ALL OUR SAINTS

 

The Solemnity of ALL SAINTS, which we celebrate today, invites us to share in the joy of that countless family of men and women who, following the Lord Jesus, have made their lives a gift to God and to their neighbors. Along their different paths to holiness, they have longed for “the ocean of infinite love,” to use a beautiful expression of Pope Benedict XVI (Spe Salvi, 12).

The Liturgy of the Word describes this family as “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev 7:9). Today, in fact, we celebrate all the saints: those whom the Church has recognized as such as well as the countless others who have not been formally recognized but are known to God. As today’s Gospel reminds us (Mt 5:1-12), they are poor in spirit, yet rich in God’s love. Their faces are streaked with tears, yet they find consolation in prayer. They are meek in the face of violence and rewarded by the Father. They hunger for justice, yet are filled in the depths of their consciences. They are ready to forgive and embraced by mercy. They are disarmed in heart, yet protected by God. They are peacemakers, called by name by God. They are persecuted and insulted, yet strong in faith and charity. 

It is indeed true that it is impossible to count this multitude of brothers and sisters, and not just in numerical terms. Holiness, in fact, cannot be reduced to any calculation, for such is the good that all the saints have spread around them in the world. As we admire them, we ask ourselves: what have these people, with God’s grace, brought forth?

Essentially, actions and choices of love that transcend the calculations of greed and the arrogance of evil, which at times seems to prevail. The saints are the most beautiful and powerful sign of the Kingdom of God that is coming — or rather, as Jesus teaches us, is already among us (cf. Lk 17:20-21). Moreover, this blessed multitude embraces people from the most diverse backgrounds, cultures and walks of life.  Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live. This is the hope-filled message of today’s feast: God sees the good that we do not see, knows stories that we do not know and reaches hearts to which we have no access.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, blessed because she believed the word of the Lord, accompany us along the path to holiness, so that we may never grow weary of fostering peace, both in the most important situations and in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life.

                                Pope Leo at the Sunday midday Angelus, Nov. 1, 2026

 

IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

This Blog is longer than usual, but I felt it a worthwhile story, so present pretty much in its entirety, taken from the TOM VANDER WOUDE Guild.  While Tom gave his life saving his son, as most Fathers would, the crux of this story is a virteous life lived over many years, following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Tom was born in 1942, and raised on a family farm near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His mother and father were devoted Catholics who raised their 4 children to love God and His church. He worked hard as a young boy and learned about farm life while doing his chores of taking care of animals and bailing hay.  All the while, as he worked on the family farm, Tom had a secret love of flying.

After graduating from college, marrying Mary Ellen, his high school and college sweetheart, he found himself trying out several jobs, but none were satisfying to him. One day, after spending an entire day with a Navy recruiter, Tom found himself embarking on fulfilling his dream of flying. He left for Pensacola, Florida on 4/1/1965 to become a Navy pilot. After flight training, Tom eventually checked out in an A7 single seat, single engine, attack fighter aircraft. His squadron, VA 86, was deployed on a combat tour to the Tonkin Gulf region aboard the USS America from April to December 1968.

Tom often thought about how much he missed his new wife and family while he was deployed, mostly during Masses aboard the America. He often wrote to Mary Ellen about how much he missed her and by now, their two very young sons. Living on an aircraft carrier meant sharing very cramped quarters, but Tom grew up in a very small house. He and his brothers slept in the living room and had to put everything away before they left for school every morning.

Tom left active duty with the Navy but remained in the Navy Reserves. He was hired by United Airlines shortly afterwards. After being furloughed by United, Tom returned to active duty as an A7 instructor pilot. He did this until he was hired by Eastern Airlines and then went back into the Navy Reserves again. His flying career took Tom and his family to many different locations all over the nation while flying several different commercial and military aircraft and accumulating tens-of-thousands of flight hours.

For those who met Tom, no matter how long or how short, all  described him as humble, quiet, holy, disciplined, joyful, gentle, capable, self-less, hard-working, and just.

