Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin
(Exodus 1:8-14.22; Matthew 10:34-11:1)
Today North Americans are celebrating Kateri Tekakwitha, its
first Native American saint. Her story
exemplifies Jesus’ saying in today’s gospel that he has come to make “one's
enemies (will be) those of his household”.
Kateri was an orphan staying with her uncle when she met
Jesuit missionaries. She began
practicing their teachings, but her uncle and others in her tribe opposed her
being baptized. Nevertheless, she
persisted in following Catholic customs which caused conflicts in her tribe’s
longhouse. Kateri was baptized at
nineteen years old in 1676. She lived
five more years as a dedicated Christian virgin.
No one should regard Jesus as a hostile revolutionary for
saying that he came “to bring not peace but the sword.” His teachings cause unrest
because they conflict with our selfish desires.
His mission has always been to bring the peace of God’s Kingdom to a
world too much consumed by desire and hatred.
