Homily for Tuesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time I
Blessed Kateri Tekawitha, virgin
Year for Priests

What strikes me about the biography of Blessed Kateri is that her faith seemed to exist in a vacuum. Her persecution came from those closest to her. Having lost her Christian mother to smallpox, Kateri had to persevere in faith with little to no support from an early age on. Jesus is saying in today's Gospel that his greatest challenge is being a prophet to those closest to him, to those who should most support him. He finds the greatest resistance where he should have felt love and support. Kateri Tekawitha is a shining example for us of someone whose faith is purified by the trials in front of her, rather than discouraged. What a tremendous witness for young people, a woman whose faith led her to a life of heroic virtue at such a young age. She is the patronness of Camp Tekakwitha, our summer youth camps in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.