Lectio Divina for the Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
Theme: “Tolerable” (Written in the first person)
1. Lectio
Gospel – Matthew 11:20–24
“But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for…”
Jesus speaks unsettling words today.
He compares cities that witnessed His miracles with cities that never had the privilege. The greater the gift received, the greater the responsibility.
His words pierce me:
How tolerable will the Lord be with me at the final judgment if, after all the miracles He has worked in my life, I only strive for a tolerable life and justify that tolerable life by comparing it to the lives of those I find less tolerable than me?
The Gospel is not a call merely to avoid evil.
It is a call to become holy.
2. Meditatio
While flitting around The Glenn looking for something tolerable to do, I noticed a single scout bee moving from zinnia to zinnia.
It was not wandering aimlessly.
Neither was it satisfied with the first flower it encountered.
It was searching.
Scout bees are among the oldest workers in the hive. They are entrusted with discovering the richest patches of nectar and pollen or even an entirely new home for the colony. They represent only a small percentage of the hive, yet their work determines the future of every bee that follows.
I found myself wondering whether old age is supposed to make me comfortable—or make me a scout.
As one of the older members of society, I should not be content living a merely tolerable Christian life. Rather, I should spend these years seeking dense patches of grace through daily Mass, prayer, Lectio Divina, Eucharistic adoration, frequent confession, and works of mercy so that those who follow me may discover where Christ is already flowering.
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha understood this long before she grew old.
She was born into privilege. As the daughter of a Mohawk chief, she could have accepted a respected place in her village and enjoyed what most would have called a tolerable life. Instead, she chose Christ. She embraced virginity, endured ridicule, rejection, and exile rather than settle for a life that was merely acceptable by worldly standards.
Her life asks uncomfortable questions of mine.
Where have I become satisfied with “good enough”?
Where have I tolerated comforts that quietly weaken my zeal?
Laudato si’ reminds me that one of the great scandals of our age is not merely poverty itself but my growing tolerance for it. I become accustomed to enormous inequalities. Some possess more than they know what to do with, while others struggle simply to survive. I grow used to waste while others lack necessities. I tolerate structures that quietly suggest some people matter more than others.
The same temptation exists within my own heart.
I compare myself with those who seem less faithful and congratulate myself for being “better.”
Christ never compares me with another sinner.
He compares me with the grace He has already given me.
The scout bee does not search for flowers worse than yesterday’s.
It searches for the richest blossoms it can find.
Perhaps holiness is simply refusing to settle for a tolerable amount of grace.
3. Oratio
Lord Jesus,
You have given me more blessings than I can count.
You have fed me with Your Body and Blood, forgiven my sins, taught me through Your Church, surrounded me with the beauty of creation, and patiently led me through every season of my life.
Forgive me for the times I have settled for a merely tolerable discipleship.
Teach me to hunger for holiness as eagerly as the scout bee searches for nectar.
Through the intercession of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks, obtain for me the courage to seek You above comfort, popularity, security, or worldly success.
Help me never to measure my life against those who have received less, but always against the abundance of grace You continually pour into my soul.
Lead me into ever richer fields of Your mercy until every part of my life gives glory to You.
Amen.
4. Contemplatio (Chestertonian Synthesis)
Chesterton once delighted in observing that the saints are the only people who are never ordinary because they refuse to be satisfied with ordinary love.
The modern world often mistakes tolerance for charity. It imagines that if we simply lower expectations enough, everyone can comfortably coexist. Christ proposes something altogether different. He does not lower the mountain; He lifts humanity toward its summit.
Pope Leo XIV reminds me that every human person bears the image and likeness of the Triune God. Human dignity does not depend upon achievement, wealth, usefulness, or even moral success. It is God’s gift before it is my accomplishment. That truth changes everything. If every person bears God’s image, then I cannot tolerate systems that diminish human dignity, nor can I tolerate diminishing the image of God within myself through spiritual complacency.
Saint Kateri’s witness is luminous precisely because she understood that communion with God was worth every earthly sacrifice. She did not despise the good things she could have possessed; she simply loved Christ more.
Perhaps that is the difference between a tolerable Christian and a saint.
The tolerable Christian asks, “How little can I give and still remain faithful?”
The saint asks, “How much more of Christ can I receive?”
Like the scout bee crossing the meadow, the Holy Spirit is always leading me toward richer blossoms of grace. The only real danger is not that I fail to find them.
It is that I decide the flowers already beneath my feet are good enough.