Happy feast of St. Kateri! I wanted to share a little of our celebration today, as well as some photos I received from some of you! I love seeing how you celebrate in your families, so feel free to send me photos, comment them here or share on Facebook or Instagram with #hdahstkateri. If you want to see the plan for this feast day click here!

For this celebration, in an effort to keep things simple, we loaded up the family and flew 2000 miles across the country just to visit the birthplace and baptism site of St. Kateri! Go big, or go home, right? No, we happened to be a 45 minute drive from those sites while on a visit to my parents. And I thought, why not!

First, a visit to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, NY. On the drive over I read aloud from the Loyola Press Saints Stories and we talked about what we knew about St. Kateri’s life. The Shrine of the North American Martyrs is located at the site of the village of the Mohawk tribe St. Kateri would have been born into. The shrine is also the site of the martyrdom of St. Isaac Jogues and his companions.

 

Our next stop was at the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in Fonda, NY. This shrine is near the site of an archaeology dig which uncovered a group of longhouses used by Mohawks, and thought to be the home of St. Kateri around the time of her baptism.

 

Beneath the chapel was a museum on the Mohawk tribe and the archeological dig site nearby.

 

A short hike or drive away from the shrine was the actual site of the longhouses and the spring in which it is believed St. Kateri would have received the sacrament of baptism.

 

 

And then, the plan! We did the plan! It didn’t happen all in one sitting. Between our trip out and a visit from an old high school era friend, our celebration lasted all day. It came in unorchestrated bursts, without much fanfare or to-do. It, to me, was a very real example of how these celebrations can be folded into an ordinary day to make it extraordinary. How it makes our recognition of these great saints and feast days part of the ordinary flow of everyday life.

Who wants to help me make the Maple Blueberry Cornbread muffins?

 

 

And after bath and brushed teeth we sat down to make our crosses on the way to night prayer. It was really in the breath of a moment that these things came together. They were sitting around, waiting for prayer time. There were the sticks, we found some twine, and it fell easily into place. The coloring pages were out on the table all afternoon. An invitation to color this time instead of a sit down together activity.

 

Even Papateaux (Grandpa) got in on the coloring!

 

Thank you to friends and readers who sent in their celebration pictures!

And that wraps up this photo-heavy post for today! Check back soon for more celebration posts as we head through July. And look out for the August preview calendar post coming soon!

Remember…keep it joyful, simple, faithful!