From the Heart and Mind

Visiting the National Shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha was a spiritual and educational experience today. The day was crazy hot and humid, and my excursion was longer than anticipated. I had to eat every snack that I brought with me to keep my sugar stable. But every bit of it was worth it for all that I learned and discovered today.

When you first arrive you see a building that houses both a Native American museum and upstairs a “replica” of St. Peter’s Chapel which was originally located a little farther away.

When I got out of my car, this is the first sign I saw. I did indeed feel peaceful, and welcome. (Also, there are very nice, well-kept bathrooms on the other side of the building–rather important after a long drive.)

I decided to check out the Native American Museum first. It was interesting to read all the history, starting with this blurb about early humans and how they even ended up over here in the first place.

Do you see this? We complain about how cold it is in the winter, but New York State was literally a Tundra climate. Summers only got to be 50 degrees…and yes that IS Fahrenheit!

Each exhibit shows the chronology from the time described above to the colonial times, with a focus on New York and the Iroquois. These exhibits show different artifacts that help archaeologists be able to accurately date the site and prove who lived there and when. The following photos are examples of these exhibits:

This caught my attention with the last line: “A concern with burying the dead may indicate the beginnings of some type of belief system.” This was 1.000 years after Jesus was born.

This caught my attention because of the fact that, with trade being prominent amongst Europeans and the Native Americans, the Iroquois just stopped making their own pottery.

A bit of a typo in there, but the information was very interesting.

The Condolence Cane was fascinating to read about.

What follows are photos of each piece of the cane as described, though this part is missing a peg.

There were some exhibits and artifacts from other Native tribes all across North America. Not everything was named and labeled though. I imagine they are working on it as they are able. I was really impressed with the thorough recounting of the (pre)history, especially as it applies to New York. But wait, there’s more!

Walking down the hallway in the above picture leads you to a room of literature, a scavenger hunt worksheet and a map of the site on the back of that. I perused the questions and picked up the paper as an artifact of my own. However, if you turn left, you go through a conference room and to the right is the whole history of St. Kateri. Although I photographed every plaque, I will not include them here. Go and read them for yourself.

Of all the statues and images of St. Kateri, this is the one deemed the most accurate. It was painted by a Jesuit priest who knew her well. Although she sort of resembles a nun in this portrait, she is actually wearing the traditional blanket of her people.

St. Kateri lived in the Caughnawaga village just north of the main area of the site. This is a model of the village as archaeologists were able to ascertain through diligent and careful study through the years. The model is scaled at 1/4 inch: 1 foot.

This brought me to the end of my Native American history education for the day. I stopped to sign the guestbook, donate a few dollars, and then went upstairs to the St. Peter’s Chapel.

Not my best work, but I was taken with the sight before me. To my left were some statues of saints, but the picture came blurry so I didn’t include that here. To my right was a little shrine to St. Kateri and some electric candles and kneelers.

Also to the right. You can leave special intentions.

St. Kateri’s uncle (on her father’s side) was part of the Turtle Clan.

After saying a prayer at the altar and leaving an intention at the chapel, I went back outside to decide what to see next. I chose the Candle Chapel since it was right at the front of the property and a few steps away from the chapel/museum. On a picnic table, before you go in, there is a little craft opportunity. I decided to make myself a souvenir.

Took about 5 minutes with 2 tries. I think I spent more time choosing my sticks!

The Candle Chapel–with real candles. I lit one, but I did not stay here long. Bees and wasps apparently enjoy the view as well. Nope.

Next, I began walking the trail of the Stations of the Cross. I really wanted to sit on the bench in front of the crucifix and just sit quietly to try to write some of my thoughts so far. There were butterflies, but they eluded my attempts to catch them with my camera. There were also some biting insects. I recommend bug spray.

Continuing walking all the way down to the woods, following my map, I came across this sign. There are several statues of saints all around, by the way. The place actually has several trails, but that was too much for me today. Anyway, I think more people should be named “Handsome Lake.”

This is an example of the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Trail. It was not an easy path. There are several steep areas and the recent rain made some areas a bit soggy. Also, mosquitos. (Did I mention wear bug spray?) The thing about this trail though, is that I could put myself in the time of St. Kateri and as hard as it was for me to walk it, it was something they did every day as just a routine activity. Of course, the lay of the land and the size and type of vegetation was much different hundreds of years ago. I’m certain there were quite a few more wild animals than what can be seen here today. But walking the trail, putting myself in that time was a very spiritual experience.

Finally, I came to the end of the path that leads to a public road (Hickory Hill). A couple probably a little older than me was coming back from that direction and said, “They should have told us to drive over.” You definitely can drive to this site and avoid the whole trail experience if it’s not for you. But I feel like I would have missed out on what I described above had I done that. Did I have to sit on a log every now and then? You betcha. Still worth it. Anyway, this sign explains what exactly a “castle” is (hint: not a palace), and what you are looking at on the land.

This is the archaeological site of Caughnawaga Castle. The grass was a little high so I didn’t go too near. Also to the right of this, and closer to the road, is a marker to show where the original St. Peter’s Chapel was.

Continue walking to the right of the village site, with many different mushroomy things popping up from the grass (and scat of some kind, if you look closely), then you will come to a short trail that leads you to the main attraction–the Tekakwitha Spring and grotto.

Down a short set of steps is the grotto area and the Tekakwitha spring, said to be the baptismal place of St. Kateri. The water was still, filled with rocks. However, when I put these pictures up on my computer so I could see them more clearly, I noticed this one, and a blurrier one I had taken just before it, has all these orbs. Make of it what you will, but for everything else I took pictures of today, here is the only place I caught orbs. It’s not the water–as I said, it was still. It’s not bugs, though there were definitely many. I could not sit here in the quiet reflection that I would have liked because of those pesky carnivores. But it really struck me that I captured orbs here.

Perhaps it was sun spots. I prefer to believe the spirits of the ones who walked here so long ago continue to watch over these woods.

By some miracle, I survived my longer-than-expected excursion. Of course, there is a gift shop so I decided to peruse it. It is really nice! Lots of religious gifty items, books about St. Kateri and other saints, kids’ books and coloring books, even bath and body-type stuff. I bought a bar of soap that says it is made with the water from the spring. The ingredients are all natural oils, and indigo for dye. It is called Mohawk River. Could not wait to shower with that when I got home.

Last thoughts….

In reading St. Kateri’s story, I learned that “Tekakwitha” actually references the fact that she was visually impaired due to Smallpox. It kind of means “she who bumps into things” or “she who fumbles her way” (totally relatable). But she was actually a healer because of this disability. It was believed that enhanced healing skills came with impairments in vision or other such senses. So, while it may seem like a rude name to us today, it was actually just a matter-of-fact in those times. It makes sense even now though. If you know people who are differently abled, you know that they of course have their own talents.

I found St. Kateri’s (or St. Catharine‘s, as she actually wanted to be called) life to be very inspiring. She died far too young (24) but loved Jesus with all her heart. She refused to get married, to the chagrin of her family, devoting her entire life to Jesus. Her physical health was never that great, but she did not let that stop her from praying and helping others. She ended up moving to Canada along with many other Iroquois due to war times in the colonies, and there is where she died and was laid to rest. But pieces of her bones and teeth have been scattered about in different places, ultimately leading her to become a saint. A boy in Washington was said to be healed by a relic that his aunt had and she prayed over the boy every day. His recovery was said to be a miracle, attributed to St. Kateri, and the “Lily of the Mohawk” was canonized by Pope Benedict the XVI in 2012.