Aug 14, Evening Prayer I – Solemnity for Maximilian Kolbe, P & M

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 618
Proper of the Season: 1316
Psalter from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 1622

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
Proper of Saints: 1225
Psalter from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 1368

Evening Prayer I for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve:
to you do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.

Turn then, most gracious Advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus,
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!

Hail, Holy Queen by The University Of Notre Dame Folk Choir

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Christ ascended into heaven and prepared an everlasting place for his immaculate Mother, alleluia.

Psalm 113
Praise the name of the Lord
He has cast down the mighty and has lifted up the lowly (Luke 1:52).

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!

High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from his misery he raises the poor
to set them in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Christ ascended into heaven and prepared an everlasting place for his immaculate Mother, alleluia.

Ant. 2 Through Eve the gates of heaven were closed to all mankind; through the Virgin Mother they were opened wide again, alleluia.

Psalm 147
The restoration of Jerusalem
Come, I will show you the bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:9).

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion praise your God!

He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.

He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow white as wool,
he scatters hoar-frost like ashes.

He hurls down hailstones like crumbs.
The waters are frozen at his touch;
he sends forth his word and it melts them:
at the breath of his mouth the waters flow.

He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Through Eve the gates of heaven were closed to all mankind; through the Virgin Mother they were opened wide again, alleluia.

Ant. 3 The Virgin Mary has been exalted above all the heavens; come, let all men glorify Christ the King, whose kingdom will endure for ever, alleluia.

Canticle – Ephesians 1:3-10
God our Savior

Praised be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who bestowed on us in Christ
every spiritual blessing in the heavens.

God chose us in him
before the world began
to be holy
and blameless in his sight.

He predestined us
to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ,
such was his will and pleasure,
that all might praise the glorious favor
he has bestowed on us in his beloved.

In him and through his blood, we have been redeemed,
and our sins forgiven,
so immeasurably generous
is God’s favor to us.

God has given us the wisdom
to understand fully the mystery,
the plan he was pleased
to decree in Christ.

A plan to be carried out
in Christ, in the fullness of time,
to bring all things into one in him,
in the heavens and on earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The Virgin Mary has been exalted above all the heavens; come, let all men glorify Christ the King, whose kingdom will endure for ever, alleluia.

READING Romans 8:30

Those God predestined he likewise called; those he called he also justified; and those he justified he in turn glorified.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

As Mary is taken up to heaven, the angels of God rejoice.
– As Mary is taken up to heaven, the angels of God rejoice.

They worship the Lord and sing his praises.
– The angels of God rejoice.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– As Mary is taken up to heaven, the angels of God rejoice.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. All generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, alleluia.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. All generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us praise God our almighty Father, who wished that Mary, his Son’s mother, be celebrated by each generation. Now in need we ask:
– Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.

O God, worker of miracles, you made the immaculate Virgin Mary share, body and soul, in your Son’s glory in heaven,
direct the hearts of your children to that same glory.
– Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.

You made Mary our mother. Through her intercession grant strength to the weak, comfort to the sorrowing, pardon to sinners,
salvation and peace to all.
– Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.

You made Mary full of grace,
grant all men the joyful abundance of your grace.
– Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.

Make your Church of one mind and one heart in love,
and help all those who believe to be one in prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus.
– Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.

You crowned Mary queen of heaven,
may all the dead rejoice in your kingdom with the saints for ever.
– Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

O God, who, looking on the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
raised her to this grace,
that your Only Begotten Son was born of her according to the flesh
and that she was crowned this day with surpassing glory,
grant through her prayers,
that, saved by the mystery of your redemption,
we may merit to be exalted by you on high.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Aug 14, Night Prayer for Maximilian Kolbe, P & M

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours:
Vol I, page 1169
Vol II, Page 1619
Vol III, Page 1264
Vol IV, Page 1233

Christian Prayer:
Page 1034

Night Prayer after Evening Prayer I

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Examination of conscience:

We are called to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men, in our hearts and in our minds, in our actions and inactions. To do so, it is vital that we examine our conscience daily and to ask for God’s mercy as we fall short and to ask for His strength to do better.

Lord, Jesus you healed the sick:
Lord, have mercy
– Lord have mercy

Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners:
Christ, have mercy.
– Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength:
Lord, have mercy
– Lord have mercy

HYMN

O Christ, who art the Light and Day,
Thou drivest night and gloom away;
O Light of light, whose Word doth show
The light of heaven to us below.

All-holy Lord, in humble prayer,
We ask tonight Thy watchful care.
Oh, grant us calm repose in Thee,
A quiet night, from perils free.

Our sleep be pure from sinful stain;
Let not the Tempter vantage gain,
Or our unguarded flesh surprise
And make us guilty in Thine eyes.

Asleep though wearied eyes may be,
Still keep the heart awake to Thee;
Let Thy right hand outstretched above
Guard those who serve the Lord they love.

Behold, O God, our Shield, and quell
The crafts and subtleties of hell;
Direct Thy servants in all good,
Who Thou hast purchased with Thy blood.

O Lord, remember us who bear
The burden of the flesh we wear;
Thou who dost o’er our souls defend,
Be with us even to the end.

All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom with the Spirit we adore
Forever and forevermore.

O Christ Who Art the Light and Day by Cambridge Singers
Click here to purchase this hymn.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Have mercy, Lord, and hear my prayer.

Psalm 4
Thanksgiving
The resurrection of Christ was God’s supreme and wholly marvelous work (Saint Augustine).

When I call, answer me, O God of justice;
from anguish you released me, have mercy and hear me!

O men, how long will your hearts be closed,
will you love what is futile and seek what is false?

It is the Lord who grants favors to those whom he loves;
the Lord hears me whenever I call him.

Fear him; do not sin: ponder on your bed and be still
Make justice your sacrifice, and trust in the Lord.

“What can bring us happiness?” many say.
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord.

You have put into my heart a greater joy
than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.

I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Have mercy, Lord, and hear my prayer.

Ant. 2 In the silent hours of night, bless the Lord.

Psalm 134
Evening prayer in the temple
Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great (Revelation 19:5).

O come, bless the Lord,
all you who serve the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.

Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the Lord through the night.

May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who made both heaven and earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. In the silent hours of night, bless the Lord.

READING Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– I commend my spirit.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

Gospel Canticle

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Concluding Prayer

Lord,
be with us throughout this night.
When day comes may we rise from sleep
to rejoice in the resurrection of your Christ,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Blessing

May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest & Martyr

Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe,
Priest & Martyr
Memorial
August 14th

Photo

St. Maximillian was born in the Poland in 1894. He entered the novitiate of the Conventual Franciscans in 1910. In 1914 and three years later help organized the association The Militia of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. He was ordained in Rome in 1918. In 1922, he began publishing the magazine, "Knight of the Immaculate," first in Polish and then in other languages.

