All of us

Kateri Tekakwitha

We had the pleasure of staying at the Madonna Retreat Center while attending the Living School Symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico this year. We loved our spacious and neat room with a marvelous view over the Rio Grande River, with Albuquerque town across from the river and the Sandia mountains as an imposing backdrop.

We loved the quiet and the friendly and helpful staff at the center. We loved walking to the nearest bus stop on Cours Avenue and taking the bus in to the Old Town and then walking along the narrow streets to the Albuquerque Hotel where the Symposium was held.

We loved all of Albuquerque. What struck and impressed us was the strong influence of the Pueblo people in the architecture and culture of the city. Our very first visit to the US could not have been to a more exceptional place.

Since being back home in South Africa, I often find myself missing Albuquerque. I recall the coyotes calling at night in the open space down by the river and the setting sun painting the mountain in glorious shades of pinks and purples.

We followed the election with baited breath and experienced the shock wave after the result was announced. We have become part of the Living School community and we feel and fear with them.

Before returning home I took photos of a couple of prints hanging in the lobby at the Madonna Center. They depict saints of the Native Americans.

Kateri Tekakwitha of the Mohawk Iroquois nation died before her 24th birthday but is revered for her holiness. What struck me was the symbols she holds in her hands, especially the Iroquois symbol of the tree of peace. At the top of the tree lives an eagle who warns when peace is threatened. The tree, like all the earth, rides on the back of a giant turtle.

The richness of this image lies in how it reflects core principals of what the Living School stands for. Kateri of the Mohawks, which means "All of us", shows the inter-connectedness of all things. The images brings together the history and culture of her people, her Christian roots and elements of Nature in the beautiful creation myth of how Earth is carried safely by a giant turtle. Kateri is all of us. Our nations stories are all so similar.

We do not know what the future holds. But somehow this image of a young Iroquois Christian who upheld the principles of unity and peace among her people is both a consolation and a call to action.

We all have the innate capacity

 to manifest God 

because we already are that image by virtue of being created.

- Thomas Keating

Matilda