Kateri Tekakwitha, the "Lily of the Mohawks," was born the daughter of a Mohawk chief and a Christian mother at Ossernenon, New York in 1656. She was baptized by a Jesuit in 1676 and moved to a Christian village. She cared for the sick and aged and took a vow of perpetual virginity. Her name, which translates, "she-who-feels-her-way-along," was so named because of her weakness of vision due to a smallpox disease. She made her first Holy Communion on Christmas day, 1677, and from that time on advanced rapidly on the road to holiness.

At 4:00 a.m. she could be seen kneeling outside the chapel in the snow waiting for it to open. She attended three Masses daily, and always managed two hours in preparation for Holy Communion and two hours in thanksgiving; and she made frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Her motto was: "Who will teach me what is most agreeable to God so that I may do it?"

Hidden Treasure
Louis Kaczmarek

Reprinted from Witness Ministries, a lay apostolate dedicated to renewing appreciation for the Mass as the greatest gift which God has given to His beloved spouse, the Church. Their mission is to show how, in the Eucharistic Liturgy, Jesus renews and transforms us–and the world–in His life and love.