Everyone that came in contact with Tom, first noticed his joyful demeanor. St. Francis De Sales notes “there is no real strength without gentleness and there is nothing as gentle as real strength.” Tom was the personification of this. He was not a pushover by any means (especially if someone messed with his Faith or the Faith or education of his sons), however he was gentle and approachable.  It is easy to  see why so many sought Tom’s listening ear and his prudent guidance.

Tom enjoyed being behind the scenes, usually doing something to help someone. However, he didn’t have to always be “doing something.” Many family members talk about Tom’s ability to just be present whether that was playing a game with grandkids, helping someone with a task, or sitting on the couch with his wife as his large extended family enjoyed laughter while on vacation or at a family summer dinner.

Tom’s justice set him apart as it did not come with judgement. This is another reason why young people especially came to him and were comfortable sharing their struggles and faults. They knew Tom would listen, seek to understand, not judge them, but would give them guidance even if it included some tough words.

Tom possessed an interior peace that came from his life of prayer and connection with Christ in the sacraments. Many witnesses talk about not only his smile but his infectious laugh. Tom had a wonderful sense of humor, always looking for a way to find humor in something. This allowed him to “see the big picture”  and not “sweat the small stuff.”

Tom was a talented, capable and hard-working man. To those around him, it seemed there was nothing that he couldn’t do. Tom was a pilot, mechanic, a plumber, a farmer, an electrician, a veterinarian, a coach, an architect, a brick-mason, and an engineer. Tom very much had a “can do” attitude about most things. And if he didn’t know how to do something he would find someone that did and had the humility to ask them for help. Tom put his gifts, at the service of God, His Church, and others.

Tom and Mary Ellen moved ten times in their first nine years of marriage. In 1971 the family moved just outside Chicago for Tom’s pilot job. Unfortunately after just a few months he was furloughed again. Tom took work at a paint store. This was a tough time for the family. Mary Ellen suggested to Tom that he go back to “Active Duty” since she knew how much he loved flying and the Navy. Tom was accepted back to Active Duty and the family moved to Lemoore, CA, where they spent two years.  In Lemoore the family started saying the daily rosary and would say it the rest of their lives. Tom and Mary Ellen became more acquainted with Natural Family Planning (NFP) and would teach NFP to hundreds if not thousands of couples during their marriage. They believed that NFP had a profound impact not only on their family but especially on their relationship as husband and wife. After Lemoore, the family moved to Georgia when Tom was hired by Eastern Airlines. While flying for Eastern Airlines, Tom had much more time for his family. They lived in Marietta, Georgia, and the 4 boys went to St. Joseph Catholic School. Due to the many moves and various hardships that they overcame, Tom and Mary Ellen became much more prayerful.

It was “the 70’s” and everything was changing. The schools, even the Catholic schools, began teaching sex education. Tom and Mary Ellen took their boys out of those classes.  They even rented out their house and moved into another house closer to the school so that the boys could ride their bikes home instead of having to sit in the teacher’s “break room”. They wanted their boys to be taught the true Catholic faith.

After doing some research and reading about Seton School in Manassas, Virginia, they decided to move to Northern Virginia in 1981. Seton was just beginning a boarding school at the time, but Tom said: “If the boys go, we ALL go”. So off to Virginia they all went. They initially rented a home in Haymarket, then moved to another house in Manassas. Tom always wanted to go back to the “simple life on the farm”. They learned about a 27-acre property being sold near Manassas from people they had met at All Saints Catholic Church. Tom and Mary Ellen bought the property. Since Tom always wanted to have his boys nearby, they had the property subdivided so that each of the boys – now 7 of them – had sufficient land to eventually build their own home one day.

