“When shall I begin to give myself entirely to him, who has given himself unreservedly to me?”
New York may not be your idea of a hotbed for holiness. But the quote above comes from Father Isaac Jogues, a Jesuit missionary who ultimately gave his life in the service of the Lord, ministering to Native Americans in the New World
Saints from the Empire State aren’t as rare as you might think. Right on Fifth Avenue, the bronze doors of St. Patrick’s Cathedral provide some reminders Mother Cabrini. Elizabeth Ann Seton. These women led the way in serving immigrants. Orphanages, schools and hospitals were once the domain of Catholic religious sisters.
Another woman, Kateri Tekakwitha, brings us closer to Jogues. The Christian convert, born in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon – present-day Auriesville, New York — risked her life by seeking to live the Gospel. (Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother a Christian Algonquin.) Jesuits would eventually take her north for safety. Her tomb is roughly a 15-minute ride from the Montreal airport, but she was born where Jogues and two other Jesuits were murdered. Now that land is the site of the newest national shrine for pilgrims.
Full disclosure: I’m on the board of Our Lady of the Martyrs Shrine, also known as the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs. But it is because I’ve had an affinity for the place that I was asked to serve on the board. My parents took us there one Easter break and it has held a treasured place in my heart since.
No offense to those who live in Auriesville or nearby Amsterdam (where the closest Amtrak stop is located), but the new national shrine is in the middle of nowhere — that’s definitely the impression one has if one hails from downstate, also known as “civilization” by us chauvinists — which is a blessing. About 40 minutes from the capital region of Albany and a threeish-hour drive from Manhattan, the shrine offers an opportunity for solace, for a break from the chaos of life.
The vice president is a smart, articulate millennial husband and father, and a fairly recent convert to Catholicism. He has also criticized the U.S. Catholic bishops for using government funding for work with immigrants and refugees. The whole issue should give Church bureaucrats and politicians pause. The Jesuit martyrs and St. Kateri are saints, and getting to know their history can help us stretch our hearts.
Saints and martyrs both keep us humble and help us grow in courage. “My hope is in God, who needs not us to accomplish his designs,” Father Jogues wrote. “We must endeavor to be faithful to him and not spoil his work by our shortcomings. I trust you will obtain me this favor of our Lord, that, having led so wretched a life till now, I may at last begin to serve him better.”
I’d love to see Vice President J.D. Vance visit Auriesville, simply as a prayerful pilgrim. We could set up with an expert tour from archivist Beth Lynch. We can make sure there’s a priest up there for any sacramental graces the vice president seeks. But most of all, I’d pray that people leave him alone so he can ask the martyrs for a little bit of their humility, love and courage. Vance might be president one day, but the race that is most important is the eternal one.
I hope to see you in Auriesville this spring, summer, or fall (it’s open seasonally — it’s too expensive to keep the temperature bearable in the winter). We can also visit the Auriesville of our hearts, where God’s grace, with inspiration from some of those who have come before, can reprioritize our lives — and, yes, our politics.
(Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book “A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living.” She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan’s pro-life commission in New York, and is on the board of the University of Mary. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com.)
