A Lily Among Thorns

[flintysooner]

A Lily Among Thorns
The Mohawk Repatriation of Kateri Tekahkwi:tha
by Darren Bonaparte

Kateri Tekahkwi:tha or Blessed Catherine Tekakwitha was a Mohawk-Algonquian woman born in New York in 1656.

At age 24 in 1679 she died reportedly saying "Jesus, I love you" as her last words. Her Christianity, and especially her zeal, was neither understood nor appreciated by her people. She practiced self-mortification for a while as part of her concern for her people. This practice left her body scarred in addition to more scars from a severe smallpox outbreak that had earlier taken the lives of her immediate family.

It is reported that all of the scars on her body disappeared at her death. Many people were healed at the time of her funeral and she was reported as seen by at least two persons afterward.

The beatification process began in 1884 and culminated in 1980 when she was declared Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha by Pope John Paul II.

Her life has inspired a good many shrines and several buildings carry her name. Her feast day is July 14.

I found the history of the Mohawk people to be very interesting and thought provoking as presented by Bonaparte. I had not known of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha until I read this book. There are aspects of her life that everyone can find relevant I think.

It is not exactly an easy read but very worthwhile all the same. And the illustrations are quite beautiful.

Available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lily-Among-Tho...2176448&sr=8-1