Homily Feast of St Kateri
preached 7-13-2025
by Rev Fr Andrew Smith
Today we celebrate our Patron St Kateri Tekakwitha, the “Lily of the Mohawks,” the Iroquois maiden, who in seventeenth century North America was the first to renew the marvels of sanctity of St. Scholastica, Saint Gertrude, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Angela Merici and Saint Rose of Lima, preceding, along the path of Love, her great spiritual sister, Therese of Child Jesus. Her life is surly an example for us to follow.
Saint Kateri is the patron saint of traditional ecology, Indigenous Peoples, and care for creation. Her life beautifully bridges the traditions of her Mohawk and Algonquin heritage and her Catholic faith. Being Native American, she was brought up in an environment that held to what is called the Indigenous world view. Rooted in traditional knowledge and gratitude for people, the natural world, and the Creator. This shaped Kateri’s daily life. Her people lived in deep relationship with the land, tending fields, forests, and rivers for the good of both humanity and all living things.
Kateri was the daughter of a Mohawk chief and an Algonquin Catholic mother. At age four, a smallpox epidemic claimed her parents and brother, leaving Kateri scared, partially blind, and orphaned. She was adopted by relatives and grew up helping tend the agricultural fields, forage for wild plants, collect firewood, and craft beadwork despite her poor eyesight.
When Jesuit missionaries came to her village, Kateri was moved by the Gospel. At age 20, she was baptized Catherine (“Kateri” in her language) at Easter 1676. Longing for a life wholly devoted to Christ, she eventually left her village, walking over 200 miles to the Catholic mission at Sault Saint-Louis, near Montreal. At the mission, Kateri grew in holiness. Known for her gentle spirit, quick mind, and deep prayer life, she embraced a path of humility, charity, and devotion to the Eucharist. She made a private vow of perpetual virginity in 1679, choosing to belong entirely to Jesus.
Kateri often withdrew into the forest to pray, finding the voice of God in the whisper of the trees and the rhythms of the rivers. In the woods, she would gather simple sticks and fashion small crosses, creating quiet places of prayer surrounded by the beauty of creation. Her faith and her love of nature were inseparably intertwined.
Kateri’s deep faith overflowed into her words. Though she could not read or write, she lovingly shared the stories of Jesus and the saints with those around her. People would gather to listen, captivated by the peace and beauty that radiated from her as she spoke. In her simple storytelling, Kateri taught the faith with the wisdom of one who walked closely with God. She said, “I am no longer my own. I have given myself entirely to Jesus Christ.”
Kateri lived the love and mercy of Christ with a pure and gentle heart; She forgave those who hurt, rejected, and misunderstood he a life of suffering, prayer, penance, and love. She united her suffering to the Cross, offering it for the good of others. She cared tenderly for people who were sick, elderly, and most vulnerable among her people. In her life, we glimpse the healing love of God restoring hearts, communities, and creation itself.
Her health, always fragile, declined rapidly. She died on April 17, 1680, at the age of 24, her final words being “Jesus, I love You.” Saint Kateri is venerated for her heroic faith, virtue, and love of Jesus, in the face of adversity and rejection. Veneration of Saint Kateri began almost immediately upon her death. Those who had known her witnessed the transformation of her scarred face into radiant beauty and felt her intercession powerfully.
She continues to inspire Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike, showing a path of healing and restoration between peoples, between humanity and all creation, and between each soul and God.
Declared Venerable in 1943, beatified in 1980, and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, Saint Kateri is the first Native American and First Nations woman recognized as a saint. Pilgrims soon traveled to her grave, praying for her intercession and reporting favors and healings.
Pope Francis said of her, “Saint Kateri Tekakwitha’s life is further proof that apostolic zeal implies both union with Jesus, nourished by prayer and the sacraments, and the desire to spread the beauty of the Christian message through fidelity to one’s particular vocation.”
She is known for Her Faith, Her Hope, Her Charity, Love of God and of Her Neighbor as well as Prudence, Devotion, Penance, Chastity, and Her Obedience to the Lord
Deb Echo-Hawk, of the Pawnee Nation, said, “I love Kateri, who went through so much, whose faith was so strong that it carried her through difficult times. I think she’s a gentle reminder of a people who have been invisible, and yet have so much to offer.”
