Catholic convert

What St. Kateri Tekakwitha Taught Me About Risking Everything for Christ

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Every year, there are a few saints who surprise me.

Not because I had never heard of them before, but because I finally slowed down enough to really learn their story.

That happened to me this past school year while teaching history to my third-grade class. We were studying the 1600s and the discovery of the New World, and part of that journey included learning about St. Kateri Tekakwitha. I had known she was the first Indigenous North American saint, but reading her story alongside my students gave me a much deeper appreciation for her remarkable witness.

Sometimes teaching is one of the best ways to learn.

Known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” St. Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in present-day Upstate New York. She was the daughter of a Mohawk chief and an Algonquin Catholic mother. At just four years old, a smallpox epidemic claimed the lives of her parents and younger brother. Though Kateri survived, the disease left her scarred, partially blind, and orphaned.

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The Feast of the Presentation: Obedience and Faith

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By: Karen Estep

The Feast of the Presentation is an example of Mama Mary being obedient to
the Lord. Under Mosaic Law, women who have given birth have to wait a specified
amount of time to return to worship at the temple. In Mary’s case because Jesus was a
male child, she had to wait 40 days. Thus, this is the reason we celebrate the Feast of
the Presentation on February 2nd, 40 days after Christmas.

I imagine for a woman that had given her life over to the Lord not getting to
worship in His house may have seemed like a daunting task. It probably required a
good amount of patience and an enormous amount of obedience. I feel like even 2,000
years later, we, just like Mary, are being called to have such faith.

A Journey of Faith Across Denominations

I did not grow up Catholic. I was baptized at 2 months old into the Lutheran faith.
However, for various reasons, my family did not attend a church until I met my best
friend in 2nd grade. She invited me to attend the church where her parents were
pastors, The Salvation Army. I was invited to a VBS that they were running and that is
where I first encountered Jesus for myself.

After getting married, my husband and I decided that we wanted to attend a
Methodist church in our area. While that church was just what we needed as
newlyweds, as we matured in our faith and had our own family, we felt called to
something more. However, that something more would call us to be patient and
obedient due to COVID closing everything down.

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A 1769 Word Interview with Catholic Reads

/ chicoinematt

Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed A.R.K. Watson via phone call on June 30th, 2025. We have rearranged and edited some of the questions. This provides the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.

What inspired you to launch Catholic Reads?

When I converted to Catholicism (from the Church of Christ) in college, I was taking a diversity in literature class. My professor said things in the class that seemed prejudiced against Catholics. I talked to the professor and she mentioned that she was actually Catholic herself. I then realized that I had projected my own anti-Catholic bias onto her.

And I was awoken to how literature can help in your spiritual growth through literature. I grew up in Tennessee (less than 3% of the population is Catholic) so I was surrounded by a lot of anti-Catholic bias. 

In Flannery O’Connor book’s Wiseblood, I was provoked by how she portrays the South. I didn’t realize as a Protestant that her book was a dry satire. Once I became Catholic I found the jokes and learned how laughter and story can be tools to fight against prejudice.

Converting was like walking around with those old fashioned 3D glasses with one lens red and the other blue. I had my gut-Protestant reaction but also saw things from the Catholic perspective. 

In your experience, what sets Catholic fiction apart from other genres? 

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