In 1927, he began building a whole town with property donated by a wealthy nobleman, called the "Town of the Immaculate," outside of Warsaw. There he began training people with vocations among the laity and prospective Religious and Priests, to become apostles of Mary. The first Marian Missionaries to Japan were trained in the "Town of the Immaculate." In 1930, Maximillian opened a Marian publication apostolate in Nagasaki, Japan one of the two cities in Japan which would later be ravaged by a nuclear bomb during the Second World War. As popes have been saying ever since, God chose His most faithful people as a sacrifice to insure future peace in the world.

In 1939, Maximillian was arrested by the Nazis who had taken over Poland and sent to Auschwitz. Two years later, in July of 1941, at Block Fourteen, where Saint Maximilian was being kept, revealed that a prisoner had escaped. The policy was to assemble all the prisoners from the block in the yard where they would stand at attention the whole day. If, by the end of the day, the escapee had not been recovered, ten others would be chosen at random to die in his place.

By three o'clock the prisoner was still not found. One of the ten chosen to die was Francis Gajowniczek. Mr. Gajowniczek cried out, "My poor wife, my poor children! What will happen to my family!" That is when Fr. Kolbe came forward, asked to exchange places with Gajowniczek and took the place of the condemned man.

Father Kolbe was sent to the starvation bunker. He lead those with him in prayer. After two weeks, he was still alive. On the morning of August 14, 1941 a lethal dose of carbolic acid was injected into him.

He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982.

Collect:
O God, who filled the Priest and Martyr Saint Maximillian Kolbe
with a burning love for the Immaculate Virgin Mary
and with zeal for souls and love of neighbor,
graciously grant, through his intercession,
that, striving for your glory by eagerly serving others,
we may be conformed, even until death, to your Son.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Wisdom 3:1-9
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will ever touch them.
In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be an affliction,
and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.
For though in the sight of men they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
Having been disciplined a little,
they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of Himself;
like gold in the furnace He tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt offering He accepted them.
In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
and will run like sparks through the stubble.
They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them for ever.
Those who trust in Him will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with Him in love,
because grace and mercy are upon His elect,
and He watches over His holy ones.

Alternative First Reading 1John 3:14-18
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But if any one has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.

Gospel Reading John 15:12-16
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Militia Immaculata Prayer of Marian Consecration
(Composed by St. 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

St. Maximilian Kolbe

Feast Day: August 14
Born: 1894 :: Died: 1941

Raymond Kolbe was born in Poland. When he was just a teenager, he joined the Franciscan order and took the name Maximilian. Maximilian loved his work and enjoyed studying to become a priest, and he especially loved the Blessed Mother.

Before he became a priest, he started the Militia of Mary Immaculate or the Immaculata Movement devoted to Our Lady.

Then when he took his vows to become a priest he added "Mary" to his name. Father Maximilian Mary knew that the world which was so full of sin, needed their Heavenly Mother to guide and protect them.

He started a magazine called "The Knight of the Immaculata" so that more people would know about Mother Mary. He and his Franciscan priests published two monthly newsletters that were sent to people around the world.

The Mother of God blessed Father Maximilian's work. He built a large center in Poland. This center was called "City of the Immaculate."

In about fifteen years, a large community of eight hundred Franciscans lived there and worked hard to make the love of Mary known. Father Kolbe also started another City of the Immaculate in Nagasaki, Japan and yet another one in India.

In 1938, the Nazis invaded the Polish City of the Immaculate. They stopped the wonderful work going on there. In 1941, the Nazis arrested Father Kolbe. They sentenced him to hard manual labor at Auschwitz.

Three months after he arrived at Auschwitz a prisoner managed to escape. The Nazis became very angry and decided to punish the rest of the prisoners.

They decided to choose ten prisoners and put them in a bunker without food or water so that they would starve to death. All the prisoners stood straight, while ten men were pulled out of line.

One prisoner they chose was a married man with a family. He begged and pleaded to be spared for the sake of his children. Father Kolbe, who was listening, felt deeply moved and decided to help that suffering prisoner. He stepped forward and asked the commander if he could take the man's place. The commander agreed.

Father Kolbe and the other prisoners were sent into the bunker and they remained alive without food or water for many days. One by one, as they died, Father Kolbe helped and comforted them. He was the last to die on August 14, 1941.

Catholic

Almanac:

Tuesday, August 14
Liturgical Color: Red
Today the Church honors St. Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr. He was interred in a Nazi prison camp during World War II. While there, he offered his life in place of another prisoner who had a family. He was martyred in 1941.

Information: St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe

Feast Day:	August 14
Born:	7 January 1894 at Zdunska Wola, Poland
Died:	August 14, 1941, Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland
Canonized:	10 October 1982, Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II
Major Shrine:	Basilica of the Immaculate Mediatrix of Grace, Niepokalanów, Poland
Patron of:	20th century, Pro-Life Movement, drug addiction, drug addicts, families, amateur radio

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: August 14, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who filled the Priest and Martyr Saint Maximilian Kolbe with a burning love for the Immaculate Virgin Mary and with zeal for souls and love of neighbor, graciously grant, through his intercession, that striving for your glory by eagerly serving others, we may be conformed, even until death, to your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

The Immaculate Heart

LIBRARY

Ordinary Time: August 14th

Memorial of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr

Old Calendar: Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; St. Eusebius, confessor

Maximilian Mary Kolbe was born in Poland. He consecrated himself to the Lord in the Franciscan Order. Filled with love for the Virgin, he founded the Militia of the Immaculate Mary and, with his preaching and writing, undertook an intense apostolic mission in Europe and Asia. Imprisoned in Auschwitz during the Second World War, he offered himself in exchange for the father of a large family who was to be executed. He was given a lethal injection when he failed to die fast enough from starvation in the concentration camp. John Paul II proclaimed him the Patron of Our Suffering Century.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the feast of St. Eusebius is celebrated today. In the Ordinary Form his feast is celebrated on August 2.

St. Maximillian Kolbe
St. Maximilian, born Raymond Kolbe in Poland, Jan. 8, 1894. In 1910, he entered the Conventual Franciscan Order. He was sent to study in Rome where he was ordained a priest in 1918.

Father Maximilian returned to Poland in 1919 and began spreading his Militia of the Immaculata movement of Marian consecration (whose members are also called MIs), which he founded on October 16, 1917. In 1927, he established an evangelization center near Warsaw called Niepokalanow, the "City of the Immaculata." By 1939, the City had expanded from eighteen friars to an incredible 650, making it the largest Catholic religious house in the world.

To better "win the world for the Immaculata," the friars utilized the most modern printing and administrative techniques. This enabled them to publish countless catechetical and devotional tracts, a daily newspaper with a circulation of 230,000 and a monthly magazine with a circulation of over one million. Maximilian started a shortwave radio station and planned to build a motion picture studio--he was a true "apostle of the mass media." He established a City of the Immaculata in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1930, and envisioned missionary centers worldwide.