St Kateri’s life truly fits the model of the Good Samaritan in today’s Gospel. We, like our patron, are called by the Christ to love our neighbors. This means more than the folks next door or down the block from you. We are called to love all of humanity. We are called to help lift up those who are suffering. St Padre Pio said, "Love is the first ingredient in the relief of suffering." It is our job to love. We must do no less, for in the words of Thomas Aquinas, "To love is to will the good of the other."
In today's world we must look after the less fortunate and do as God wills, to love them unconditionally with compassion. We need to remember that, in the words of Pope Frances, “Like the Good Samaritan we may not be ashamed of touching the wounds of those who suffer but try to heal them with concrete acts of love.”
With the increasing number of immigrants being rounded up just for being brown skinned, we must be cognizant of their suffering and pain, their desperation, their fear. We are commanded to treat the alien in our midst as one of us. Instead we make them “live” at in conditions that are in humane and horrific. Places that are unsafe, like the so called “Alligator Alcatraz. It is horrific, inhumane, and unchristian to treat our fellow human beings in this manner. We must as Christians feel compassion for their plight. As Saint Thomas Aquinas said, “I would rather feel compassion then know the meaning of it I would hope to act with compassion without thinking of personal gain.” We must put ourselves in their shoes, be one of them. After all, we are all one body. Atrocities met out on one member are met out on all of us!!
We must demand that our elected officials do their jobs and create a better situation for these immigrants. There is far too much cruelty in the actions of the current administration. WE MUST PUT A STOP TO THIS!!! This is the least that we can do. To truly be a Good Samaritan for to these people, and honor our Patron, we must take action ourselves, and support those that are on the scene working to help these poor suffering brothers and sisters of ours. Saint Rose of Lima said, “When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus”
We must make sure that WE are counted among the Good Samaritans. I earlier quoted St Padre Pio, I feel it imperative to repeat it, "Love is the first ingredient in the relief of suffering." We express our outrage about the refugee crisis, but without love, our words are nothing but hot air and go in one ear and out the other. This is why, if we are to call ourselves followers of the Christ, we must love all people unconditionally.
So, what are YOU doing to aid those that suffer and hurt? What are YOU doing to help change the policies and actions of our governmental officials? It is imperative that we stand up and say loudly, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!” End this reign of terror being brought abought by our government. Put an end to the xenophobic, neo-Nazi tactics being meted out by ICE, which IS today’s version of the Gestapo!!
Prayers for the suffering, as well as those causing the suffering are good, but not enough. It is time to take action. It is time for us to truly BE the Good Samaritan to our brothers and sisters that are suffering. Again, I repeat the words of Pope Francis, “Like the Good Samaritan we may not be ashamed of touching the wounds of those who suffer but try to heal them with concrete acts of love.” You must not fear getting your hands dirty, Good Samaritan, it is the Christ-like thing to do!
Let us pray God, our Father, whom Kateri Tekakwitha liked to call Great Spirit, we thank You for sending us this young woman, as a model of Christian life.
In spite of her limitations and the resistance of her environment, she was able to testify to the presence of Jesus Christ.
With her companions, she became close to the elderly and the sick.
Each day, in nature, she recognized the reflection of Your greatness and Your beauty. Through her intercession, allow us to stay closer to You, to be more aware of the misery of those around us, and to be more respectful of nature.
With her help, let us learn what is pleasing to You, and to put it in practice until the day You call us to Your side. Amen
We are all part of the Body of Christ
Homily preached by Fr Andrew on Jan. 26, 2025
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of each of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.”
I feel it my duty as a messenger of God’s word to comment on the events of the day. No one said it better than Episcopal Bishop, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, who, this past Tuesday, publicly called out the President to his face during a service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. with these words, “Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives… Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God, for the good of all people, the good of all people in this nation and the world.” I stand in full agreement with Bishop Budde’s words telling truth to power. She is an example of courage to us all in these times.
