Even before her conversion, Saint Kateri had problems with her adoptive parents because she refused to marry and have a family, highly valued Mohawk values. She was an exemplary traditional Mohawk young woman, but her conversion to the Catholic faith in 1676 did not improve matters in a highly polarized political environment.
Already a Catholic, Saint Kateri decided that she would observe the rhythm of the Christian life by not working on Sundays or holidays and spending more time praying, but it seemed to her adoptive parents and many of her relatives that she was abandoning her responsibilities to the nation. .
Her family insulted her, rejected her, and exposed her to hard labor, accusing her of betraying the country and of not being truly Mohawk. One aunt even accused her of incest with one of her uncles, thinking that her lie would prevent Saint Kateri from migrating and finding welcome in Kahnawake.
Finally, Saint Kateri mustered the courage to leave Caunghnawaga, in the heartland of the Mohawk, and followed the advice of the village’s Jesuit priest to join her other family and relatives in Kahnawake, news that angered her adoptive father, who thus lost her second daughter because of migration.
Saint Kateri and the Haudenosaunee Catholics attended Mass in the morning and Vespers with the blessing of the Blessed Sacrament in the evening, all sung in their own language, while the priests prayed in Latin.
Saint Kateri received the Holy Eucharist frequently and confessed every eight days. Her devotional life centered on the contemplation of the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist.
Saint Kateri died in Kahnawake in 1680.
This article was originally published by National Catholic Register on August 16, 2021. It has been translated and adapted by ACI Prensa for republication.