Maximilian was a ground-breaking theologian. His insights into the Immaculate Conception anticipated the Marian theology of the Second Vatican Council and further developed the Church's understanding of Mary as "Mediatrix" of all the graces of the Trinity, and as "Advocate" for God's people.

In 1941, the Nazis imprisoned Father Maximilian in the Auschwitz death camp. There he offered his life for another prisoner and was condemned to slow death in a starvation bunker. On August 14, 1941, his impatient captors ended his life with a fatal injection. Pope John Paul II canonized Maximilian as a "martyr of charity" in 1982. St. Maximilian Kolbe is considered a patron of journalists, families, prisoners, the pro-life movement and the chemically addicted.

Militia of the Immaculata

Patron: Drug addiction; drug addicts; families; imprisoned people; journalists; political prisoners; prisoners; pro-life movement.

Things to Do:

From the Catholic Culture library, read The Holy Spirit and Mary, an explanation of St. Maximillian's Marian theology and Maximillian Kolbe, Apostle of Mary by Fr. John Hardon.
Offer a Mass, say a rosary for those who suffer in the world today from man's inhumanity. Pray for an end to abortion, our nation's own holocaust. Read about Auschwitz and ponder the modern gas chambers in every state of our Union and resolve to do all that you can to end the killing.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

“Unless you turn and become like children… “(Matthew 18:3)

There’s something irresistible about children. Of course there is their sense of innocence. But there is something else God wants us to see.

We who have lived a few decades know what it is like to have made mistakes, and to have some boundaries placed around our lives because of our past choices. Choosing a certain career means closing the door on other opportunities—some that may have turned out even better for us. Ways of relating, even with those closest to us, may have settled into well-defined patterns that leave little room for spontaneity and new growth in love.

But this is not the case with children. The future is wide open for them, and they seem to know it. Wide-eyed with wonder, filled with potential, they are ready to try new things and build new possibilities. Unhindered by the past, they are free to chase after whatever the future holds.

This is the childlike spirit that Jesus wants to give all of us. No matter how old we are, no matter what life choices appear to have limited us, we have a bright and promising future ahead of us—and not just in heaven!

How is this possible? Because Jesus can restore our hearts and lift up our spirits. The closer we get to him, the more energized we become because we are receiving life from One with limitless resources. The more closely we listen to his Spirit, the more convinced we become that God can do so much more than we can ask or imagine, both in us and through us.

Jesus doesn’t want any of us to think that we are too old, too wounded, too limited, too whatever. None of us is so bound by our past that God can’t open new doors for us in the future. Our Father has great plans for us. He has a future full of hope laid out for us. Now it’s up to us to run into that future with all the confidence of a little child!

“Jesus, where the world tells us ‘no, you can’t,’ let me hear your promise: ‘yes, you can!’ By your Spirit, show me the bright and glorious future that you have planned for me.”

Ezekiel 2:8–3:4 Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

A Christian Pilgrim

SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE [1]

Foreword: Father Maximilian Kolbe [1894-1941], a Conventual Franciscan Priest, died at the age of 47 in the concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland, offering his life in place of a condemned prisoner, the father of a large family.

He was declared Blessed in October 1971. Now, less than 90 years after his birth, the addition of his name in October 1982 to the list of canonized Saints gives to the Church of our times a model of fearless faith in Christ, of dedication to Mary the Mother of God and a love capable of bringing about true peace with God and among men.

FEAST DAY: AUGUST 14

FATHER KOLBE had another gigantic dream. He courageously explained it to his Superiors: “We have created a ‘City of Mary Immaculate’ where we work for the Kingdom of God. I think that we should do something similar in every country. Modern inventions should serve commerce, industry and sport but, first and foremost, the Kingdom of God”.

His Superiors thought the matter over. It seemed to be a project which was more fanciful than real; at the least it was very ambitious, but they replied: “If you think you can do it, go ahead!”

Four set foot in Japan

May 1930. Father Kolbe has left Niepokalanow in good hands and has arrived in Japan. Mary’s statue and the Bishop, Msgr. Hayasaka, welcomed him on the steps of the Cathedral in Nagasaki.

Before leaving for the Far East, he visited Rome and Assisi. He knelt beside the graves of two of his former fellow students with whom he had founded the “Army of Mary Immaculate”. God had called them first. Then he visited Lourdes to meet Our Lady where she had appeared to a very poor girl of the Pyrenees. He went to Turin and stopped to pray in the very places hallowed by Don Bosco, a giant of charity, who had begun a world-wide work on behalf of youth and who had worn himself out in ceaseless activity. He also went to Lisieux, too the Silent Convent where a young girl, Thérèse on fire with the love of God, had been a missionary; she helped her brothers not with words and actions but by living out every day the three difficult words in her programme: love, suffer, smile. These were all people who had advanced the Kingdom of God in different ways and in different circumstances.

When he landed in Japan, Father Kolbe had in his pocket a letter from the Superior General of his Order. It contained both a permission and a prohibition – these were to be the parameters of his work. He had permission to begin a new Citadel wherever he thought fit, possibly wherever there was a nucleus of Christians. He was prohibited from seeking money within the Order. He had to do the best he could with money collected on the spot. Father Kolbe did do his best. That very month of May a rich Catholic gave him a small modern press for printing in Japanese characters. Father Maximilian wrote his articles in Latin, a cleric and a seminary professor translated them into Japanese. On May 25 the first number of “The Knight” appeared; its Japanese name was “Mugenzia No Seibo Na Kiski”. 10,000 copies were printed.

With the approval of Msgr. Hayasaka, Father Kolbe climbed the hills overlooking the city in which in search of 5 hectares of vacant land. He found them, he bought them and he began building a new Citadel. A year later the essential buildings of the Citadel had been completed. It was inaugurated during the feast of the cherry blossoms; those amazing Japanese cherries which flower splendidly for only one week and produce rare small fruit.

Kimonos and guns

The Japan of those years was a mixture of delicate and rustling kimonos and of threatening guns. The military had a very strong hold on the country and aspired to establish a large Japanese Empire in Asia. They strove to inculcate a proud nationalistic spirit amongst all including the children.

This Japan, which looked upon every foreigner with mistrust, was quite favorable to the work of Father Kolbe and his magazine. In a short time it became the most widely circulated Catholic publication in Japan.

Volunteers began to come to the Citadel which, as at Niepokalanow had a chapel, a printing room, an electricity generator and a large meeting room. They were mainly Christians, but there were also some pagans. They were prepared to undertake laboring tasks, to help with the distribution of the review and also with the translations. Some asked for instruction in the faith, and later for baptism. Some were soon to ask to receive the habit of St. Francis.

Father Kolbe studied Japanese assiduously, and began first to speak the language and then to write it. The friars and his friends distributed the review on trams, in shops, in hospitals, in schools. Even the bonzes read it with interest. The circulation went up and up: twenty, thirty, fifty thousand copies.