We see and hear on the news of the many cruel and disgusting acts of inhumanity being met out on the most vulnerable and marginalized in our society. The threat of mass deportations, the attacks on civil rights, the weaponization of many parts of government. The most insidious of all, the promotion of white nationalism and the violence that threatens to break apart this nation. The scary thing is that the promotors of these heinous acts identify themselves as “Christians”. Their actions are anything but Christian! They purport to follow Jesus yet seek political power and dominance over others. They have completely forsaken the light of Christ for the darkness of idolatry and are not worshiping Christ but rather power and social dominance. As a follower of the Christ, I am incensed by the bastardization of God’s word that they, including elected officials and even some “clergy”, actively promote. This is heresy and a sin. We desperately need to return to the teachings of the Christ for our very salvation. WE MUST ACT!!! We cannot afford not to. The author Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “We’ll go down in history as the first society that wouldn’t save itself because it was not cost effective.” Think about that for a moment. Are we so cynical as to view people’s lives and livelihoods as transactional, as something to buy or sell? We must not be afraid to stand up and speak up for the Kingdom of God!! We have the tools- gifts to bring about the change that needs to happen. We need to have the courage of Bishop Budde!!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this. Whether it is a brief, single encounter or the daily fellowship of years, Christian community is only this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.” We hear in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, “The body is one, although it has many parts; and all the parts, though many, form one body. So it is with Christ… Now the body is one, although it has many parts. You therefore are the body of Christ, and each. of you is a part of it.” I came across a cartoon that illustrates this perfectly. It has two sheep in conversation. One says, “I think this whole “body parts idea is cool” The other responds. “ Yeah, Everyone plays a part and every part is necessary.” The first one responds, “ Except for the appendix. I wonder, who’s the appendix?” Well, legitimate question!! We all have ideas as to its identity… I hope it’s not any of us!
As the various parts of the Mystical Body of Christ, we all have roles to play based on the gifts/ talents that we are given by God. As such, all the parts are necessary to form the whole church. St. John Henry Newman said, “The Church is not an organization, it is an organism.” It is the Body of Christ in action. All are equally important; none are superior to any other. To think that any one part is more important than another is at best ignorance and at the worst, arrogance, egotism, and narcissism. We must humbly live so that all are lifted up and honored, to live well in Christ. St Bridget of Sweden put it like this, "To write well and speak well is mere vanity if one does not live well."
The psalmist writes that God’s Law is only perfect when it is interiorized in one’s thought of heart and mind and the words of our mouths. We must give witness to the word. Some wise words that are attributed to St Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words. There is no use in walking anywhere to preach if your walking isn't your preaching.” We must truly live our faith and by our actions give witness to it- not just talk about it. We simply need to have faith in ourselves, and our abilities. We may not always feel God’s presence, but, in the words of St Thomas Aquinas, “Faith will tell us Christ is present, When our human senses fail.”
As always, our best example in life is our Lord Jesus Christ. We hear from the Gospel of Luke a recounting of Jesus preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown. He reads from the prophet Isaiah, ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” He goes on to say, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” One might say that his words are arrogant, but….. Well, it is the Christ after all. He is saying that he is anointed by the Spirit to proclaim liberation from the forces of evil, the fulfillment of all that the prophecy proclaims. We are called, by his very presence, to experience his love so that we might be liberated from all that enslaves us and to share that liberation with those who most need it. We do need to recognize those that are in the most need. We also need to recognize Christ when we see him. One of my favorite quotes is one that puts this very clearly. These words of Saint John Chrysostom are very succinct, “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.” If you need help in seeing, ask one of the “eyes” of your church to help you. We cannot leave the marginalized out in the cold harshness that has become endemic of today’s society.
The Eucharist is and well should be the quintessential reminder of our unity and interdependence with each other and with Christ. We come together as the church, the Body of Christ, to be refreshed and nourished so that we can function as a whole to do the work of God that we are called to do. St Thomas Aquinas wrote of this experience, “O how unspeakable is this Sacrament which sets our affections ablaze with charity. ... It is the fulfillment of Christ's Mystical Body.” I hope and pray that this can be our reality today!! We need to have the strength and courage to stand up to the forces that oppress us lest we lose our society and our souls. We tear down and undermine the very Kingdom of God which we are called to build up. The choice is yours, choose wisely.
AMEN
