St. Maximilian Kolbe

Today is the Memorial for St. Maximilian Kolbe.  He was a Conventual Franciscan in the early 20^th century in Poland.  He was eventually captured by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz.  While there, one of the prisoners escaped and in an effort to discourage any other attempts at escape the Nazis decided they would kill one of the men for the one who got away.  They randomly chose a man who had a family.  St. Maximilian volunteered to take his place in hopes the man could return to his family.  He was executed by lethal injection on August 14, 1941.  In so doing, he exemplified the words of our Lord when He said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13).

While reading from some of St. Maximilian’s letters in today’s Office of Readings I came across the following passage:

“The burning zeal for God’s glory that motivates you fills my heart with joy.  It is sad for us to see in our own time that indifferentism in its many forms is spreading like an epidemic not only among the laity but also among religious.  But God is worthy of glory beyond measure, and therefore it is of absolute and supreme importance to seek that glory with all the power of our feeble resources.  Since we are mere creatures we can never return to him all that is his due.”

That’s what I want to have: “burning zeal for God’s glory”.  I don’t want to fall captive to “indifferentism”.  God is worthy of all our praise.  Oh to be filled with more of His own zeal- that loving zeal that led Him to forfeit the place of glory He occupied in eternity to take on flesh so He could die on behalf of mere mortals like us in order that we could be re-endowed with that divinity with which humanity was first invested and enter into heaven to share in His glory forever.

St. Maximilian goes on:

“The most resplendent manifestation of God’s glory is the salvation of souls, whom Christ redeemed by shedding his blood.  To work for the salvation and sanctification of as many souls as possible, therefore, is the preeminent purpose of the apostolic life.” 

This is also what I want.  For the love of God and for the love of souls made in His image I want to spend myself in that which leads to the “salvation and sanctification of as many souls as possible”.  This is, according to St. Maximilian, “The most resplendent manifestation of God’s glory”.  I want to see His glory shine in such resplendence.  May God grant souls for the labor of His faithful!

St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us!