Pierre Cholenec, S.J. "The Life of Catherine Tekakwitha, First Iroquois Virgin" (1696)

Chapter 17

After having spoken until now of her life and death, we shall consider some apparitions of Catherine. Also, of the extraordinary favours, which several people had obtained from Heaven and are being received everyday in New France. I will admit with regard to these apparitions that I had difficulty deciding whether to speak of it, because there are only too many people in the world that make themselves to believe nothing and especially in matters of this sort. They would no sooner hear of her apparitions mentioned that they protest against them and pretend these revelations are many illusions. Although there have been some in the past that were found to have existed in the imagination and not in reality. These people would prefer to believe that the hand of God was shortened, concerning the apparitions of a poor Native girl, but He is the giver of all the graces and would give them to anyone He wants.

The appearances I am referring to here are such of an importance and clear in detail, which I do not see that they could reasonably be doubted. The incredulous will always remain so. God will be glorified in His servant and virtuous people will find in these marvels new motives to love and bless Him, which seeing how He rewards the services rendered to Him and even from the poor Natives.

On the sixth day after Catherine’s death that is to say, the Monday after Easter, which Father Chauchetiere was praying at four o’clock in the morning when Catherine appeared to him. She was surrounded with glory in a majestic manner and her shining face was lifted to Heaven as if in ecstasy. He had seen Catherine as a rising sun and heard these words, “Adhunc veni in dies” that is to say, “Even now I come everyday.” This marvellous apparition was accompanied with three circumstances that had rendered it more admirable.

In the first place, the appearance had lasted two entire hours. The Father could contemplate her at leisure during the time of her appearance as a portrait, which he did with such a joy and pleasure that it is difficult to express. Catherine had wanted from this appearance to recognize the favour of his great services received from him during her lifetime. This same apparition was accompanied with several prophecies and from as many symbols seen on the two sides of Catherine in her ecstasy. And some of these prophecies have already been fulfilled and while the others have though to come.

In the apparition, he had seen at the right of Catherine a chapel turned over on its side and while at her left that a Native was tied to a stake and burned alive. These events had occurred in August of 1683, and then in the year, 1690. The Father wanted to have kept this appearance as a secret. In truth, he did not actually disclose it until a much later time, which was when the events seen as symbols did take place and Catherine began to be famous from her miracles.

At midnight, which was the joining of the night of Thursday, the nineteenth to Friday, the twentieth of August, 1683 that there was a terrible storm with such lightning, thunder and the earth was seen to tremble. The like of the storm, perhaps was never been told, which it could only have been caused from the evil spirit. It had hurled the chapel of the Sault sixty feet long and breaking it into pieces. I say it had taken the chapel with such violence at one corner that it was turned over on the opposite angle. All the articles of the sacred furniture were preserved entirely, except five crosses that were broken and what may represent the Faith of the five nations. The statue of the Blessed Virgin had simply overturned of which was at an elevation of eleven feet.

In the chapel, there were three Jesuit Fathers. Fathers Jean Morain and Nicolas Jean Potier were above in the chapel and lifted into the air with the pieces. Father Chauchetiere came from the cabin and went inside the chapel to ring the bell to alert the village of the storm. He felt the rope pulled out of his hands and was lifted as the others. He was saved and carried away from the place, where he had been kneeling and at his feet the two bells fell and also, a great hole in the ground was made near him from the joists, which were broken in their fall. He found himself in a place of safety without fear and wound and he prayed and kissed Catherine’s relics that he had tied around his neck. Father Potier leaped into the air with the rafters, which had formed a sort of cage around him and escaped with a slight wound to his face. Father Morain fell and he had his shoulder dislocated, but had soon recovered. All the three Fathers had found themselves on the ground under the debris, which they were extracted with so much difficulty.

The Fathers thought their bodies would be severely injured from such a violent effect, but they had merely some slight wounds. They had attributed being alive to the prayers said to Catherine and when all three of the Fathers met, which one of them said, “As for me that I had said Mass of the Holy Trinity as in honour of Catherine this morning.” The other said, “I went to her grave this morning as to recommend myself to her in a very particular manner.” And Father Chauchetiere said, “For over a year that I had an insistent idea of an accident would happen to the Mission and during all that time, and even today, I went to pray to Catherine at her grave to deliver us from it. And besides this, I did not cease to importune the Superior of the Mission to have her bones placed in our chapel.”

Father Chauchetiere could not restrain his tears when he had seen the Natives, who were so much afflicted at the loss of their chapel. They said that God was chasing them away from the chapel, because they did not deserve to enter it. They were inconsolable at seeing these Fathers wounded and sick, which saying that these Fathers were suffering for them, because they were not willing to listen and live like good Christians. He was very skilfully as to have taken the opportunity to encourage them to change their lives in earnest.

Then God having wanted in the village that there should be then an architect, who built five other chapels very well constructed. They had immediately proceeded to rebuild the chapel. The senior and most fervent of the Chiefs of the Sault, the Great Mohawk, had finished his bark cabin fifteen days ago. He had left his cabin, because he offered it to serve as a chapel until another would be built. The offer of the Great Mohawk was accepted and considers himself the happiest man in his village, because he has the blessedness of giving lodging to Jesus Christ. And Our Lord had honoured this chapel with several wonders that occurred therein, where many people said novenas to Catherine Tekakwitha, because they were seen to come to the chapel from devotion. They had performed that same devotion there even though of the severities of winter, the spring rains and the summer heat, which was harder to endure for those that often went to visit the Blessed Sacrament.

