From the Paper Dali archives.
This post is dedicated to my little Max in heaven.
August
14 is the feast day of one of my favorite saints, Maximilian Kolbe. I
first heard of him a long time ago. When I received the sacrament of
Confirmation, the bishop gave a riveting homily about the recently
canonized Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a martyr during World War II. After
listening to the homily, I adopted St. Maximilian as my spiritual
father, and Papa Kolbe has never let me down.
What drew
me to him was his steadfast devotion to the Lord and how he used his
gift of writing and editing to share the faith during a dark time in
history. It is no coincidence, I think, that I became a writer and an
editor, too. As the patron saint of editors, Maximilian holds a special
place in my heart.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe for Young Children
Now,
this year's post about Saint Maximilian Kolbe is dedicated to younger
kids. The circumstances of his death are gritty, and so I want to offer a
child-friendly version of his life. It is not a watered-down version of
his life, but it does not have all the details that older children and
teens may want to hear. (If they do want those details, they can find
them in my
older Saint Maximilian Kolbe post.)
The
story of Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe ends with his greatest sacrifice,
that of his laying down his life for a friend. It's an amazing story,
one that people always remember about him. And when he is shown in
paintings or in religious pictures, St. Maximilian Kolbe is almost
always in a prison uniform.
However, heroic acts of
love usually do not happen out of nowhere. They come from a life of
choosing to show love in smaller, quieter ways. Maximilian Kolbe was a
martyr because his entire life had been spent in doing small things with
great love.
The Child Raymond
He was born on January 8, 1894 in in
Poland, which was part of the Russian Empire at the time. He was the
second son of Julius and Maria Kolbe. He was not called Maximilian at
that time ... he would choose that name later. He was baptized as
Raymond.
Now,
when Raymond was 10 years old, an event happened that changed his life
and outlook forever.
In a letter many years later, after Max's death,
his mother wrote the following to a friend:
"We had a
small, hidden altar, where he often went to pray without letting anyone
notice. As he prayed, he would cry. Generally, he acted in a manner
older than his age, being always recollected and serious. He would pray
with tears in his eyes. I was concerned that he might perhaps be sick,
so I asked him, 'What is the matter with you?' And I began to insist,
'You must tell everything to your mother.'
"Trembling
with emotion and with tears in his eyes, he told me: 'When you scolded
me, Mama, I prayed very much to the Madonna to tell me what would become
of me. And later, in church, I prayed to her again. Then the Madonna
appeared to me, holding two crowns in her hands: one white and one red.
She looked on me with affection and asked me if I wanted those two
crowns. The white one meant that I would remain pure, and the red, that I
would be a martyr. I told her I accepted both. Then the Madonna looked
at me sweetly and disappeared.'"
Raymond's life changed forever. He prayed more, drew closer to the Blessed Mother, and was a loving, obedient son.
When
he finished elementary school, he was not planning to go to high
school. High school was very, very expensive and rarely
attended in Poland during that time when Russia ruled over it. His
family chose to educate his older brother; Raymond would stay home and
help the family with their weaving business.
But
one fateful day, his mother, who was a midwife, meaning she helped moms
deliver their babies, needed some special medicinal powder from the
pharmacy. and so, she asked Raymond to go get some for her. When he
went, he spoke to the pharmacy about the powder, using some Latin words,
and the pharmacist was suddenly aware of how bright the boy was. He
offered to educate Raymond for free.
It was definitely a
gift from God, a guiding to the next phase of his life. He was a bright
student, quick to learn, and devout in his love for the Blessed Mother.
The Seminarian
In
1907, he entered the Franciscan junior seminary in Poland and did very
well in mathematics and physics. Outraged at the spread of evil in the
world during this time, he considered joining the military, but decided
to answer the call to religious life instead. On Sept.4, 1910, he took
the name Maximilian and became a novice. His final vows happened on Nov.
1, 1914.
He
studied in Rome for years, though he was often sick. He got sick was
tuburculosis, which weakened his lungs for the rest of his life. But he
kept dedicated to the spreading of the Gospel.
He
started up the Immaculate Movement (also known as the Crusade of Mary
Immaculate). The focus of it was to be a knight of the Virgin Mary. Just
like a knight, the men would go and fight against evil and injustices.
