Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. Saint Kateri is the patroness of ecology, the environment, people in exile, and Native Americans. Saint Kateri was a Native American woman, worker, and virgin. She strongly lives out two virtues we see echoed in today’s reading, diligence and patience. In today’s reading we are reminded to be patient and wait for God. Our souls yearn and desire God, especially in difficult times. In dark moments we grow especially impatient because God’s ways might not be our ways and we desire answers.
Let us remember to be diligent in prayer and faith, like Saint Kateri, and wait for God. There is always hope, even in our lowest moments. Nothing is ever the end because the “dead shall live.” Even life conquers death if we are patient and wait. Pray for patience today. Is there an aspect of my life in which I am being impatient and not waiting for God?
—Samantha Grady is currently completing her Masters in Theology degree at Loyola University Chicago.