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"He who has ears, let him hear." ~ Matthew 11:15
Known as the "Lily of the Mohawks," the Native American Kateri Tekakwitha , was born near modern-day New York State. When Kateri was four, she was stricken with smallpox which left her with a pock-mocked face and partial b lindness. Kateri became skilled at decorating leather moccasins and clothin g, but her relatives treated her like a slave. When Jesuit missionaries vi sited here village, she was too shy to ask for religious instruction. One of the priests, noticing her piety, spoke to her about Jesus. Kateri was delighted, and she was later baptized. Because she thereafter refused to w ork on Sundays, her relatives accused her of laziness and disrespect, and treated here severely. This, and the harsh penances she practiced, serio usly affected her health, but she responded to every difficulty with love and patience as she grew in grace and virtue. Helped by other sympathetic I ndians, she escaped to a Catholic settlement near Montrea... |