Saint Maximilian Kolbe - Feast Day, August 14th

From Wikipedia:

Saint Maximilian Kolbe (January 8, 1894–August 14, 1941), also known as Maksymilian or Massimiliano Maria Kolbe and "Apostle of Consecration to Mary," born as Rajmund Kolbe, was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz in Poland.

He was canonized by the Catholic Church as Saint Maximilian Kolbe on October 10, 1982 by Pope John Paul II, and declared a martyr of charity. He is the patron saint of drug addicts, political prisoners, families, journalist, amateur radio, prisoners, and the pro-life movement. Pope John Paul II declared him the "The Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century".

Kolbe, the son of a Polish family with partial German origin, was born in 1894 in Zduńska Wola, at that time part of Russian Empire, as the second son of Juliusz Kolbe and Marianna Kolbe (née Dąbrowska). His parents moved to Pabianice, where they worked first as weavers, then ran a bookstore. Later, in 1914, his father joined Józef Piłsudski's Polish Legions and was captured by the Russians for fighting for the independence of a partitioned Poland.

In 1907, Kolbe and his elder brother Franciszek decided to join the Conventual Franciscan Order. They illegally crossed the border between Russia and Austria-Hungary and joined the Conventual Franciscan junior seminary in Lwów. In 1910, Kolbe was allowed to enter the novitiate. He professed his first vows in 1911, adopting the name Maximilian, and the final vows in 1914, in Rome, adopting the names Maximilian Maria, to show his veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In 1912, he was sent to Kraków, and, in the same year, to Rome, where he studied philosophy, theology, mathematics, and physics. He took a great interest in astrophysics and the prospect of space flight. While in Rome he designed[citation needed] an airplane-like spacecraft, similar in concept to the eventual space shuttle, and attempted to patent it. He earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1915 at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and the doctorate in theology in 1919 at the Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure. During his time as a student, he witnessed vehement demonstrations against Popes St. Pius X and Benedict XV by the Freemasons in Rome and was inspired to organize the Militia Immaculata, or Army of Mary, to work for conversion of sinners and the enemies of the Catholic Church through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. In 1918, he was ordained a priest. In the conservative publications of the Militia Immaculatae, he particularly condemned Freemasonry, Communism, Zionism, Capitalism and Imperialism.

In 1919, he returned to the newly independent Poland, where he was very active in promoting the veneration of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, founding and supervising the monastery of Niepokalanów near Warsaw, a seminary, a radio station, and several other organizations and publications. Between 1930 and 1936, he took a series of missions to Japan, where he founded a monastery at the outskirts of Nagasaki, a Japanese paper, and a seminary. The monastery he founded remains prominent in the Roman Catholic Church in Japan. Kolbe decided to build the monastery on a mountain side that, according to Shinto beliefs, was not the side best suited to be in tune with nature. When the atomic bomb struck Nagasaki, Kolbe's monastery was saved because the blast of the bomb hit the side of the mountain that the monastery was not located on, the said side took the main blow of the blast. Had Kolbe built the monastery on the side of mountain he was advised to choose, his work and all of his fellow monks would have been destroyed.

Auschwitz

During the Second World War, in the friary, Kolbe provided shelter to refugees from Greater Poland, including 2,000 Jews whom he hid from Nazi persecution in his friary in Niepokalanów. He was also active as a radio amateur, with Polish call letters SP3RN, vilifying Nazi activities through his reports.
On February 17, 1941, he was arrested by the German Gestapo and imprisoned in the Pawiak prison, and, on May 25, was transferred to Auschwitz I as prisoner #16670.

In July 1941, a man from Kolbe's barracks had vanished, prompting SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, the Lagerführer (i.e., the camp commander), to pick 10 men from the same barracks to be starved to death in Block 11 (notorious for torture), in order to deter further escape attempts. (The man who had disappeared was later found drowned in the camp latrine.) One of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, lamenting his family, and Kolbe volunteered to take his place.

During the time in the cell, he led the men in songs and prayer. After three weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe was still alive. Finally he was executed with an injection of carbolic acid.

Kolbe is one of ten 20th-century martyrs from across the world who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 10 October 1982, in the presence of Gajowniczek.

Militia Immaculata Consecration Prayer
Composed by Saint Maximilian Kolbe

O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.

If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: "She will crush your head," and "You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world. " Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin
R. Give me strength against your enemies

Saint Maximilian Kolbe's commentary on the Militia Immaculata Marian Consecration Prayer

Saint Maximilian Kolbe is one of my favorite saints. I was consecrated to the Immaculata through the YMI (Youth Mission of the Immaculata) and the Father Kolbe Missionaries of the Immaculata many years ago.

I found this video with a brief story of his life and many pictures:

I wish we had many, many more priests like Saint Maximilian Kolbe! I would not be surprised to find there are some out there.

Whatever the case, we are all called to be saints. Each one of us was created by God in order to know, love, and serve Him in this life in order that we may be happy with him forever in the next life.

Not everyone is called to the priesthood. Not everyone is called to religious life. Not everyone is called to martyrdom.