But Father Kolbe’s health again began to decline in a rather frightening manner. He had to give up all work.

Two or three months to live

A high fever and spitting of blood once more. The old sickness had returned. The Japanese doctors feared for his life. They advised that he return to Europe and undergo long and drastic treatment. Father Kolbe departed.

The doctors at Zakopane shook their heads when they saw him. They told him quite emphatically that he had only three months to live. Father Maximilian went to stay with his mother and in the calm atmosphere of her house he slowly recovered. Three months passed, thirty months. His health returned. “The doctors know everything”, smiled Father Kolbe, “but someone up there knows much more”.

He recommended work at Niepokalanow. His native air did him good. The reappointed him director of the Citadel, and he succeeded in raising the circulation of “The Knight” to a million copies. Then he had another grand idea – an apostolate by correspondence. He invited anyone with problems, difficulties or doubts to write to him. Soon he was getting 2,000 letters a day. In the first year there were more than a half a million. The all received an answer.

The sad period of Nazism

Meanwhile the Brown Shirts had been on the march for many years in Germany. The sad period of Nazism had begun. A frenzied man spoke into the microphones at German Radio stations: his name was Adolf Hitler. He looked at Poland with the practiced eye of a violent thief and proclaimed to the world that this territory was vitally needed for the expansion which destiny had decreed for the “privileged race”, the German race.

In Poland they said that he was only bluffing. But on August 23, 1939, Stalin of Russia and Hitler of Germany signed a non-aggression pact. There was a secret clause in that pact: Poland would be divided between Russia and Germany by a line drawn down the middle from north to south.

September 1, 1939. German armored divisions under the command of General Guderian penetrated deep into the heart of Poland. Two thousand aircraft of the Luftwaffe bombed Warsaw and railway junctions, practically paralyzing the life of the nation. France and England, which had both signed a pact of mutual assistance with Poland, declared war within the space of 48 hours. But they could do nothing against Hitler’s well oiled war machine. Poland was brought to its knees in four weeks.

At the start of the tragedy, Father Kolbe summoned together the thousand inhabitants of Niepokalanow and told them: “This is the moment of trial. We must disperse. Those who can should return to their families. The others will leave this very day for the monasteries in the east; they will be much safer there”.

He remained, with fifty of his brother Franciscans. [To be continued]

Source: Fr. Teresio Bosco SDB, SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, Melbourne: A.C.T.S. PUBLICATIONS, 1982, pages 16-19.

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for August 14, 2012:

When a marriage is in a rut the temptation may be to think that a different person will bring more happiness. It can be exciting for a time, but then that new person becomes old and routine as well. Click the refresh button with your spouse and try something new together.

Regnum Christi

No Cheap Souls

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr

Father Steven Reilly, LC

Matthew 18:1-5 10, 12-14

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord God, I believe you are present here with me as I begin this moment of prayer. I hope in you. I know that you will always take care of me. I want this time with you to be a sign of my love for you. I seek only to please you, without desiring any spiritual consolation for myself.

Petition: Heart of Christ, make my heart more like yours!

1. Angelic Occupations: Raphael’s famous painting of Mary known as the “Sistine Virgin” has a remarkable detail that immediately catches the observer’s eye; Beneath the Blessed Virgin, two little cherubs are in a unique pose. They look a little bored with all the attention that Pope St. Sixtus and St. Barbara are paying to the Madonna and Child: They look as if they can’t wait to go out and play once all the fuss is over. Obviously Raphael’s sense of humor doesn’t do the angelic nature justice. Supremely intelligent, spiritual creatures, angels “always look upon the face the heavenly Father.” Their task? To watch over and protect us. Doesn’t that show us how much God loves each one of us individually? Doesn’t that tell us of the value of a single soul?

2. The Shepherd’s Commitment: The Lord lifts a veil from the invisible world of the angels so that we better understand how much God loves us; now he give us the precious image of the shepherd going in pursuit of the lost sheep. The shepherd braves raw exposure to the elements and danger from wild animals in his relentless effort to find the one sheep who has wandered off. Christ is committed to keeping the flock together. Are we as committed to bringing back the lost sheep?

3. No One Left Behind: Americans love the rugged individualist, the one who lifts himself up by dint of his own focus and effort. There’s virtue there, to be sure, but Catholics need a broader vision. Besides lost sheep, there are weak, marginalized and sick ones. If we have the heart of Christ, no one can be left behind. Every time we reach out in sacrificial love, we are making Christ present in the world. We are called to be his ambassadors!

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, your love gives us hope. You have given us angels to watch over us, and you yourself are constantly bringing back the lost sheep. Give us hearts like your own, hearts filled with Christian charity!

Resolution: I will reach out to someone who is sick or has drifted away from the Church.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe

First Reading: Ez. 2:8-3:4

Psalm: Ps. 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

Gospel: Mt. 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

Auschwitz was a concentration camp and an extermination camp. For most Jews it was an extermination camp. As soon as they arrived they were singled out. Told to strip and go into the showers. Except they were not showers. They were extermination bunkers where they were killed by cyclone B, suffocated to death in a matter of minutes. Exterminated like so much vermin.

The others were sent to the concentration camp. There they were stripped of their clothes and their heads were shaved. They no longer had names. Instead they were branded with numbers like animals.

When they cleaned the latrines and carried the sewage in wheelbarrows if the filth from the sewage splashed up on their face they could not stop to wipe it off. If they did they were beaten. So even normal, human actions and attitudes were not allowed.

In that way their humanity was stripped from them. And they became like animals.

Until one day when a prisoner escaped! All of the prisoners from his cell block were forced to stand for 8 hours in the hot summer sun with no food or water. If they fell over from exhaustion they were dragged away and piled up like a pile of sticks. The rest were eventually sent to bed with no food. The next day they were lined up again and this time the commandant began to pick them out one by one like dogs for the starvation bunker, until one man stepped out of line. It was Maximilian Kolbe!

By his stepping out of line it was the ultimate statement that he was not an animal. He was a human being with free will who in spite of the hatred and the beatings and starvation still chose to love!

What in the world wants to take away our humanity and turn us into animals? Advertising treats us like animals that cannot control their appetites. Pornography treats us like animals who cannot control our desires. Every time we give into our basest desires and instincts we are no more than an animal.

But we are made in the image and likeness of God! We have a dignity that no one can take from us. To say that we are made in the image and likeness of God is to say that Love is the reason for our existence for God is Love. Love is our true character. Love is our true self. Love is our name!