Armed with their weapons, which was the rosary, Miraculous Medals, and
prayers, these knights spread the word about the Miraculous Medals and
devoted themselves to the conversion of sinners.
The Wordsmith
Maximilian
Kolbe is known as the patron saint of editors because of all the
writing and publishing he did. In addition to the Knight of the
Immaculate magazine, he also printed a daily Catholic newspaper, the
Little Daily. Later, he also printed a Japanese version if the Knight.
He wrote to wake people up, to get them excited about the faith, to
care. And they did.
In 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland.
They arested the priests but then let them return, thinking they would
stop publishing their magazines ... or at least, stop talking about
Jesus. But they didn't. Papa Kolbe kept publishing his newspapers and he
even provided shelter to refugees from Greater Poland, including 2,000
Jews whom he hid in his own friary from Nazi persecution.
Angered
over the Catholic message in Father Kolbe's work, the Nazis took over
the area, and shut down the printing presses.
The Martyr
Papa Kolbe was arrested by
the German Gestapo and imprisoned. On May 25, 1941, he was transferred
to Auschwitz, one of the worst prison camps. He was given a number, he
was prisoner 16670.
He suffered constantly
there, for the Nazis hated everyone who wasn't a Nazi, and they
especially hated priests. He didn't complain but whenever possible, he
would hear confessions and would use the wine and bits of bread smuggled
into the prison to celebrate mass. Even though the camp was a place of
great suffering, Father Kolbe brought hope and peace to others.
Another
prisoner said:
"During the stay of the servant of God in the camp, I
never noticed that he nourished any hatred for the Germans. On the
contrary, not only did he pray for them, but he also exhorted us to pray
for their conversion. We were all amazed at the extraordinary virtue
that we saw in that man: faith, the constant spirit of prayer, great
humility, and the spirit of fellowship pushed to the point of sharing
his own food rations with the other prisoners. He lived every day only
for God. He drew us to God and desired that we live well and that we put
up with the life of the camp. He really had within himself a kind of
magnet, which drew us to him, to God, to the most holy mother. Often, he
spoke to us of God, and inculcated in us the truth that God is good and
merciful. He desired to convert the whole camp."
In
July 1941, a prisoner escaped. The rule was that 10 people would be
punished every time someone escaped. Because a man had disappeared, 10
other men would now receive punishment.
One prisoner shouted, "Goodbye, my dear wife! Goodbye, my dear children!"
Another
prisoner stepped forward. It was Father Maximilian. "I want to go
instead of this man who was selected," Papa Kolbe said. "He has a wife
and family. I am alone. I am a Catholic priest."
The Nazi guard accepted the change.
The
prisoners were led to an underground cell to be punished. During that
time, Maximilian led them into songs and hymns. One guard (who was
really another prisoner forced to stand guard) later told Church
officials: "From the cells of the condemned men, every day, there were
heard prayers in a loud voice, the rosary, and religious hymns, in which
even prisoners in other cells sang ... The ardent prayers and hymns to
the most Holy Virgin resounded through the whole subterranean area. It
seemed to me that I was in church."
For 10 days, he helped people to grow closer to the Lord and get ready to see him soon. Then on August 14, Maximilian died.
The Saint
On
October 10, 1982, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Maximilian Kolbe.
The man whose place that Maximillian took was there. He himself lived
to be 94 years old, having spent his life telling everyone about the
great priest, the loving martyr, Maximilian Kolbe.
Now, let us pray and ask for the intercession of Saint Maximilian Kolbe:
O
Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "Greater love than this no man has that a
man lay down his life for his friends,"through the intercession of St.
Maximilian Kolbe whose life illustrated such love, we beseech you to
grant us our petitions . . . Through the Militia Immaculata movement,
which Maximilian founded, he spread a fervent devotion to Our Lady
throughout the world. He gave up his life for a total stranger and loved
his persecutors, giving us an example of unselfish love for all men---a
love that was inspired by true devotion to Mary.
Grant,
O Lord Jesus, that we too may give ourselves entirely without reserve
to the love and service of our Heavenly Queen in order to better love
and serve our fellowman in imitation of your humble servant, Maximilian.
Amen.
And in honor of the Blessed Mother whom Saint
Maximilian Kolbe loves so much ... We pray: Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the
fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners.
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
