“If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law, when you return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.” Deuteronomy 30:10
How many have we heard these words? How many times have we heard this request? They’re essential to the Christian life, essential to the spiritual life and the well-being of our souls. Yet, in our humanity, we consistently struggle with this demand. Even though we know that turning against these commandments is not only a lack of charity towards God and other but also to ourselves, we still fail to oblige and fulfill. However, we still turn to the mercy of God to absolve us from our failures and to place us back on a righteous path. Likewise, we turn to the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to recognize the wrong, for the prudence to make wise decisions, and for the courage to say “yes” to the Lord and for the endurance to remain with him.
This week, the Church offers us an example of endurance in the first Native-American Saint, Kateri Tekakwitha. Growing up in fear of her elders, she remained silent about her belief for 19 years until she could no longer resist the lure of Christ’s love and publicly converted which meant subjecting herself to slavery among her people. Eventually, she left her tribe in fear of her life and found a new home in Sault St. Louis near Montreal where she grew in holiness and faith, and at age 23, she took a vow of virginity, a commitment that naturally and inspired her to practice fasting as penance for the conversion of her people. In her life, she encountered lots of opposition, but she also encountered the support which helped her to be resilient and to endure in faith, to remain steadfast to God’s Word and commands. She persevered, and her faith blossomed through prayer, fasting and almsgiving – demonstrating an enduring union with God in Jesus and the Spirit. Through her resilience, she mastered self-discipline and experienced suffering, all in charity for her brothers and sisters. Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us.
In Christ
Fr Robert