Welcome to SKT4.ca … a website dedicated to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American woman saint and to my late grandfather, Malo Bewule, a Sahtu Dene Elder from Deline, NWT
Mysteries of the Rosary from an Indigenous Worldview & Wisdom
A prayer for our earth All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one. God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light. We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle for justice, love and peace.
Given in Rome at Saint Peter’s Basilica, on 24 May, the Solemnity of Pentecost, in the year 2015, the third of his Pontificate. Pope Franciscus
For a St. Kateri prayer card, Patron of Ecology and Pope Francis’ Prayer for Our Earth, click on: http://www.skt4.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/St.-Kateri-Prayer-and-Pope-Francis-Prayer-for-Our-Earth.pdf
October 21, 2022 marks the 1oth Anniversary of the Canonization of St. Kateri whose first feast day, which was celebrated on April 17, 2013, occurred 333 years after St. Kateri passed into eternity on April 17, 1680.
>> Oldest known portrait of Kateri Tekakwitha, circa 1690, by Father Chauchetière (painted 10 years after her passing).
St. Kateri 1656 – 1680,ST whose tomb is located in St. Francis Xavier Church, in Kahnawake, Quebec, was canonized on October 21, 2012. Her feast day is April 17. She is the patroness of Native American and First Nations Peoples. She is also patroness of the environment and ecology as is St. Francis of Assisi. As well, she is known as patroness of those who have suffered the loss of parents, persons surviving a pandemic, people in exile, people ridiculed for their piety, and World Youth Day. For these reasons, St. Kateri is a most fitting intercessor for Indigenous Peoples seeking truth, healing and reconciliation with the Roman Catholic Church.
For more information on St. Kateri, please see attached article, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, A Striking Relevance, by Rev. Myles Gaffney, SJ, written for the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Conference in 2020: https://d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/20283/documents/2020/6/KateriRelevance2020_2.pdf
This link is posted with the permission of the author, Rev. Myles Gaffney, SJ.
Icon of St. Kateri
The painting of the Icon of St. Kateri, below, was gifted to Pope Francis on the occasion of His visit to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows (OLSS) Church, in Maskwacis, Ab. on July 25, 2022. Gratitude for the gift of this painting is extended to Fr. Mario Fernandes, OCD, Susan Hauck, and the Artist, Dan S. Siglos.
This picture of the painting is posted on the skt4.ca website with the permission of the Artist, Dan S. Siglos.
Please see attached link for information about the gift to Pope Francis: http://www.skt4.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Gift-of-St.-Kateri-Icon-Painting-to-His-Holiness-Pope-Franciscus-at-Maskwacis-Ab.-July-25-2022-1.pdf
Painting by Shawnee Buffalo, inspired by a photo taken of Pope Francis and International Chief Dr. Wilton Littlechild, Indigenous Peoples Counsel (IPC), at an historic meeting of Indigenous Peoples and Pope Francis, held on April 1, 2022, at the Vatican.
April 1, 2022 POPE FRANCIS:
” … I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.”
For more information on the papal apology made to Indigenous Peoples in Canada, on April 1, 2022, click on the link below: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2022/april/documents/20220401-popoli-indigeni-canada.html
POPE FRANCIS’ VISIT TO CANADA
Pope Francis: “… I think with joy for example of the great veneration that many of you have for Ste. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus. And I hope to be with you that day.”
Pope Francis: ” … I will be happy to benefit again from meeting you when I visit your native lands, where your families live … until we meet again in Canada where I will be better able to express to you my closeness.”
For information on the papal visit, click on the link below: https://www.papalvisit.ca/catholic-bishops-welcome-announcement-of-program-for-papal-visit-to-canada/
I found this beautiful Forgiveness Prayer at pg. 126 in Matthew Kelly‘s book: Life is Messy. The author has given me permission to post his prayer on this website:
- Spirit of God,
- At this time,
- I am unable or unwilling to forgive.
- I know not which.
