St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Capuchin Franciscan priest, is known for his deep love for Mary and the Eucharist. The founder of the Militia Immaculata, Kolbe preached devotion to Jesus through Mary and encouraged the faithful to draw near to our Blessed Mother, who would only lead them closer to Christ, truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist. The courageous priest ministered in the height of World War II, defying Nazi rule to spread the Gospel and Marian devotion. He was eventually captured and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Amid profound darkness, evil and suffering, St. Maximilian Kolbe was a humble light of Christ. He served the prisoners faithfully, praying with them, singing hymns and exhorting them to hope, despite their bleak circumstances. One day, Franciszek Gajowniczek was selected for death by starvation, slated to be sent to a bunker to die. He fell down weeping, begging for his life and crying out for his family. St. Maximilian Kolbe stepped forward and volunteered to take his place. Just as Jesus died for his people, St. Kolbe volunteered to die for his spiritual son in Auschwitz. Rather than fall into despair in the starvation bunker, St. Maximilian Kolbe and the other prisoners could be heard singing hymns of praise to God and praying the Psalms and the Rosary. The last to survive after accompanying his spiritual children on their journey to the Father, St. Maximilian Kolbe was taken away to be killed by lethal injection. His two weeks in the bunker were too much for the Nazi authorities. Thus this great saint gave his life as a "martyr of charity," sacrificing himself so that others might live. Taking literally the words of Christ in his Farewell Discourse, St. Maximilian Kolbe showed the greatest love: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (Jn 15:13). As we celebrate his feast day today, glean some wisdom from the great twentieth-century witness of charity, courage and fidelity through his own words!
“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”
“God dwells in our midst, in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.”
“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”
“Prayer is powerful beyond limits when we turn to the Immaculata, who is queen even of God’s heart.”
“A single act of love makes the soul return to life.”
“For Jesus Christ, I am prepared to suffer still more.”
“The most deadly poison of our time is indifference. Let us strive, therefore, to praise Him (God) to the greatest extent of our powers.”
“We have no right to rest; I repeat, we have no right to rest for a single moment, as long as even one soul is in Satan’s grasp!”
"The cross is the school of love."
“No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it.”
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