However, all of us, and each human being you meet is called to be a saint. We are all called to holiness. The fact that we are not all called to the priesthood, religious life, or martyrdom does not mean we don't have to be holy.

Heaven is for saints.

Saints are sinners who recognize their weakness, sinfulness, and imperfection, and then repent and turn to God.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[Atlanta Catholic]

What a great post Thomistic. Thank you for sharing the story of this unselfish priest who became a saint. How many people did not have to suffer due to his unselfishness? How many people would have suffered if he had only thought of his own feelings and comfort? I read that when St. Maximillian Kolbe was a young boy, the Blessed Mother appeared to him. Our Lady offered him one of two crowns, a red crown and a white crown. St Maximillian chose both. White for purity and red for martyrdom.

[AKFox]

My friend informs me that Fr. Kolbe is an incorruptible. I would have assumed that his body would have been burned or buried in a mass grave, but she insists they have it somewhere. Is this true?,

[Thomistic]

St. Maximilian Kolbe was cremated at Auchwitz. However, I have heard there are relics of his hair.

Pax,

Thomistic

[joanne]

St Maximilian Kolbe is a wonderful model of manly virtue for all those who think that suffering is what weak people do in dangerous situations. Thank you for this post.
Considering some of the questions asked of me in Rel. Ed., this would be a great saint to highlight this year. Despite all the modern heroes introduced to our kids, their love for the saints and their attraction to their stories seems universal and undiminished.
Maximilian Kolbe tops Harry Potter any day!

[Katherine Therese]

St. Maximilian Kolbe is one of my most favorite saints as well. I named my youngest son after him. St. Maximilian, pray for us!

[Chris]

A wonderful book of his life is "Forget Not Love". Highly recommend it.

[Donald]

Thomistic:

Great post...it makes should us realize that through God's love he gives us strength...the human frailities we experience can be overcome through prayer and penance in honor of the "The Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century" and all of the saints. Thank you.

[Steve]

Not to be a fly in the ointment here...

I don't question St. Maximilian's sanctity nor his incredible bravery but I do have a problem with his classification as a martyr.

I would expect that a martyr would have to give his life (objectively and directly) for Christ or the Church. What St M did was brave beyond measure but did it make him worthy of martyr status?

[Thomistic]

The term martyr (Greek μάρτυς "witness") initially signified a witness in the forensic sense, a person called to bear witness in legal proceedings. With this meaning it was used in the secular sphere as well as in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible. The process of bearing witness was not intended to lead to the death of the witness, although it is known from ancient writers (e.g. Josephus) that witnesses, especially of the lower classes, were tortured routinely before being interrogated as a means of forcing them to disclose the truth. During the early Christian centuries the term acquired the extended meaning of a believer who witnesses to his or her religious belief and on account of this witness endures suffering and death.

One is a martyr if he or she lays down their life for any aspect of the Catholic faith. St. Maximilian gave up his life out of charity for another human being, and he did so as a witness to the Catholic faith. He identified himself as a Catholic priest when he offered his life in place of the man who lived.

"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Pax,

Thomistic

[Steve]

Thomistic,

I agree with the first part of your comment as it speaks to etymology.

The second part, however,is more problematic.

The notion that sacrificing one's life (in charity) for another is an aspect of the Catholic faith smacks of novelty. That's a service to one's fellow man - not a laying down of one's life for Christ or the Church.

If I push an old Muslim woman out of the way of a speeding car knowing that I will die as a result, am I a martyr? I may have been motivated by my Catholic faith but I would argue that the act would speak to my convictions, bravery, etc.

It might make me a Confessor, but certainly not a martyr.

[Thomistic]

Steve,

I will look into your question further when I have time.

I'm sure declaring him a martyr was "kosher" otherwise, Pope John Paul II wouldn't have done it.

Pax,

Thomistic

[carolg]

As far as the martyr definition goes, I can tell you what I’ve heard but I’d still like to see what Thomistic says.

I listened to a conversation of people who are knowledgeable about such things and it was their opinion that a martyr is someone who dies for, or because of their witness of, the faith.

Maximilian Kobe was sent to Auschwitz specifically because he was a Catholic priest. People who were sent to Auschwitz were sent there to die – let’s not kid ourselves about that. That’s why he is a martyr.

The conversation I was privy to was in regards to Catholic chaplains who die on the battlefield. (We were discussing specifically the book “The Grunt Padre” by Fr. Daniel Mode, which I highly recommend.) Anyway, it is the story of a priest who died on the battlefield during Vietnam. He had been wounded in a vicious battle but refused to leave the men and died in the heart of the battle zone because he was trying to administer the last rites to all the men who lay wounded and dying. Although he, no doubt, was a very courageous and holy priest, it was pointed out that he was killed as a U.S. soldier and is not a martyr.

I don’t know if this is correct or not, but it was an interesting conversation.

(As an aside, most of the chaplains who die in battle or receive purple hearts, and other awards are Catholic. Fr. Mode speculated from conversations he had with the protestant ministers that a Catholic priest has a sacramental reason to be there where the protestant ministers are just waiting to go home to their families like everyone else. And for the priest, the men he serves become like his family and therefore takes greater risks for them. Interesting, huh?)