Homily by Consecration: Mission of the Immaculata

One Bread, One Body

<< Tuesday, August 14, 2012 >>

St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
Saint of the Day

Ezekiel 2:8—3:4
View Readings

Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

FATHER-FOCUS

"I gasp with open mouth in my yearning for Your commands." —Psalm 119:131

I recall an occasion years ago when my young son was on one side of a street and I was on the other. I had been gradually teaching my son the skills needed to cross a street without clinging to me for blind guidance. Although there was little danger in the situation when viewed through an adult's eyes, I could easily sense the fear in his eyes. He focused intently on my every word: "First, look to the left...then to the right. Are any cars coming? Good, now run straight to me." My little son obeyed each command exactly, just as if his life depended on it. He yearned for my commands (Ps 119:131) because he knew his father's word meant safety and success.

Surely this is what Jesus has in mind when He says: "Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God" (Mt 18:3). If we don't follow God's commands, it would be as if my young son suddenly decided he could cross the street without his daddy's help, thank you. Not heeding God's commands exposes us to grave dangers. The Lord's commands are meant for our welfare, not for our harm (see Mt 18:14; Jer 29:11). God tells us, as He told the prophet Ezekiel: "Obey Me when I speak to you" (Ez 2:8).

Prayer: Father, "Your decrees are my delight; they are my counselors" (Ps 119:24). Thank You, my God, for Your guidance and love.

Promise: "Whoever makes himself lowly, becoming like this child, is of greatest importance in that heavenly reign." —Mt 18:4

Praise: Suffering a near-fatal illness only deepened St. Maximilian's efforts in spreading God's truth and defending the faith.

"What you do to the unborn child,

you do to Jesus."

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 18
1.	AT that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?	In illa hora accesserunt discipuli ad Jesum, dicentes : Quis, putas, major est in regno cælorum ?	εν εκεινη τη ωρα προσηλθον οι μαθηται τω ιησου λεγοντες τις αρα μειζων εστιν εν τη βασιλεια των ουρανων
2.	And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them,	Et advocans Jesus parvulum, statuit eum in medio eorum,	και προσκαλεσαμενος ο ιησους παιδιον εστησεν αυτο εν μεσω αυτων
3.	And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.	et dixit : Amen dico vobis, nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum cælorum.	και ειπεν αμην λεγω υμιν εαν μη στραφητε και γενησθε ως τα παιδια ου μη εισελθητε εις την βασιλειαν των ουρανων
4.	Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.	Quicumque ergo humiliaverit se sicut parvulus iste, hic est major in regno cælorum.	οστις ουν ταπεινωσει εαυτον ως το παιδιον τουτο ουτος εστιν ο μειζων εν τη βασιλεια των ουρανων
5.	And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.	Et qui susceperit unum parvulum talem in nomine meo, me suscipit :	και ος εαν δεξηται παιδιον τοιουτον εν επι τω ονοματι μου εμε δεχεται
[...]
10.	See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.	Videte ne contemnatis unum ex his pusillis : dico enim vobis, quia angeli eorum in cælis semper vident faciem Patris mei, qui in cælis est.	ορατε μη καταφρονησητε ενος των μικρων τουτων λεγω γαρ υμιν οτι οι αγγελοι αυτων εν ουρανοις δια παντος βλεπουσιν το προσωπον του πατρος μου του εν ουρανοις
[...]
12.	What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray?	Quid vobis videtur ? si fuerint alicui centum oves, et erravit una ex eis : nonne relinquit nonaginta novem in montibus, et vadit quærere eam quæ erravit ?	τι υμιν δοκει εαν γενηται τινι ανθρωπω εκατον προβατα και πλανηθη εν εξ αυτων ουχι αφεις τα ενενηκοντα εννεα επι τα ορη πορευθεις ζητει το πλανωμενον
13.	And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray.	Et si contigerit ut inveniat eam : amen dico vobis, quia gaudet super eam magis quam super nonaginta novem, quæ non erraverunt.	και εαν γενηται ευρειν αυτο αμην λεγω υμιν οτι χαιρει επ αυτω μαλλον η επι τοις ενενηκοντα εννεα τοις μη πεπλανημενοις
14.	Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.	Sic non est voluntas ante Patrem vestrum, qui in cælis est, ut pereat unus de pusillis istis.	ουτως ουκ εστιν θελημα εμπροσθεν του πατρος υμων του εν ουρανοις ινα αποληται εις των μικρων τουτων

1. At the same time came the disciples to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2. And Jesus called a little child to him, and set him in the midst of them,
3. And said, I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4. Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5. And who shall receive one such little child in my name receive me.

JEROME; The disciples seeing one piece of money paid both for Peter and the Lord, conceived from this equality of ransom that Peter was preferred before all the rest of the Apostles.

CHRYS; Thus they suffered a human passion, which the Evangelist denotes by saying, At the same time came the disciples to Jesus, saying, Who, we pray you, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Ashamed to show the feeling which was working within, they do not say openly, Why have you honored Peter above us? but they ask in general, Who is the greatest; When in the transfiguration they saw three distinguished, namely, Peter, James, and John, they had no such feeling, but now that one is singled out for especial honor, then they are grieved. But do you remember, first, that it was nothing in this world that they sought; and, secondly, that they afterwards laid aside this feeling? Even their failings are above us, whose inquiry is not, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? but, Who is greatest in the kingdom of the world.

ORIGEN; Herein we ought to be imitators of the disciples, that when any question of doubt arises among us, and we find not how to settle it, we should with one consent go to Jesus, Who is able to enlighten the hearts of men to the explication of every perplexity. We shall also consult some of the doctors, who are thought most eminent in the Churches. But in that they asked this question, the disciples knew that there was not an equality among the saints in the kingdom of heaven; what they yet sought to learn was, how they were so, and lived as greater and less. Or, from what the Lord had said above, they knew who was the best and who was great; but out of many great, who was the greatest, this was not clear to them.

JEROME; Jesus seeing their thoughts would heal their ambitious strivings, by arousing an emulation in lowliness; whence it follows, And Jesus calling a little child, set him in the midst of them.

CHRYS; He chose, I suppose, quite an infant, devoid of any of the passions.

JEROME; One whose tender age should express to them the innocence which they should have. But truly He set Himself in the midst of them, a little one who had come not to be ministered to, but to minister, that He might be a pattern of holiness Others interpret the little one of the Holy Spirit, whom He set in the hearts of His disciples, to change their pride into humility. And he said, I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. He does not enjoin on the Apostles the age, but the innocence of infants, which they have by virtue of their years, but to which these might attain by striving; that they should be children in malice, not in understanding. As though He had said, As this child, whom I set before you as a pattern, is not obstinate in anger, when injured does not bear it in mind, has no emotion at the sight of a fair woman, does not think one thing while he speaks another; so you, unless you have the like innocence and purity of mind, shall not be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

HILARY; He calls infants all who believe through the hearing of faith; for such follow their father, love their mother, know not to will that which is evil, do not bear hate, or speak lies, trust what is told them, and believe what they hear to be true. But the letter is thus interpreted.