The Native seen burnt at the stake in the apparition, although he died a glorious death, would happen in 1690 at Onondaga. He was Ethan Teganannokoa and who was a Huron from the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier. When in the midst of the flames, he did not cease to encourage his wife to have invoked with him the Holy Name of Jesus. And having been near death, which he revived all his strength and in imitation of Jesus Christ that he had prayed to Him with a loud voice to the conversion of those, who treated him with such inhumanity.

At Onondaga in the two following years that two Onondaga women of the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier, Frances Gonannhatenha and Margaret Garangouas, were also captured and burned from hatred of the Faith and the Mission.

The French, who were slaves among the Iroquois, were continually escaping. They were witnesses, which they could not relate these things to us without weeping and drawing tears from the eyes of their listeners. Catherine had prophesied this a long time before and obtained of these Natives the invincible courage that they had during their torture. We shall regard this at the end of this book, which was a marvellous effect of the influence she has in Heaven.

In the following year, Monday the first of September 1681 and on Tuesday the twenty-first of April 1682, which Catherine appeared again to Father Chauchetiere on those two days. The Father was left in contemplation for five entire hours after the apparition on Monday September 1, 1681. Then the Father was again left in contemplation, but for six entire hours after the apparition on Tuesday April 21, 1682. These two appearances of her were under the same circumstance that is, the Father was lying on his back and looking up. Although these two apparitions were different from the first apparition on Monday April 22, 1680, because he had seen her as the sun at noon in mid-Heaven.
The first of the last two apparitions, Catherine Tekakwitha appeared to the Father while shining with brilliant lustre in all her person. The Father had felt an interior inspiration to show her painted image to the people.

In the second of the last two apparitions, or the last apparition he had of Catherine, the Father saw Catherine Tekakwitha so brilliant with surrounding light, which this time that his eyes could scarcely endure seeing her. Also, he had heard these words, “Inspice et fac secundum exemplar” that is to say, “See that you make them according to the pattern” (Exodus 25:40). God had made it known that He wanted portraits to be painted of Catherine. Now he was demanded to paint a portrait of her as he saw her. He had made the painting, which was as the best that he could. Later, other paintings were done by Father Chauchetiere and were badly done on paper, but the people value them so much. There are scarcely enough to supply the requests for these paintings. And people are very grateful to these paintings and they carefully have kept them in their cabins. The Father had for a long time refrained from painting portraits of Catherine, but when he painted portraits of her later on that they contributed a great deal of making Catherine known, because having been placed on the heads of the sick that they brought about marvellous cures.

Two days after the first of these apparitions, Wednesday April 24, 1680 that Catherine appeared to the good Anastasia in the following manner. She had said, “One night after the public prayers and when everyone had gone to sleep, I had prayed alone a little while and then I went also to sleep. I scarcely had fallen asleep when I was awakened from a voice calling me and saying, ‘My mother, rise up and look!’ I had recognized Catherine’s voice. Immediately, I sat up and turning to the side of the place, where she was calling me. I had seen her standing at the side of me. She had half of her body hidden until the belt. Her upper body was as bright as the sun and I saw only her face that was of an extraordinary beauty. She said, ‘My mother, look well at the Cross I am carrying! Look, look, how beautiful the Cross is! Ah, how I loved the Cross on earth! Ah, how I love the Cross still in Paradise! How much I want all of our cabin to love and rely on the Cross as I did!’ This was what she had said to me and at that instant, she disappeared and left me with so full of joy. And the Cross she carried in her hand was so beautiful and gave forth more brilliant light than all the rest, I have never seen anything so lovely and charming.” Her spirit was so filled with this apparition that after many years, which her memory of it is as fresh as the first day.

Through this loving visit, it would seem that Catherine wanted to show her gratefulness of all the care that she had from Anastasia, because she looked at her as her mother. Catherine had wanted from her words and from the apparition of this beautiful Cross to prepare her generously the Cross, because God had wanted to prepare her for the death of three of her children in wars and the oldest of them was one of the Chiefs of the village. These great sufferings, she endured with heroic faithfulness and she was greatly strengthened from this apparition of her dear daughter.

The great affection Catherine had to the Cross and the manner that she appeared to her mother, which gave the thought of painting her with a Cross in her hand. It was the posture that was the best appropriate for her. The Cross was the source of all her happiness during her life.

Around that time, which Mary Theresa had reported an apparition. She said, “One morning and before dawn, someone had come to knock on the outside of my cabin and near the place where I was lying. This person said, ‘Are you asleep?’ I replied, ‘No!’ This voice said, ‘Good-bye! I have come to say good-bye. I am going to Heaven.’ I had recognized Catherine’s voice and went out at once to see her, but she was not there. I had heard Catherine’s voice far in front saying, ‘Good-bye!’ But I had seen nothing. Catherine said, ‘Go and tell the Father I am going to Heaven.’ ”

Another day, Mary Theresa had another apparition. She said, “I was angry with my sister and the following night when I was in my cabin, someone came and seated on a mat near me. I saw the person covered in a blanket as Catherine did during her life and heard her say, ‘You do not remember the good resolutions you made?’” The person reprimanded her for what she had done. Although she gave her some advices for her conduct and said many other things. Then someone sleeping next to her had awakened, which Catherine said no more and left. Mary Theresa heard her walking out and as though she was a living person, and immediately Mary Theresa repented her fault.