The Wilderness Nativity: A Story of Christmas

What does Meredosia, a town on the Illinois River, and a beatified Mohawk woman have in common? You can discover the answer in The Wilderness Nativity. Based upon inspiring yet obscure historical facts, it is the story of courageous men and women in early American history. Set in Meredosia, a small Illinois town whose name is derived from the French Mare D'Osia, the story links well-known historical figures of America's past with a centuries old tradition. Real men like Father Marquette, Louis Joliet, La Salle, and his lieutenant Henri Tonti contribute to the roots of the tradition. Real women like Kateri Tekawitha, the "Lily of the Mohawks" and Catholic patroness of ecology, provide inspiration that survives even today in the story. It is an enduring love story between an Iroquois maiden and a Scottish mercenary against the backdrop of the Great Iroquois Raid of 1676. Self-sacrificing Jesuit Priests risk death and mutilation to minister to the natives of interior North America. The story tells of a noble tradition that continues to be practiced today for all the wrong reasons.

Tradition can be a powerful motivator as well as an exacting taskmaster. The tradition of The Wilderness Nativity commemorates an event that saved many from certain death by famine and starvation. It originated as a model of goodness and mercy to the local inhabitants. Over the years, the message of the tradition has become obscured and perverted. When this modern passion play loses its focus, something must be done to revitalize it. Centuries earlier, a miracle had been necessary to initiate the tradition. It will require a modern-day miracle to remind everyone that mercy and charity will continue to overcome the suffering in the world. The discovery of a talisman in an Illinois meadow intertwines and unites events through the years to eventually fulfill a destiny.