St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha who was canonized in 2012. Her 23 years of life were filled with suffering—the death of both parents, smallpox causing poor vision, a trek to Montreal where she could practice her Christianity, and the denial of her request to found a convent. It is a day to reflect on the injustices toward Native Americans from the earliest days of our nation’s history to the present. The accounts of mistreatment embarrass me—as they should everyone. I can’t donate to every request for money that comes in the mail; however, I am partial to Catholic organizations assisting Native Americans. May we try to right the wrongs of our history through good deeds and “good trouble, necessary trouble” (John Lewis).