GLOSS; Except you be converted from this ambition and jealousy in which you are at present, and become all of you as innocent and humble in disposition as you are weak in your years, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; and since there is none other road to enter in, who shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven; for by how much a man is humble now, by so much shall he be exalted in the kingdom of heaven.

REMIG; In the understanding of grace, or in ecclesiastical dignity, or at least in everlasting blessedness.

JEROME; Or otherwise; Who shall humble himself as this little child, that is, who shall humble himself after My example, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

It follows, And who receive one such little one in my name, receive me.

CHRYS; Not only if you become such yourselves, but also if for My sake you shall pay honor to other such, you receive reward; and as the return for the honor you pay them, I entail upon you the kingdom. He puts indeed what is far greater, Receive me.

JEROME; For whoever is such that he imitates Christ's humility and innocence, Christ is received by him; and by way of caution, that the Apostles should not think, when such are come to them, that it is to themselves that the honor is paid, He adds, that they are to be received not for their own desert, but in honor of their Master.

10. Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12. How think you? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and go into the mountains, and seek that which is gone astray?
13 And if so be that he find it, I say to you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
14. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

JEROME; The Lord had said, under the type of hand, foot, and eye, that all kin and connection which could afford scandal must be cut off. The harshness of this declaration He accordingly tempers with the following precept, saying, Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; i.e. As far as you may avoid despising them, but next to your own salvation seek also to heal them. But if you see that they hold to their sins, it is better that you be saved, than that you perish in much company.

CHRYS; Or otherwise, As to shun the evil, so to honor the good, has great recompense. Above then He had bid them to cut off the friendships of those that gave offense, here He teaches them to show honor and service to the saints.

GLOSS; Or otherwise; Because so great evils come of brethren being scandalized, Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones.

ORIGEN; The little ones are those that are but lately born in Christ, or those who abide without advance, as though lately born. But Christ judged it needless to give command concerning not despising the more perfect believers, but concerning the little ones, as He had said above, If any man shall offend one of these little ones. A man may perhaps say that a little one here means a perfect Christian, according to that He says elsewhere, Who is least among you, you shall be great.

CHRYS; Or because the perfect are esteemed of many as little ones, as poor, namely, and despicable.

ORIGEN; But this exposition does not seem to agree with that which was said, If any one scandalizes one of these little ones; for the perfect man is not scandalized, nor does he perish. But he who thinks this the true exposition, says, that the mind of a righteous man is variable, and is sometimes offended, but not easily.

GLOSS; Therefore are they not to be despised for that they are so dear to God, that Angels are deputed to be their guardians; For I say to you, that in heaven their Angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

ORIGEN; Some will have it that an Angel is given as an attendant minister from the time when in the layer of regeneration the infant is born in Christ ; for, say they, it is incredible that a holy Angel watches over those who are unbelieving and in error, but in his time of unbelief and sin man is under the Angels of Satan. Others will have it, that those who are known of God, have straightway from their very birth a guardian Angel.

JEROME; High dignity of souls, that each from its birth has an Angel set in charge over it!

CHRYS; Here He is speaking not of any Angels, but of the higher sort; for when He says, Behold the face of my Father, He shows that their presence before God is free and open, and their honor great.

GREG; But Dionysus says, that it is from the ranks of the lesser Angels that these are sent to perform this ministry, either visibly or invisibly, for that those higher ranks have not the employment of an outward ministry.

ID; And therefore the Angels always behold the face of the Father, and yet they come to us; for by a spiritual presence they come forth to us, and yet by internal contemplation keep themselves there whence they come forth; for they come not so forth from the divine vision, as to hinder the joys of inward contemplation.

HILARY; The Angels offer daily to God the prayers of those that are to be saved by Christ; it is therefore perilous to despise him whose desires and requests are conveyed to the eternal and invisible God, by the service and ministry of Angels.

AUG; Or; They are 'called our Angels who are indeed the Angels of God; they are Gods because they have not forsaken Him; they are ours because they have begun to have us for their fellow-citizens. As they now behold God, so shall we also behold, Him face to face, of which vision John speaks, We shall see him as he is. For by the face of God is to be understood the manifestation of Himself, not a member or feature of the body, such as we call by that name.

CHRYS; He gives yet another reason weightier than the forgoing, why the little ones are not to be despised, For the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost.

REMIG; As much as to say, Despise not little ones, for I also for men condescended to become man. By that which was lost, understand the human race; for all the elements have kept their place, but man was lost, because he has broken his ordained place.

CHRYS; And to this reasoning He adds a parable, in which He sets forth the Father as seeking the salvation of men, and saying, What think you, if a man have a hundred sheep.

GREG; This refers to the Creator of man Himself; for a hundred is a perfect number, and He had a hundred sheep when He created the substance of Angels and men.

HILARY; But by the one sheep is to be understood one man, and under this one man is comprehended the whole human race. He that seeks man is Christ, and the ninety and nine are the host of the heavenly glory which He left.

GREG; The Evangelist says they were left on the mountains, to signify that the sheep which were not lost abode on high.

BEDE; The Lord found the sheep when He restored man, and over that sheep that is found there is more joy in heaven than over the ninety and nine, because there is a greater matter for thanksgiving to God in the restoration of man than in the creation of the Angels. Wonderfully are the Angels made, but more wonderfully man restored.

RABAN; Note, that nine wants only one to make it ten, and ninety and nine the same to be a hundred. Thus members which want one only to be perfect, may be larger or smaller, but yet the unit remaining invariable, when it is added makes the rest perfect. And that the number of sheep might be made up perfect in heaven, lost man was sought on earth.

JEROME; Others think that by the ninety and nine sheep are understood the number of the righteous, and by the one sheep the sinners, according to that said in another place, I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

GREG; We must consider whence it is that the Lord declares that' He has joy rather over the converted sinners, than over the righteous that stand. Because these last are often slothful and slack to practice the greater good works, as being very secure within themselves, for that they have committed none of the heavier sins. While on the other hand those who have their wicked deeds to remember, do often through the compunction of sorrow glow with the more heat in their love of God, and when they think how they have strayed from Him, they replace their former losses by gains following.

So the general in a battle loves best that soldier who turns in his flight and courageously presses the enemy, than him who never turned his back, yet et never did any valorous deed. Yet there be some righteous over whom is joy so great, that no penitent can be preferred before them, those, who though not conscious to themselves of sins, yet reject things lawful, end humble themselves in all things. How great is the joy when the righteous mourns, and humbles himself, if there be joy when the unrighteous condemns himself wherein he has done amiss?

BEDE; Or; By the ninety-nine sheep, which He left on the mountains, are signified the proud to whom a unit is still wanting for perfection. When then He has found the sinner, He rejoices over him, that is, He makes his own to rejoice over him, rather than over the false righteous.