[a different Steve]

The speeding car didn't hit you because you were Catholic. Big difference.

Just to echo carolg, St. Maxilimian was arrested twice because of his activities as a Catholic priest. He wasn't a Jew; he wasn't a soldier. He was a Catholic priest...and a very vocal one and the Nazis did not like it. After being released from prison the first time, he continued his work with greater fervor using his radio station to vilify the Nazi occupation of Poland in addition to his original goal of the conversion of souls. Fr. Kolbe sent most of the friars of Niepokalanów into hiding. He would not go into hiding. He continued his media efforts and also sheltered thousands of Jewish refugees at Niepokalanow. While at Auschwitz, Kolbe was singled out for special abuse because he was a priest. He took all the abuse without a word of complaint while praying for the conversion of his captors. He risked further abuse by administering the sacraments in the evenings. Like carolg stated, the Nazis didn't send people to the camps for rehabilitation and he certainly wasn't going to be paroled. Fr. Kolbe didn't get a quick death. His death was slow, miserable, and lasted several months. Not the romantic view of a quick, violent martyr's death, but a martyr's death nonetheless.

[a different Steve]

Thomistic is correct. The only relics of St. Maximilian is some hair that a brother saved after he cut Fr. Kolbe's hair. Fr. Kolbe saw this and told the brother to throw the hair away. The brother complied with the order from his superior but took the hair out of the trash once Fr. Kolbe left.

[joanne]

That was a smart brother!

[Peter]

Hello,

I have a question about St. Maximilian Kolbe.

Abouth 3 weeks ago, I traveld to New York City and, with my parents, decided to take a break from walking and shopping on 5th Ave. To do this, we went into St. Patrick's Cathedral. Granted, I had walked passed it on previous trips, but I had never ventured inside. Sitting in the pews from over 100 years ago, I was awe-struck by the beauty and intricate detail. After a few minutes of rest, I started walking around.

As I wandered through the cathedral, I came up to one of the many side altars/shrines. The focal point was an Icon of the Virgin Mary and around it were other Icons in the Byzantine Style(I was not used to seeing Byzantine-type Iconography in a Catholic Church!). To the left was one of a man that wore glasses and was dressed Monastically. On his right breast, though, a portion of the material was removed and I could see the pin-stripes reminiscent of the German Concentration Camps and also two insignias of concentration life: The ID code and a Pink Triangle. I was interested in this Icon and took a picture (unfortunately I lost my camera on the trip).

Coming back home to Chicago, I had talked to my priest after Divine Liturgy (I am Greek Orthodx)about this Icon I had seen. He informed me that: A: It is common now to find Icons in the Byzantine Style in Western Churches (as I am used to only seeing them only in Orthodox ones); and B: The Icon I saw was that of St. Maximilian Kolbe. He told me the story and I was amazed by his great life and his tragic death in the Death Camps. He seemed to be a great man; and on doing more research on him, he seemed extraordinary. It was a wonderful deed that the Catholic Church Canonized him.

My Question, after all this background, is why is he depicted having a pink triangle? I know what that insignia meant in Nazi Germany, but why was he given that?

Hope you can answer my question,
Peter in Chicago.

[Karen]

Peter in Chicago - Is this the painting you mean?

http://www.saintpetercatholic.com/images/st_maximilian_kolbe.jpg

The triangle does not look pink to me, it looks red. Furthermore it has a P in it for "Pole". So it means he is Polish - a country Germany considered an "enemy of the Reich".

Yes I just looked it up and "P" on a red triangle stood for "Pole" or a Polish national (citizen of Poland). Any conquered nation was considered by the Nazis to be an enemy. They did not treat political prisoners well in camps.

[Karen]

http://www.saintpetercatholic.com/images/st_maximilian_kolbe.jpg

Look at the chart at the bottom. A P with red triangle signifies a Polish citizen.

Look at all of the different triangles - I didn't realise that women could be jailed simply for using birth control or for prostitution. Also Jehovah's Witnesses and vagrants had triangles.

[Karen]

http://www.indopedia.org/Nazi_concentration_camp_badges.html

Apologies. This was the link I meant in the prior post, with the chart at the bottom. This lists the meanings of concentration camp triangle patches.

[Hans]

http://www.maximilian-kolbe.homepage.t-online.de/main.html?src=%2F

[Father of Maximilian]

Hello there,
My wife and I delivered our own baby, unintentionally as he just 'wanted out', in our kitchen a few weeks ago.
We were researching names that would beget the incredible birth we encountered and came upon the awe inspiring story of Saint Maximilian (Kolbe). Well, you can imagine what we did next ...we decided that name would be our child's name !! He will carry it with him for eternity. This one priest has , and will continue to have, a great impact on the world.
We must hold people like him in the highest regard as the Roman Catholic Church felt it necessary to do.

Here is the story of 'our' Maximilian's birth Please visit if you have time and feel free to leave any feedback.

http//:www.speciallydelivered.blogspot.com

God Bless

~Robert (Father of Maximilian)