Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha: Seeing persecution as a testament of faith

IN embracing a new religion, a person may face persecution and this could come even from one’s own family, clan, or neighbors.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th century Native American, was rebuked by her own tribe for embracing the Catholic faith. But that did not stop her from pursuing her call – a call to offer her life to God.

Kateri was born in 1656 in an area near presentday Auresville, New York. She was a daughter of a Mohawk warrior.

When she was four, her mother died of smallpox. She also caught the disease, leaving her face disfigured with many scars and her eyes with poor vision. Later, the disease outbreak also took the lives of her father and brother.

She was then adopted by her uncle, who was then the chieftain of the Turtle clan of the Mohawks.

Being the adopted daughter of a tribe leader, young men sought to marry her despite her disfigurement. Realizing that this was only for political purposes, and not love, she rejected them.

At that time, she also became interested in the Roman Catholic faith, which Catholic missionaries had brought to the region.

At age 20, she was baptized by a Jesuit priest. She took the name Catherine, in honor of Saint Catherine of Siena. Kateri is the native pronunciation of that name.

Soon after her conversion to Catholicism, members of the tribe often chastised her for her religious zeal, which she took as a testament to her faith. Although she had to suffer greatly for that faith, she remained firm in it. Eventually, when persecution came to the point that Native American Indians threatened to kill her, she fled northward to an established community of Native American Christians in Quebec, Canada.

There, she spent the rest of her life in prayer, penance, and care for the sick and aged. After taking her vow of chastity, she died at the age of 24 on April 17, 1680.

Because of her vow of chastity, she is often referred to as a Lily flower, a traditional symbol of purity among Roman Catholics. Her most notable nickname is “The Lily of the Mohawks.” Her gravestone reads: “Kateri Tekakwitha, The fairest flower that ever bloomed among red men.”

After Kateri’s death, Native American converts saw Kateri as an inspiration whenever they faced persecution or felt discriminated against by European Christians.

Last month, Pope Benedict 16th signed and approved the second miracle needed for Kateri’s canonization. The first miracle was verified and approved when she was declared Blessed decades ago.

She, along with Filipino Pedro Calungsod, is expected to be canonized or formally declared a saint this year.

TODAY we listen to the prophet Job complaining about life and his work - “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of a hireling? He is a slave who longs for the shade, a hired man who waits for his wages.” Poor old Job, dear oh dear. But perhaps he reflects the attitude of many going to work on a Monday morning! Seeing as all of us have some kind of work to do, let us spend a moment reflecting on the importance of work in the Christian vocation and how it can become more fulfilling. Is my work only to make money? Hopefully not - as usually we don’t make so much! What is the value of work? How can my workplace become more interesting? Firing the boss?

Before doing that let us contrast Job’s pessimism with the fired up life of Paul in the second reading. He is oozing energy and vitality for his work. There is no stopping this guy. He has a very high AQ. Do you know what that is? IQ is obviously intelligence quotient, EQ, emotional quotient. In recent times what is essential is AQ. This is your Adversity Quotient. The capacity to resist, to endure, to overcome all problems with creativity and as Paul would put it, “to fight the good fight and run the good race to the finish.” Paul had a very high AQ, enduring shipwrecks, struggles, stoning, misunderstandings, and yet he kept going. “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! I become all things to all people so as to win at least some of them.” He was no couch potato or armchair revolutionary but he was out there giving it all he had, announcing the Gospel in season and out of season. Have you got a high AQ for the work of announcing the Gospel?

Maybe we can ask how to be fired up for our work and make it a place of mission? Let us learn from Jesus in today’s Gospel, he is our model. Jesus was a worker and a missionary. He worked hard all day, teaching, curing, healing, driving out evil spirits. His work was his mission. The Gospel tells us that “the whole town was gathered outside his door!” Where did he get the strength? It was not magic. He also experienced challenges and tiredness but where did he go in those moments? To the source, his Father. “Very early in the morning, before daylight, Jesus went off to a lonely place where he prayed.” In prayer he received the grace, the strength and the energy of the Spirit. He recharged his AQ there. And then there was no stopping him – “Let’s go to the nearby villages so that I may preach there too; for that is why I came.”

The Canon Law of the Church states “Each of Christ’s faithful is called to exercise the mission… lay people have the right and obligation to strive that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all people throughout the world. This obligation is all the more insistent in circumstances in which only through them are people able to hear the Gospel and to know Christ… The lay have the special obligation to permeate and perfect the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel” ( Canons 204, 225). So work then becomes a place of mission! So it is ok to earn big bucks, just do it in the spirit of the Gospel and don’t forget to share some of those blessings with the less well off. ( You can send donations to my bank account, number….). Striving to live the Gospel values at work means that it is more than just a way to earn money. Doing our work well contributes to our growth in holiness. Some big earners forget this and instead of being welcomed in heaven as a modern Robin Hood ( someone who uses their gains to help the less fortunate) will be received as Hood Robin ( someone who uses their power and position to steal from the poor and give to the rich!).

Want to enjoy more your work? Make it your mission. Want to have a higher AQ to love others, even those difficult ones? Find time to recharge your AQ in the silence of prayer. Connect to the source. Without him, life is so boring! Connect and discover your missionary potential. You too are sent by God. He needs you in your family, he needs you in your office. He needs your response. Are you available? Lord, here I am, send me…