Visiting Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri Tekakwitha’s Annual Feast Day was celebrated on Palm Sunday April 17, 2011 at St. Francis Xavier Mission and Shrine of Kateri in Kahnawake. Bishop Lionel Gendron of the Diocese of Montreal celebrated the Mass.

Akwesasne was well represented during the celebration: Alma Ransom did one of the readings; and Orlo Ransom and Reginald Mitchell were in the procession for the Knights of Columbus.

The Mohawk Choir filled the church with their beautiful four-part harmony.  The sound of their voices filling the church was one of the times when you could really feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Receiving Holy Communion during the celebration of the Mass and then being blessed by one of the holy Relics of Kateri after Mass brought tears to many peoples’ eyes.

A simple buffet lunch was provided at the Knights of Columbus Hall after the Mass.  Our drivers, Jamie Ross and Bernice Lazore, volunteered to return to the church to pick up passengers who did not have their own transportation to the hall.  When Jamie returned to have lunch with us, she shared the story told to her by her passengers.  Twenty-three family members had traveled from Eskasoni First Nation, Nova Scotia specifically to attend the Celebration Mass of Kateri’s Feast Day.  They had arrived in Kahnawake Saturday morning after a 20-hour train ride.  

Blair Bernard is a 44-year-old Mi’kmaq man who has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments as follow up to a second surgery for stage 4 brain cancer.  He also receives massage therapy and Reiki sessions.  Reiki is a Japanese healing technique that is known for its relaxation, stress relief, and pain management qualities.  During Blair’s Reiki session on March 10, a young aboriginal woman appeared and rested one hand on his shoulder and one hand on his head.  (Blair had fallen asleep during the session)  Before the treatment ended, the young woman told the Reiki healer, “Tell Blair that I’ve heard him and I was here today.  I have asked for angels to protect and help him.”  When the healer relayed the message and Blair asked who the young woman was, she said, “I think it was Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.”  Blessed Kateri appeared at the second session and again rested her hand on Blair’s shoulder and head, but she did not speak during this time.  Exactly one week following Kateri’s message, Blair attended an appointment with his neurosurgeons to receive their interpretation/results of a prior MRI.  The doctors told him that they did not see a further progression of the cancer.  Their findings contradicted the original reading of the MRI by Blair’s primary care physician and radiologist.  Blair and his partner, Nadine, had been praying to Kateri for strength, guidance, and a possible miracle since Blair’s very first seizure in October 2009. Nadine and Blair relayed the information from the doctors and the appearance of Blessed Kateri to their pastor at their church, Holy Family Parish.  He advised them to document everything and take notes of everything that happened to him and everything that occurs in the future.

The family was originally going to make the pilgrimage to Kahnawake early in April, but when they heard that feast day was on the 17th, they changed the plans.  They started fund raising within their community and raised $7,000.00 to help the twenty-three family members get to Kahnawake by train.  They were all happy to be there and we were all happy to meet them.  We especially enjoyed the joy they spread to Jamie, as it was so evident when she told us the story.