One day at a Seton graduation ceremony and Mass, two of Tom’s boys were serving as altar boys. It was at that Mass that Tom met Fr. Fasano. Tom found out that Fr. Fasano was having Holy Hour at his church at St. Michael in Annandale, VA. At that time, there weren’t many churches offering Holy Hour, nor Perpetual Adoration. After talking to Fr. Fasano and hearing one of his homilies, Tom decided to begin taking his family to St. Michael’s for Mass on Sunday and the Holy Hour on Wednesday evenings. As Fr. Fasano was re-assigned to other churches and offered Holy Hours and adoration chapels, Tom and his family followed him to his new assignments. All the while, Tom made sure his family attended both Sunday Mass and weekly Holy Hour wherever in Northern Virginia that may be.

In 2001, a new church was being started. As with many Catholic Churches, it started in a High School very near Tom’s farm in Nokesville. The new church was Holy Trinity Catholic Church, and the founding paster was Fr. Francis Peffley. Tom sensed Fr. Peffley would need help, so he asked Fr. Fasano if he minded that his family begin attending Mass and helping at the new church. Fr. Fasano encouraged Tom to move forward and help Fr. Peffley and his new church as much as possible.

Brentsville District High School became the first home of Holy Trinity Catholic Church and Tom was head of the “set up” and “take down” committees at the church every Sunday. Mary Ellen helped setting up the sanctuary. Starting at 7AM Tom made sure all the chairs and other heavy furniture were set up, while Mary Ellen served as the sacristan. After the noon Mass it was then time to “tear everything down” and pack it all away. Tom was normally there every Sunday to ensure everything was stacked away neatly. With the permission of a friendly school janitor, he also built a large cabinet at the school to store all of the liturgical articles. For the next 7 years, Tom and Mary Ellen also went to adoration every week. Tom’s time with Jesus was from 2 AM to 3AM in the morning.

Today, Holy Trinity has over 4,000 registered families. Fr. Tom Vander Woude (Tom and Mary Ellen’s eldest son) was the pastor from 2011-2024. Joseph continues to serve mass, and Mary Ellen assists with the sacristan duties. As you enter the Adoration Chapel one is greeted by a bronze plaque with a picture of Joseph and Tom next to each other. 

On October 28^th, 1987 the seventh son, Joseph was born with a condition called Down Syndrome (also called Trisomy 21). Tom and Mary Ellen understood there was a possibility that Joseph would have Down Syndrome since Mary Ellen was 43 years old at the time of Joseph’s birth. In addition, Mary Ellen’s first five births were by caesarian. Tom and Mary Ellen were told by doctors that each pregnancy afterwards was potentially dangerous. Still Tom and Mary Ellen embraced being pro-life. Trusting in God as they pursued His plan to have more children.

When the time came for Joseph’s birth, the labor came so quickly that the midwife was not able to make it to the farmhouse in time. As a result, Tom delivered Joseph in the farmhouse. Yet again a powerful providential image, Tom helping Mary Ellen deliver Joseph into this world. A foreshadowing of Tom delivering Joseph again, twenty years later in his final act.

As a result of having Down Syndrome Joseph had specific challenges. Despite Joseph’s slower development, especially when it came to certain “milestones” of child development such as rolling over, sitting up, crawling and speaking, Tom and Mary Ellen remained steadfast, diligent and patient in their love and commitment to his growth.  However, as most anyone who has interacted with someone with Down Syndrome will say, they are often the happiest, loving and genuinely caring individuals you will ever meet. Joseph is no exception.

Joseph also is always outgoing, quick to hug and happy to see whomever he is interacting with. In many ways those persons with Down Syndrome challenge those without Down Syndrome to ask, “Why aren’t we more like them when it comes to interacting with people?” Tom understood this. He was never going to be the one to impose limitations on Joseph, probably because he was constantly surprised not only by what Joseph was capable of, but how Joseph made people happier. It can be a natural tendency as a parent or sibling of someone with special needs to assume that they will make other people feel awkward or anxious. As a result, oftentimes the parent or sibling might try to limit the interactions persons with special needs have with other people who are not close friends or family. Tom never put these limitations on Joseph. He would watch and observe but he would let Joseph be Joseph.

This “fatherly love” is something that comes out time and time again in the testimony of those that not only knew Tom, but also those that didn’t know him too well, but were able to observe him.