- Fill me with the wisdom of forgiveness.
- Bring me to the beautiful truth
- that forgiving others is part of my own healing.
- Cleanse me of the poison of unforgiveness.
- Shine light so I can see how unforgiveness
- affects my physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
- Today,
- I am unable or unwilling to forgive.
- I know not which.
- Just give me the desire to forgive.
- Just the desire.
- This is all I ask today.
- Give me the desire to forgive,
- For I know, trust, and believe
- firmly in my heart,
- that desire will grow,
- and the day will come
- when I am both willing and able to forgive.
- Amen
You can also find that Forgiveness Prayer by clicking on the link below: http://www.skt4.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Forgiveness-Prayer-by-Matthew-Kelly-taken-from-Life-is-Messy.pdf
Prayer For Peace – Pope Francis
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain.
Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace.
Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness.
Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!
Amen.
St. Kateri – A Saint for Our Times
Many things happening in our world today, are gripping, even, frightening. All the more reason for us to follow in the footsteps of St. Kateri and to pray, pray, pray,
Our hope is that St. Kateri’s example, including her prayerful life in tumultuous times, will help you on your faith journey.
St Theresa Point First Nation RC Church Easter Fire
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
Lac Ste Anne Hymns & Prayers
For those of you who feel you’d like to sing your prayers, my friend Leona found a booklet containing hymns and prayers of Lac Ste. Anne, including some Cree and in Latin hymns, the prayers of the mass and some to Our Blessed Mother. For a PDF copy of the hymns and prayers, click on the link: http://www.skt4.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/HYMMS-PRAYERS-LAC-STE-ANNE.pdf
The Magnificat
My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name;
And His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear Him.
He has shown might with His arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy
Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.
Praise Be To Jesus!
We were shown this picture of Jesus by a parishioner at Our Lady of Mercy (Enoch) Church on Sunday. He had received this photo from his uncle. He told us that the photo was taken with a $10 Kodak (disposable) camera. The picture was taken before Christmas 2018, but not developed until the following summer. When the photographer got his photos back, Jesus’ picture was clearly evident beside Archbishop Gerard Pettipas. Isn’t it beautiful!
Leo’s reflection appears in the glass framing the photo of Archbishop Pettipas where Jesus can be seen. Leo wasn’t in the picture! For those of you who are wondering, Leo makes all the beautiful rosaries and prayer beads.
Pray the Rosary Daily
Pray the Rosary daily as a family.
A Rosary Prayer Card is attached. Print the sheet on both sides and cut in the middle to make to two (2) 4.5″ x 6.75″ prayer cards that you can laminate or place in a ‘see through’ plastic so it is easier to read. For the Rosary Prayer Card, go to: http://www.skt4.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Praying-the-Rosary-Prayers-and-Mysteries.pdf
As a general rule, the Joyful Mysteries are said on Monday and Saturday; the Luminous Mysteries are said on Thursday; the Sorrowful Mysteries are said on Tuesday and Friday; the Glorious Mysteries are said on Wednesday and Sunday.
Late Alex Twins. of Louis Bull Tribe, is the artist of the stained glass artwork, donated by the families of Maskwacis, to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Church in Maskwacis, Ab. For the Rosary illustrated by Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Church stained glass artwork , go to: http://www.skt4.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rosary-Illustrated-by-Photos-of-Our-Lady-of-Seven-Sorrows-Church-Maskwacis-Ab-Stained-Glass-Artwork-1.pdf
POPE FRANCIS: recommends reciting the rosary prayer as a “spiritual medicine” that is “good for the heart.”
POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT: “People who pray the Rosary are appealing to the Mother of Mercy and so merciful is She, that She’s inclined to aid spontaneously, those who suffer. She is absolutely incapable of refusing help to those who invoke Her. The Rosary prayed daily is the most fitting formula for praying and meditating.”
