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Friends of the Rosary,
Today, July 14, in the United States, we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), the first native American to be declared a Saint.
Born in 1656 near Auriesville, New York, she was the daughter of a pagan Mohawk chief and a Christian Algonquin woman.
When she was a child, a smallpox epidemic attacked her tribe, and both her parents and brother died. She was left with permanent scars on her face and impaired eyesight. Her uncle, who had now become chief of the tribe, adopted her, and her aunts began planning her marriage while she was still very young.
A Jesuit missionary baptized Kateri (taking the name Katery after Catherine of Siena) Tekakwitha at the age of twenty. Like her namesake, she was drawn into intimate communion with God and suffered persecution for his sake, incurring the hostility of her tribe.
She devoted her life to prayer, penitential practices, and caring for the sick and aged in Caughnawaga, a Jesuit mission near Montreal, where she escaped. There, she spent the last three years of her life giving herself to prayer, mortification, and works of charity.
Moved by God’s love for humanity, she saw the dignity in each of her people. She was devoted to the Eucharist and to Jesus Christ crucified. Known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” Kateri spent her short life dedicating herself entirely to God through long hours of prayer and practicing severe fasting as penance for the conversion of her nation.
She died at the age of 24. Witnesses reported that within minutes of her death, the scars from smallpox completely vanished, and her face shone with radiant beauty.
Devotion to Kateri began immediately after her death, and her body, enshrined in Caughnawaga, near Montreal, in Quebec — where she grew in holiness and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament — is visited by many each year.
Additionally, Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine, in Fultonville, NY, the birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, is a great place to make a pilgrimage. Another shrine to visit is the St. Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site in Fonda, NY.
She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980, and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 21, 2012.
Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Please give us the grace to respond with joy!
+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York
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