From the time of Joseph’s birth until Tom’s passing, Tom and Mary Ellen dedicated their lives to his protection, education and growth. They also became pillars of pro-life support for those who have found themselves with a special needs child since the birth of their own Joseph. Especially in the 1990’s and early 2000’s when there were very few support groups and resources Tom and Mary Ellen frequently found themselves providing outreach by listening to and counseling those who were parents of a child with an intellectual or developmental disability.

Not only did Tom and Mary Ellen dedicate themselves to Joseph’s protection and education through homeschooling, Tom especially looked for every opportunity to include Joseph in whatever he did, especially his work and his coaching. Tom did this for all of his sons. Again, it was rooted in his profound understanding of his role as a father. He constantly looked for ways to do things with his sons, and for Joseph it was no different.

On September 8, 2008, Tom while preparing to winterize the above-ground pool with his son Joseph noticed something very wrong. Joseph was not in sight nor was the top to the septic tank. Tom running to his 20 year old found his son had fallen in. The metal which had been covering the 2×2 top opening to the large tank had given way. The tank was some 6-7’ deep and Tom’s son was struggling in the sewage. Tom called to the workman who was working on the house that day to tell Mary Ellen (Tom’s wife) to call 911. Tom knew that unless he acted quickly, his son would either die from lack of oxygen due to the toxic gases in the tank or would drown in the muck. Then he did what every father hopes they can do in that situation, he jumped in.

Once in the septic tank Tom tried to lift Joseph out of the tank with the help of the workman who was pulling from above the tank. The methane and other deadly gases were strong, with almost no fresh air to breath below the opening. Tom yelled to the workman helping, “You pull and I’ll push.” With his last words he tried again to get under Joseph to lift him when he passed out from gases and sunk below, still somehow propping Joseph up.

When Tom’s wife, Mary Ellen arrived after calling 911, all she could do was to help the workman hold Joseph up with a strap under his arms, knowing that her husband, the love of her life, her partner in God’s plan, lay below giving his life to save their son.

When the paramedics arrived, they immediately pulled out and began treating Joseph. They then pulled the lifeless body of Tom out but despite their attempts, God had already called Tom to Himself.

Tom had died while freely and lovingly giving up his life so that his son could live!

The viewing for Tom, at his parish Holy Trinity Catholic Church, lasted for over five hours, with thousands coming to pray at his casket and give their respects to Tom’s family. One such man was a fellow airline pilot who flew with Tom during Tom’s last few years as a pilot. He attended the viewing for Tom and noted, “When I arrived, I realized the line wrapped all around the church, I stood in line for three hours just to pay my respects. As I stood in that line I thought, man, he lived life right to have this many people come to his viewing.” Tom was dressed in his simple “Sunday best” a suit which he had worn many times. Tom only had one suit for most of his life until he got a second one later, for the wedding of one of his sons. 

Tom’s casket was a simple pine box. It was just like the one he asked for when he and Mary Ellen were burying the unborn baby found in a science lab in an abandoned school. Anyone who knew Tom would know that he would have wanted a simple, ordinary casket, preferably one he could have built himself! The casket was lined with a white satin material. This white satin material Mary Ellen had worn at their wedding nearly forty-six years earlier. Mary Ellen, her daughters and close friends cut up her wedding dress and lined Tom’s casket with it. In life and in death, the two would be one. Wrapped around Tom’s hand was a rosary. The prayer that he had said so many times on his knees in front of his family and in front of his God! A prayer to the Mother of God whose faithful son he had been on earth. 