SAINT JOHN PAUL II in his Apostolic Letter: Rosarium Virginis Mariae described the Rosary as follows: “It is to walk the life of Christ through the eyes of His Mother. Our eyes are ever fixed on Our Savior, but under the loving guidance of the Mother He gave us on the Cross.” St. John Paul II referred to devotion to the Rosary as a “genuine training in holiness” that guided Christians in the contemplation of the great mysteries of our Faith.”
ST. PADRE PIO is quoted saying: “Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today …:
For Rosary prayer beads, go to: Contact Us
Pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary
In the early 1980’s. the Blessed Mother appeared in Kibeho, Rwanda, with an appeal: “More than ever, the world needs the Seven Sorrows Rosary …” “If you say the Seven Sorrows Rosary and meditate on it well, you will find the strength you need to repent of your sins and convert your heart. ” Visionary Marie Claire of Kibeho, Rwanda
For a Seven Sorrows Rosary prayer card, which was inspired by late 16th century Flemish artwork entitled: Virgin of Seven Sorrows, shown below, click on: http://www.skt4.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Virgin-of-Seven-Sorrows-Prayer-Card-5.pdf
Flemish, Late 16th Cemtury
Barcelona, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
For the Seven Sorrows Rosary prayer beads, click on the Heading: Contact Us
St. Kateri Intercede for us
St. Kateri, intercede for us for a cure for COVID-19, for the conversion of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and for an end to war in the Ukraine.
Help us to place our trust in God in these trying times.
Daily Mass On-Line
To find the link to Sacred Heart of the First Peoples for daily mass and the rosary, live streamed on *facebook, go to: www.sacredpeoples.com.
* The daily mass can be viewed even if you don’t have facebook.
About SKT4
Founded by devotees of Saint Kateri dedicated to inspiring faith in God, through the example of St. Kateri, our first Native American saint, who was canonized on October 21, 2012.
About Our Logo
The logo symbolizes a website address: www.skt4.ca for a website designed to promote love and devotion to Saint Catherine “Kateri” Tekakwitha, the first North American Indigenous saint, in particular, to highlight a key attribute of St. Kateri’s sainthood as patron saint of ecology and the environment. St. Kateri is shown as “hovering over” the earth and the waters, above Northern Africa and the Middle East, ‘laid waste’, barren, representing the depletion of the earth resources. Through devotion to St. Kateri, we pray for the reconciliation of all peoples of the world and for the restoration of our environment.
Why we chose “skt4”: The “s” in “skt4” is shown as a river flowing from the earth, representing water vital to maintaining life on earth; the “k” in “skt4” is represented as the wood of the teepee with the ‘home fire’ burning brightly; the “t” in“skt4” is shown as a cross with a lily at the base symbolizing St. Kateri’s purity and her love for the cross of Jesus (i.e. St. Kateri was known to fashion crosses out of sticks and place them throughout the woods); and the “4” in “skt4” represents the four directions, the symbol shown below the home fire in line with St. Kateri’s picture. Four directions are symbolic of the circle of life. Finally, the eagle represents the Holy Spirit. All four elements of creation, being earth, air, fire and water, are represented in the logo.
This picture of St. Kateri is the only known portrait of Catherine Tekakwitha, circa 1690, painted by Father Chauchetière, a Jesuit priest, after he reportedly saw St. Kateri at her grave,”… her face lifted toward heaven as if in ecstasy”.
Through St. Kateri’s love for Jesus and Mary, we pray that we may follow St. Kateri’s example of caring for others and for all creation, a precious gift of God.
For Pope Francis’ Prayer for Our Earth, and a PDF version of the prayer which is beautifully illustrated by this logo, click on: http://www.skt4.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Pope-Francis-prayer-for-our-earth-1.pdf
The designer
Matt Z, was thirteen (13) years old when he designed the website logo with input from the organizers of the St. Kateri Celebration hosted on April 17, 2016, at Ephphatha House, now the Mount Carmel Spirituality Center, NW of Stony Plain, Alberta.
