe and a non-Christian father who was a Mohawk chief. When she was just 14 both of her parents died due to smallpox and the disease left Kateri with severe facial scars. She was sent to live with an uncle.

In 1675 she befriended Jesuit missionaries and was baptized as a Catholic on Easter Sunday in 1676. She chose the name Kateri for Katherine. She lived an exemplary life as a Christian and devoted herself to a life of virginity. She became the object of scorn and persecution as the young men sought to prevent her from living a chaste life. In her desire to remain pure and devoted to Christ she fled her home and lived in a Christian village on the St. Lawrence River. In 1677 she received her first Holy Communion and continued instruction in the faith. In 1680, at the young age of 24, she died of natural causes.

Special devotion to the "Lily of the Mohawks" spread throughout the United States and Canada. On June 22, 1980 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II. She needs one more verified miracle to be elevated to sainthood.

Her strong witness to the love of Jesus and to His Catholic Church was remarkable especially given her situation. Not all of her family, friends and members of her tribe took kindly to the missionaries. Yet she persevered in her faith and today is a great example to all of us.

May her intercession give all peoples of every tribe, tongue and nation the courage to gather under God's holy church and proclaim His greatnesws in one song of praise.

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