Many people who came through the receiving line commented that they had not even met Tom. However, they saw how he interacted with his family, especially his wife and Joseph. They were so touched by his life and death they were compelled to come and pay tribute. Tom’s funeral Mass was celebrated on September 15, 2008, the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, by his eldest son Father Thomas Patrick Vander Woude. The fact that it was the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows is another providential sign of the Blessed Mother’s involvement in Tom’s life and death. One of Tom’s responsibilities at the parish since it had started was to oversee, teach and mentor the altar boys at Holy Trinity. These young men who knew “Mr. Vander Woude” so well came to pay their respects. By all eyewitness accounts there were close to eighty altar boys serving the Mass of Christian Burial for the joyful and generous man they had interacted with so frequently. He had taught them how to do things like carry the cross, light the candles and hold the Missal, but he had also showed them how to be reverent, and how to be a joy-filled man of faith. The funeral Mass was concelebrated by over seventy-five priests. Also in attendance at the funeral was the Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, the Most Reverend Paul Loverde. At the head of the procession was a young man. He had met Tom just over a year prior. To say Tom profoundly impacted his life is an understatement. He recounts Tom’s funeral from his point of view:

“Myself and a few other altar servers were selected to lead the procession into the Church where the largest congregation I have ever seen gathered in that building came to pray for his soul and for his entire family. As I walked, trying to be stoic but still crying, down that long aisle at the head of the servers and many priests, it seemed to me that you simply could not have a bigger impact on a parish than Tom had on Holy Trinity. He physically, spiritually, and literally built that church. His joy and work ethic rubbed off on everyone around him, and they all gathered on that day as a show of love.”

One of the young men whom Tom coached and mentored at Christendom College, said it best noting why everyone came to the viewing and the funeral. “It’s because they know that Tom would have done that for them if they had fallen into that tank just like he did for his son.” One other friend of the family noted that he arrived just a couple of minutes before the funeral Mass began. The Knights of Columbus, altar boys, family, priests, bishop and casket were in the vestibule getting ready to the start the Mass. “I remember walking in and thinking, oh my goodness. This man could very possibly be made a saint someday.” 

A close friend and colleague at Christendom College, put it this way about the funeral, “This is the way the funeral was. It was just an opportunity for us all to reflect and see more clearly the different aspects of this gift that we had all been given. But from God by Tom’s fidelity to the Grace of God by his responding to the gift and the call that God gave him, we all have this amazing example, this amazing inspiration of, yes, this is the way God loves us all. This is what he’s calling all of us to do. We can live this kind of life too. That was absolutely the sense that you got by being at his funeral.” A week later Tom’s body was laid to rest at Quantico National Cemetery.

A DOG'S LIFE!

 

                                WINNIE  AND BELLA  AT  THE MOVIES!

        

A PRAYER FOR POPE LEO'S HEALTH

          Loving Father, touch him now with Your healing hands. 

Cover him with the most precious blood of Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. 

Cast anything that should not be in him. Root out any unhealthy and abnormal cells. Open any blocked arteries or veins and rebuild and replenish any damaged areas. 

Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection by the power of Jesus’ precious blood. 

Let the fire of Your healing love pass through his entire body to heal and make new any diseased areas so that his body will function the way you created it to function.

 Touch also his mind and his emotion, even the deepest recesses of his heart.

Saturate his entire being with Your presence, love, joy and peace and draw him ever closer to You every moment of his life. 

And Father, fill him with Your Holy Spirit and empower him to do Your works so that his life will bring glory and honor to Your holy name. We ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

(paraphrased from prayer by St. Padre Pio ) 

Painting: Sheryl Moran, Minnesota- Pontifical North American College, Rome

PROMOTER OF THE EUCHARIST IN URUGUAY

  

SERVANT  of GOD WALTER ELIAS CHANGO RONDEAU has been called the Carlos Acutis of Uruguay because of his great devotion to the Eucharist and great desire to spread his love of Christ.

He was born in 1921, in the outskirts of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, to devout parents. Walter had a normal youth. He loved nature, enjoying camping, hiking, and playing ball with his friends. From childhood, he  understood that the Eucharist was Jesus nourishing the soul. Amazingly, children his own age listened to him talk about Jesus.

 On one occasion, a classmate boasted that it had been quite some time since his last confession or communion. Walter spoke to him about the importance of receiving the sacraments and the presence of Jesus in them. This led to his classmate returning to the sacraments.

 He became involved in the parish, first as a catechist, then in charitable associations, with a special care  of the poor: "What you give to a poor person, you give to Christ!" 

