Today we venerate St. Kateri Tekakwitha, often called the “Lily of the Mohawks”
Reflections on the readings for the Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha (July 14, 2022): IS 26:7-9,12,16-19; PS 102:13-14,15,16-18,19-21; MT 11:28-30
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
In these last few years of her life, St. Kateri Tekakwitha grew spiritually. Although she was drawn to the idea of founding a religious order for herself and other Native women, she was discouraged from pursuing this. Instead, she made a vow of chastity.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha knew what it was to suffer from her own physical hardships, as well as emotional distress at the hands of those who wanted to keep her from following Christ. A Native American, she was born in what is now Auriesville, New York, in 1656 to a Christian Algonquin mother and a Mohawk father. He hated the missionary priests who came to work among their people. She was orphaned at age four by a small pox epidemic that half-blinded her and severely scarred her face. She was adopted by her father’s sister and her husband who was a chief. As a teen, Kateri Tekakwitha was expected to marry. But she refused. Finally, she was able to receive instruction in the Catholic faith from some visiting priests and was baptized at age 19. This made her position extremely difficult since many other members of the community and especially her relatives resented her embrace of the Christianity. Encouraged by the priests, she set out for a community of Christian Native People in Canada, south of Montreal.
In these last few years of her life, St. Kateri Tekakwitha grew spiritually. Although she was drawn to the idea of founding a religious order for herself and other Native women, she was discouraged from pursuing this. Instead, she made a vow of chastity. Here devotion to Christ grew and she expressed her faith through prayer, fasting and other forms of penance, and acts of charity. Indeed, her daily life became something of a long Lenten season in which she tried to emulate the suffering of our Lord and share His love with others. Although only 24 years of age on the Wednesday of Holy Week in 1680, the strains on her life took their final toll and she died. Her last words were: “Jesus, I love you.” She was recognized for her holiness during her life in the years that followed. Canonized in 2012, St. Kateri Tekakwitha is now a patron of ecology as well as a patron of people who suffer for their faith.
Suggested missionary action: We can pray to St. Kateri Tekakwitha for her assistance in practicing our faith, especially when it is difficult, or when others create difficulties. We can also seek her help in appreciating God’s good earth and in protecting it every day.
