Taking A Stand

We join Native Americans today in celebrating the life of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first and only (so far) Native American Saint.  Born in 1630 in what is now upstate New York, she survived a bout with smallpox, a disease which killed thousand of Native Americans, including her parents. Raised by her extended family, she led a quiet, secluded life, due to the smallpox scars she bore on her face and her semi-blindness...the results of smallpox.  After meeting a Jesuit missionary at the age of 17, she was baptized a Catholic at 19, which, along with her refusal to marry, gave the tribe more reasons to shun her.  Nevertheless, she stood her ground and remained steadfast in her faith, walking miles for daily Mass, and living a life of extraordinary kindness and prayer-fullness She died young, at 24, but miracles began to occur right away through her intercession.  She stands as an example of how affliction and abandonment by family and friends can be the springboard for a life of simplicity and holiness. St. Kateri, pray for me when I am faced with peer pressure to make choices that will lead me to be untrue to myself and to God.
Bro. Rene