JEROME; What follows, Even so it is not the will &c. is to be referred to what was said above, Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; and so He shows that this parable was set forth to enforce that same saying. Also in saying, It is not the will of my Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish, He shows that so oft as one of these little ones does perish, it is not by the Father's will that it perishes.

Catena Aurea Matthew 18

Christ the Good Shepherd

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

c. 1660
Oil on canvas, 161 x 123 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

A Christian Pilgrim

SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE [2]

[Continuation]

“Poland has ceased to exist”

The wave of destruction and death hit the Citadel towards the middle of September; some buildings were destroyed by bombing; others were badly damaged. Then the Flying Squad of the Wehrmacht arrived at the gates, rifles at the level. On September 19 the remaining religious were herded into the yard, bundled into trucks, then into railway cattle-wagons and transported into the unknown.

They were taken to Amlitz in Germany. It was during the time when the “Lord of the War”, Adolf Hitler, announced to an astonished world that Poland as a nation had ceased to exist.

In November, the religious were unexpectedly returned to Polish territory. They were held for a time in an abandoned Salesian College at Ostrzesrow. Then in December there came the unforeseen permission for them to return to Niepokalanow.

In the meantime a Red Cross Hospital had been set up in the buildings of the Citadel. Father Kolbe and his companions made themselves available for any need. The wounded, invalids, fugitives and persecuted Jews came to the Citadel seeking assistance.

Some of Father Kolbe’s helpers, believing that the worst had passed, returned a few at a time to the Citadel to resume their work.

The Nazi invaders looked upon Niepokalanow with a certain amount of sympathy. They hoped that this rather enterprising “Father” would collaborate with them. During the twelve months of relative calm, Father Maximilian restored some of the machines to working order and asked permission to resume printing “The Knight”. They granted him approval for one issue “on trial”. Furthermore they offered him the privilege of becoming a German citizen (Kolbe is a German name, and indicates perhaps that his family was originally of German origin). Father Maximilian accepted the permission to go ahead with the printing, but courteously declined the “privilege”.

The issue “on trial” was a great disappointment to the invaders; it contained nothing which pleased them. Permission to print a second issue never came.

Two black automobiles at the front door

1941. The lull ceased suddenly. Hitler was about to begin OPERATION BARBAROSSA, the invasion of Russia. For this great military operation, his armies needed to dispose completely of Poland and all its resources. “The Polish race,” Hitler stated cynically, “is one of slaves, destined by history to serve the great German race”.

The first move, in the reduction of Poland to slavery, was the elimination of the intellectual class, of all leaders and influential people who could persuade the people to offer resistance.

February 17, 1941. There was a cover of snow on the streets and on the dilapidated buildings at Niepokalanow, when two black automobiles braked sharply at the front door of the Citadel. Ivo Achtelick, the Franciscan brother in the porter’s office, knew the number plates quite well: it was the Gestapo, the notorious State Police Force to which Hitler had entrusted the elimination of enemies of the Reich. He snatched the telephone and called Father Maximilian: “It’s the Gestapo. They’re looking for you.” “I noted a quiver in his voice”, Ivo Achtelick said later, “as he replied: ‘What did you say?’ But he controlled himself straight away and said as calmly as ever: ‘I’ll be down immediately, brother’ ”.

Some minutes later, wearing his poor Franciscan habit, Father Kolbe got into one of the two automobiles. Five other Franciscans were taken away with him.

From February to May Father Maximilian was locked up in the prison at Pawiak, in cell 103. Pawiak was a clearing centre; from here prisoners were transferred to the various forced labor camps.

The Bishop protested at his arrest. The Gestapo Commander replied that it was a matter of conspiracy. Twenty Franciscans signed a petition to the German authorities, requesting that they take Father Kolbe’s place; it met with a blunt refusal.

The large rosary beads and the Nazi

In cell 103, Father Kolbe had the company of a Jew and another Polish citizen. The cell was small. They took it in turns to exercise in its few square meters. The priest kept passing the large Franciscan rosary beads through his fingers. One day a Nazi officer came for inspection. He saw the habit and the cincture from which hung the Rosary beads and the crucifix. He turned purple with anger. He seized the Crucifix and yelled: “Do you believe in this?” “Yes”, the priest calmly replied.

The officer gave him a violent back-hander. Three times he repeated the question, and receiving the same answer, three times he struck the priest. Then, in typical Nazi fashion, he assaulted the priest with punches and kicks, until Father Maximilian fell to the floor. Only then did the officer go away.

The Jew and the Pole helped the priest who was bleeding profusely and whose face was swollen. He made a gesture that it was nothing and forced a smile. A guard who had witnessed the brutality and who feared other inspections, hurried to get some prison garb and asked him to take off the habit. Father Kolbe hesitated. He did not want to discard the religious dress he had worn for so many years. He then decided that it was better to do so and put on the stripped jacket. He was never again to wear the habit of St. Francis.

The cell was very damp. Father Maximilian had delicate lungs and soon began to cough and to shiver with fever. They took him to the infirmary in the gaol. The infirmarians treated him with every care. When he recovered they arranged for him to be kept in the sick bay, where he was relatively well looked after. But one day the order came for Father Kolbe to be taken back to his cell in preparation for his departure.

A Christian Pilgrim

SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE [3]

[Continuation]

A train to Auschwitz

It was the end of May. All of the prisoners at Pawiak were suddenly taken out of their cells. “Hurry! Hurry!” yelled the warders. A few hundred meters away there was a cattle train. When they had all been loaded into the trucks, a corporal snapped to the attention in front of a field-marshal and reported that there were 320 heads aboard and that all was ready.

The murderous journey took 24 hours; a scaring thirst tortured the 320 individuals locked inside the trucks. Then, on the night of May 28, the gates were noisily thrown wide open. “The darkness”, recorded a survivor, “echoed with strange order and with that barbarous barking of Germans which, when they issue commands, seems to give vent to centuries’ old anger.”

About ten S.S. men quickly appeared. They directed the group into two parties with a minimum of gestures and words. “They decided whether each of us could do some useful work for the Reich or not”, wrote one who lived to tell the tale, “then suddenly our wives, our parents, our children were moved off. We saw them for a short time in the dim light at the other end of the platform; we did not see them again.”

Those judged “fit to work” had to run the two kilometers separating them from the camp at Auschwitz; the terrified Poles knew the place by the name of Oswiecim. As they ran, fierce dogs, sooled on by the S.S., bit at their heels.

It should be noted that to staff their extermination camps (amongst which Auschwitz, Dachau, Belsen and Mauthausen were unfortunately well-known) the Nazi hierarchy did not choose normal soldiers, but criminals released from prison, men who had been condemned as abnormal sadists and felons. From May 28, 1941, these men were the “Superiors” of Father Kolbe and his unfortunate companions.

On the main gate of the camp was a brightly illuminated inscription: “ARBEIT MACHT FREI – Work makes one free”.