He promoted the 1938 Eucharistic Congress in his homeland of Uruguay, working tirelessly. He had personally reproduced the congress logo and distributed copies to his neighbors so they could display them on their doors, thus creating an atmosphere for the event. But Walter didn't stop at mere publicity; he lived this moment as an apostolate, an opportunity to meet others and share the faith. During the diocesan process, one of the witnesses testified that Walter spoke to people with such eloquence that he seemed like a priest. However, Walter deeply felt his lay vocation and lived it with great commitment and dedication.

At 17, having finished his studies, he found work in which he ws known to becconscientious, affable, generous, full of energy, vitality, and joy. A young man of initiative, he organized parties where, at the end, there was always a time for prayer: "We have no right to be mediocre." “It is not enough that I be good; I must work so that my companions may be good. It is not enough that I be honorable; I must also desire the honorability of my companions. Nothing good is done without sacrifice.” 

Shortly after, he was found to have intestinal tuberculosis. Treatments and operations were not a success. Despite the pain, he maintained his good humor, encouraging his family and friends. He remained serene: “We are not destined for this earth, but for God. It is to Him that we must go.” He had great fortitude in the face of suffering, a profound inner peace, with a joy which radiated to others.

With complete surrender to God's will, he said: “I am in God’s hands. May His will be done.”

“I die in peace.” These are his last words, passing away with a smile on his lips.

When Walter fell ill with tuberculosis, his parents moved with him from the city  to a more secluded, quiet, and wooded area, hoping the change of scenery would improve his health. The new house had a garden with a fountain. When Walter felt better and wasn't in bed, he would stroll through the garden or sit in the shade of a magnolia tree. One day, while in the garden with his mother, he said, "Mama, when I die, you must cover me with those roses." He said this while pointing to the rose bushes surrounding the old fountain.

When Walter died, his mother remembered his request for roses and went to the garden hoping to find at least one, but unfortunately, she found none. Later, people at the wake commented on the pleasant fragrance. The news quickly spread among those present: the magnolia and rose bushes were covered in blossoms. They cut the roses to place on the coffin, and they bloomed again.

 This miracle was repeated three times until Walter’s body was completely covered. The event was witnessed by various ecclesiastical authorities, among whom was the Coadjutor Bishop of Montevideo, Monsignor Barbieri, who later became Cardinal of that See.

His cause for beatification was introduced in 2001. After 60 years his remains were transfered to the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel of La Aguada.

A GREAT CHIEF

 The previous Blog dealt with the granddaughter of Salish CHIEF PAUL (BIG FACE) TJOLZHIYSAY,   who between 1831 and 1839 sent four delegations to St. Louis requesting the Blackrobes  (Jesuits) as their teachers. How did he hear about these missionaries and their religion? 

 When Christian Iroquois accompanied the European fur traders into the interior of North America in the early 19th century, they met the Salish and other peaceful tribes and settled among them and of course  mentioned who taught them about the religion they would adopt.  Chief Tjolzhitsay and his people were moved by what they heard and decided to send for these missionaries that they too might learn of this God.

September 24, 1841, Belgian born Father Pierre Jean DeSmet together with his fellow Jesuit missionaries, Fathers Gregory Mengarini and Nicolas Point, and three Lay Brothers arrived in the Bitterroot valley in the southwestern part of Montana.

From Father DeSmet’s journal:

Eight days afterwards we arrived safely in the camp of the Flat-heads, and Ponderas, or Pends d'oreilles.' Immediately the whole village was in commotion ; men, women and children, all came to meet me, and shake hands, and I was conducted in triumph to the lodge of the great chief Tjolizhitzay, (the Big face.) He has the appearance of an old patriarch. Surrounded by the principal chiefs of the two tribes, and the most renowned warriors, he thus addressed me: 

"This day Kaikolinzosten (the Great Spirit) has accomplished our wishes, and our hearts are swelled with joy. Our desire to be instructed was so great, that three times had we deputed our people to the Great Black-gown in St. Louis, to obtain a father. Now, Father, speak, and we will comply with all you will tell us. Show us the road we have to follow, to come to the place where the Great Spirit resides."

