In 1656, a baby girl was born in an Iroquois village in Upstate New York to a Christian mother and Mohawk father. Her mother wanted her to be baptized, but her father resisted. She was known as “Little Sunshine” until the age of 4. At that time, tragedy struck her life as her mother, father and brother all died when smallpox swept through their village. Little Sunshine contracted the disease herself, but survived. It left her with impaired vision and scars on her face. The little orphan was adopted by her aunt and uncle. Because of her impaired vision due to the disease, she came to be known as Tekakwitha, which meant “she who bumps into things.” Her vision eventually improved, but the name stuck.
Tekakwitha was somewhat reclusive and covered her head because of her scars. But she was a diligent worker and known for her skill in things like beadwork, making clothes, and cooking. She completed tasks without complaint. When Tekakwitha was 11, her people were visited by Jesuit missionaries, whose example and teaching greatly impressed the young girl. She became more and more interested in the Christian faith they exemplified, despite the opposition of her adoptive parents and others. Because of her burgeoning faith, Tekakwitha firmly refused to marry and resisted the attempts of her family to have her betrothed. She wanted to be married only to Jesus, which came as a shock to her tribe.
Eventually, due to her steadfast refusals, her wish to remain unmarried was respected. Tekakwitha converted to Catholicism under the direction of the Jesuit priest Jacques de Lamberville. She was baptized on Easter Sunday in 1676 and took the name Kateri, which is the Mohawk form of her baptismal patron, St. Catherine of Siena. After her conversion, she suffered persecution from others in her village and was even accused of sorcery. Under this pressure, Kateri made the decision to travel 200 miles to a community of Christian natives in Canada. It was there that Kateri received her first Holy Communion on Christmas Day in 1677. After her conversion to Catholicism, Kateri was determined to live a life wholly dedicated to Jesus, and even tried to start a religious order of native women along with a friend of hers. She often took on bodily sufferings to offer up for the conversion of her fellow Mohawks.
Kateri told one of the Jesuit priests in this community of her desire to remain a virgin consecrated to Jesus alone, saying:
I have deliberated enough. For a long time, my decision on what I will do has been made. I have consecrated myself entirely to Jesus, son of Mary, I have chosen Him for husband, and He alone will take me for wife.
With that intention, Kateri privately took a vow of chastity, consecrating herself to Jesus as His bride on the feast of the Annunciation, March 25th, 1679. She spent the rest of her life in service, prayer and penance, and died at the young age of 24. She is called the Lily of the Mohawks, revered for her pure love of God and fearless practice of her faith in spite of persecution and difficulty.
She is now a canonized saint in the Catholic Church. Saints like her inspire me. From the first time she was introduced to Jesus by missionaries, St. Kateri demonstrated an open and generous heart toward Jesus. She grew in the desire to completely dedicate herself to Jesus, even though this went completely against the customs of her people. Her desire was to serve the Lord and follow where He led. Isn’t it amazing that her dedication to following the call of God in her life was echoed sixteen centuries earlier by a group of wise men from the East! These men travelled from a foreign country, having discerned from their study of the stars the coming of a new king. The Lord God allowed them to recognize the coming of Jesus, and so they responded with significant action, taking what was likely a long and difficult journey to pay homage to the newborn king of the Jews.
In the actions of these magi, we see already a hint that Jesus’ birth isn’t just the dawn of a Messiah for the Jews, but for the whole world, Jews and Gentiles alike. These wise men represent all of us who have been called from every tribe, tongue, people and nation to serve this newborn king.
When they finally come into Jesus’ presence, the humility of the magi is powerful. They lay themselves flat on the ground and offer Him worship. We often focus on the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh which they offer, but they offer another gift first, the most costly gift of all: themselves. Their prostration and worship indicates that they are willing to give themselves to the rule of this newborn king. Of course, they don’t know exactly what that might entail, but nonetheless they offer themselves to Him. Their willingness to heed the warning from God in a dream to return home by a different way indicates that they have given themselves to the service of the baby king rather than to Herod.
Ever since before Jesus could even utter a word, and down through the long history of the Church, the Holy Spirit has inspired people to totally give themselves to Jesus and His Lordship. The wise men laid themselves before Jesus, offering themselves in His service, St. Kateri offered her life to Him, remaining a virgin in order to serve Him with all her heart. Jesus, with His infinite love, also invites you and me to risk self-surrender to follow Him. So many holy men and women have shown us down through the ages that this act of self-gift is worth it.
St. Kateri’s dying words were, “Jesus, Mary, I love you.” A short time after Kateri died, the scars she had carried on her face throughout life miraculously disappeared, leaving it radiantly beautiful. Kateri appeared to her friend Marie-Therese Tegaiaguenta as she cried on her bed mourning her passing. She knelt at the foot of her mattress holding a glowing cross in her hands. Though St. Kateri endured a life full of difficulty, her faith led her to confidently give her all to Jesus, and now she prays for us before His throne!
In our time, the secular society in which we live worships at the false altar of self-determination. We are told that the truly happy life is one in which we are masters of our own destiny. But that is not the story of the magi, St. Kateri, and all those who have heeded the call of God down through the ages. Jesus invites us instead to the surrender of self-gift. This is what will lead to true joy in life. In dying to ourselves, we find true life in the Lord and service to Him and others. This will look different for each of us. Most are called to give themselves to the Lord as parents, some are called to give themselves as religious brothers or sisters or priests, some are called to give themselves to Him in consecrated single life. But the golden thread in all states of life is the invitation to trusting self-gift. Life isn’t about my own self-project, but about answering the call each day to lay myself down in concrete ways for Jesus and those He has given me to serve. We have nothing to fear in this because of the fact that God has given Himself to us first. This is why the wise men could be confident in falling prostrate in worship before that baby, why St. Kateri gave her whole heart, because the Father so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son. Will we allow His grace to lead us each day to give ourselves lovingly back to Him?
+ Heavenly Father, thank you for the unmatched gift that we have in your Son, born for us on Christmas. Jesus, thank you for drawing the wise men to be the first of the many from all the nations to give themselves in worship to You. Holy Spirit, break down those barriers in our hearts to more fully surrendering our lives to Jesus. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. +