Matt is highly intuitive and is passionate about learning, particularly about the solar system, geography, science, and chemistry. He can also calculate many mathematical equations effortlessly. Matt knows the names of the countries of the world and knows each country’s flag as well. Most impressive is Matt’s kindness and willingness to help! Matt created this impressive logo in just four revisions.
More about Saint Kateri (1656-1680)
St. Kateri’s intense spirituality and devotion to Jesus and His Mother Mary, gives us a glimpse into the evangelization of first peoples on the the lands commonly referred to as Turtle Island.
St. Kateri, a Mohawk-Algonquin Native American lay woman and member of the Iroquois Confederacy, was born in 1656 in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon (now New York State) near Auriesville, NY. She died at 3 p.m. on April 17, 1680 at the age of 24.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, given name Catherine Tekakwitha, and known as Lily of the Mohawks, is a Roman Catholic Saint. Her father was a Mohawk Chief and her mother, a Roman Catholic Algonquin. Her mother’s influence in her early years, sharing stories of her Catholic faith and teaching her the rosary, inspired Catherine to a religious life.
When she was four years old, her parents and baby brother died from small pox. Catherine was left with a scarred face and poor eye sight.
After losing both her parents, Catherine was raised by her uncle (Chief of Turtle Clan) and two aunts who disapproved of her religious faith.
Catherine was baptised on Easter Sunday in 1676 and given the baptismal name of Kateri Tekakwitha. Following persecution from tribal villagers, because she would not reject her religion, she became an outcast from Mohawk society at the age of 20.
On Christmas Day, 1677, she received First Holy Communion after fleeing to Kahnawake, Quebec, to avoid persecution and threats to her life. In 1679, Kateri took a devout vow of perpetual virginity – to remain unmarried and totally devoted to Christ for the rest of her life.
Upon her death on April 17, 1680, witnesses reported that minutes later the scars vanished and her face became radiant and beautiful. Many who attended her funeral were healed, and she appeared to three different individuals. She became the fourth Native American to be venerated in the Roman Catholic Church and the first to be canonized.
Testament to Faith
Physical Mortification:
- Walking barefoot in the snow
- Stepping on burning coals
- Sleeping on a bed of thorns
- Piercing her body to draw blood as an imitation of Christ’s crucifixion
Praying for conversion and forgiveness of her kinsmen
Life of perpetual virginity in the service of God
Virtuous life, devotion to charity, hatred of sin
Life included:
- Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament
- Kneeling in the cold chapel for hours
- Extreme practices of penance
- Care for the sick and aged
- Last words: ‘Jesus I love you”
- Model of chastity and purity
- Wonderful bridge of healing and reconciliation
Canonization Process
The canonization process for Kateri began in 1884 by Catholics in Baltimore, USA. The first miracle was reported as the cure of a case of bad facial ringworms. In 1943 she was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII when the events which occurred at her funeral were recognized as miraculous, including the disappearance of the scars on her face and the healing of those present at her funeral who were ill.
She was Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and became Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. At World Youth Day in Toronto, Saint John Paul II singled out St. Kateri as a model of holiness, goodness and humanity for millions of young people.
A second miracle was attributed to her in 2006 with the miraculous cure of vicious flesh-eating bacterium on the face of a 6-year old boy, a Lummi from Washington state, USA. This was followed in 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI visiting the United States and addressing young people and seminarians and referring to Kateri Tekakwitha as a great model of holiness and hope.
Canonization was completed on October 21, 2012 when she was canonized as the First Native American saint.
St. Kateri’s Tomb
St. Kateri’s remains are buried in a tomb located inside St. Francis Xavier located in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada. A photo of the church is shown at the left.
St. Kateri’s Tomb pictured above
St. Kateri’s Tomb is the site of many graces and healing.
St. Kateri’s favourite devotion: Fashion crosses out of sticks and place them throughout the woods.
St. Kateri, known as the Lily of the Mohawks,
is the Patron Saint of Ecology and the Environment
St. Kateri’s motto: “Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may do it?”