Then he resigned his authority to me; but I replied that he mistook the object of my coming among them; that I had no other object in view, but their spiritual welfare; that with respect to temporal affairs, they should remain as they were, till circumstances should allow them to settle in a permanent spot.—Afterwards we deliberated on the hours proper for their  spiritual exercises and instructions. One of the chiefs brought me a bell, with which I might give the signal.

Chief Big Face, nearly 90 years old, greeted the Blackrobes with great joy and was one of the first to be baptized, along with 350 others at the three forks of the Missouri River.  He received then name of Paul. Only months later in 1841, after receiving his first Communion, he died.

When I first came to Our Lady of the Rock, nearly 40 years ago, we were reading at table A History of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest 1743-1983 by Wilfred P. Schoenberg, S.J. of Gonzaga University.  That tome, which is almost 900 pages, won the Washington Governor's Book Award. It was a fascinating reading, at times stranger and more adventuresome than fiction. While it took us 2 years to get through, it was nevr boring.

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'TRANQUIL WATERS"- A HOLY NATIVE WOMAN

 

Why saints?  Venerable Thomas A Kempis (15th C. monk & mystic) wrote: saints of God are friends in this life, guides along the way, advisers in doubt.. guardians in dangers, attendants in battle, defenders against the enemy, intercessors for sin, assistants at the last hour, consolers during agony, advocates at judgment, patrons before God, and welcoming friends in heaven…

In August, we presented some mystics and in September martyrs. The next two months, before Advent, we will cosider a miscellaneous group of holy people. The first two to be to be presented I am not sure will be canonized, but they have roots in our Pacific Northwest and their contribution to the early Church here is fascinating and lasting.

The people who called themselves, now commonly known as the The Coeur d’Alene Tribe (known as Schitsu'Umsh by the natives), have a legend about the coming of white men. Tradition says that Chief Circling Raven climbed a mountain on a vision quest and came back with a prophecy that two black-robed angels with white skin would come to teach his people of the great spirit.

Chief Circling Raven’s granddaughter, SIUWHEEM, meaning “tranquil waters,” was among the first to be baptized by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet in 1842. The black-robed priest was setting up missions in the West, and he was then starting one near present-day St. Maries in northern Idaho. Yet, even before the Black Robes arrival she was living a virtuous life, practicing great charity among her people. Her father was Chief "Twisted Earth".  We know of her life because Father De Smet wrote of "the remarkable  young woman" in 1865.
 
The St. Joseph’s Mission was constructed on the banks of the St. Joe River. Frequent flooding at that site caused the missionaries to soon abandon it. They moved to a hill overlooking the Coeur d’Alene River near present day Cataldo in 1846. They built what would become the Mission of the Sacred Heart there between 1850 and 1853. It stands today as Idaho’s oldest building. On the way to visit family in Couer d’Alene I would pass this very Hispanic looking church, yet never stopped.

 As a teenager Siuwheem married a member of the Spokane Tribe called Polotkin. Upon their baptism Father De Smet gave her the name Louise, and her husband the name Adolph, not only baptizing both but uniting them in marriage. From that point on Siuwheem was known as Louise Siuwheem Polotkin.

Louise became a talented translator and a fervent believer in the new religion the missionaries brought with them. She had a special love for children, especially girls, and took in several when their parents couldn’t care for them.

Louise Siuwheem has her own tribal legends. Two stories praise her for stopping battles, first with Spokane Indians, and then with the Nez Perce. 

She died in 1853 and is buried in the small cemetery on the grounds of the Mission of the Sacred Heart, which was later renamed in honor of another priest. It became the Cataldo Mission of the Sacred Heart.

Her grave marker includes the words “She taught religion to the children, cared for the sick and the orphans, taught hymns and prayers and came to this cemetery every night to pray for those buried here.” 

(At left is the painting  on her grave marker)