Inside the camp they were stripped and herded into a large hall to be disinfected. They waited for hours, their teeth chattering.

“Suddenly” wrote a survivor, “hot water poured out from the showers. Five minutes of bliss. But shortly afterwards, four guards came in, shouting at us to move into the next room which was icy cold; here other shouting guards threw some clothes at us and gave each of us a pair of shoes with wood soles. Before we knew where we were, we found ourselves outside in the early morning cold and, barefooted and naked, with our whole outfit in our hands, we had to run to another hut, a hundred meters away. Only here we were allowed to get dressed.

A new man 16,670

Everything was taken away from these men: clothes, shoes, hair. They even took away their names. Henceforth Father Kolbe would be known as 16,670. For the remainder of his life he was to have this number tattooed on his left arm.

At Auschwitz it was work, work with a devilish monotonous rhythm. Very early in the morning before dawn there was the call ‘Wstawac” – (“Get up”). Pandemonium followed. They had five minutes to get up, dress, and attend to their toilet because then grey pieces of “brot” (bread) were distributed. Anyone who arrived late missed out and suffered the pangs of hunger until mid-day.

They worked from dawn to dusk. They marched out briskly. Coming home they almost ran. It was a tragic farce to see those long columns of men dressed in prison stripes returning at the double in strict formation whilst an absurd band made up of other men in prison garb played brisk marches in the large square of the camp.

Down below, beyond the barracks, the tall chimney of the crematorium ovens was always smoking. Any one who succumbed to fatigue, who did not fight for his rations, who was slow in running and fell by the wayside knew that he would finish up there. He would be thrown on to a minecart, dead or dying it did not matter. The cart would slip down the rails to the mouth of the oven. Colonel Fritsch, the camp commandant, would tell them, with a smile on his face: “The only way you’ll leave here is through that chimney”.

Father Kolbe was assigned to Block 17, reserved especially for priests whom Fritsch defined as “useless beings and the parasites of society”. Father Maximilian was chained to a cart with other Polish priests to pull very heavy loads of gravel for the construction of the boundary wall of the crematorium. At ten-meter distances along the route of the carts there was a gaoler armed with a stick to beat them; they had to run past to avoid being hit.

During the night a shadow over Block 17

When the boundary wall had been completed, Krott, the blunt, cruel Nazi commander of Block 17 gave the prisoners another job. They had to pull down trees, tear off the branches, bundle them together and transport them, all by hand. Father Kolbe, often bleeding as a result of the blows of the guards, staggered along the uneven path under the weight of an increasingly heavy load. But, despite all this, there was peace in the depth of his soul. He knew that his Citadel had been destroyed, he knew that his Army had been scattered by the tremendous whirlwind of war, that all his work had been burnt in the bombing. But he knew that God is stronger than evil, that after the darkness the light would shine again. He clung strongly to this certainty even although it seemed a forlorn hope. It did not matter if he would no longer there. The Kingdom of God would reign on earth, in justice and peace. Others would walk before the face of the Lord, to prepare His way; others chosen by Him.

One day when the tree trunk loaded on to his shoulders was far too heavy, Father Kolbe fell to the ground, like Christ under the weight of the Cross. And Nazi Krott, imitating the cruelty of the Roman guards to perfection, punched and kicked him. “I’ll teach you to work, you priest of the devil!” He did not crucify him, but stretched him across the trunk and gave him fifty strokes of the lash. When Christ was scourged He received only 35 strokes from his gaolers, the maximum permitted by the law. The other priests passing by saw him lying motionless in a pool of blood and covered him with green branches. They thought he was dead.

But during the night, a shadow staggered and dragged itself into Block 17. It was he! He had managed to drag himself to his own palliasse in pitch darkness! Next morning he was swollen with bruises and running a high temperature. They took him to the sick bay, the waiting room of death.

In his delirium this prisoner did not curse, did not cry out in terror; he prayed, he spoke to God. And those who were waiting for death knew thereby that a priest had joined them.

Later his fever abated, but he could not move from his palliasse; however, human skeletons dragged themselves towards him seeking a word of hope, of faith. He reconciled to God many of these people without hope.

Doctor Sternler, a survivor who had learnt to hate everything and everybody in Auschwitz, spent a night with his hand in the hands of Father Kolbe, who whispered to him: “Hatred builds nothing. It is love which saves”.

Miraculously the fever left him, and his wounds closed up. Father Maximilian was transferred to Block 12, amongst the invalids. This Block was greatly feared: they were on half rations and there was no medication; even small cuts turned septic. Father Kolbe found words of comfort also for these unfortunate companions. He made bearable terrible sufferings.

A prisoner has escaped

July 20. Number 16,670 was transferred to Block 14; agricultural work. It was harvest time. The men were taken a long way out to work in the fields. One of the prisoners in an act of desperation tried to escape by hiding in the crop.

That evening at roll call, one prisoner did not answer. All of those in Block 14 shuddered. One of the rules at Auschwitz, always carried out, was that: “For every escapee, ten prisoners would pay with their lives”.

The prisoners in Black 14 were kept standing rigidly to attention. The sun was setting in a darkened sky. Mess time came round and the orderlies brought in the scanty rations; the soldiers tipped them into the drains bordering the clearing. The prisoners would go hungry.

They remained at attention, immovable, despite their tiredness after a hard day in the fields. It became dark. The night wore on and finally they were permitted to go into their barracks.

When they were called next morning, the escapee had still not returned. All, without exception, were required to stand at attention from dawn until three in the afternoon under a burning July sun. Some fainted. They were taken away.

Rations were brought out at three o’clock. They were allowed half an hour to eat their meal. Then it was standing at attention again until evening.

It was about seven o’clock when Fritsch, the camp commandant, arrived with his usual train of hangers-on. He began to shout in German and his words were heard in deadly silence. “The escapee,” he ended angrily, “has not been found. Ten of you will pay for it with your lives”.

Deleted from the list of the living

He walked down the line of prisoners. He lifted his arm and pointed with his finger: “This one, That one …”. An assistant followed him with a list of the prisoners and marked those to be deleted from the living. The tenth was a Polish sergeant – Francis Gajowniczek. Overcome with desperation he cried out: “My wife … my children …”.

At that very moment a man stepped out of the ranks of those who had been spared. It was an act that could cost him his life. The Germans instinctively reached for their revolvers. Fritsch took a step backwards and yelled: “What does this Polish pig want? Who is he?”

“I am a Catholic Priest,” answered Father Kolbe in perfect German, “and I ask permission to take the place of that prisoner”. He pointed to Sergeant Gajowniczek.

Fritsch hesitated for a split second. Then he turned to Gajowniczek and with a “Get back there” motioned to him to join the ranks of the living. Thunderstruck he scampered back. The assistant checked through the list for the number of Father Kolbe and crossed it off.

There was a sharp command: “Hand in your shoes”. One who was to die did not need them; the Germans, instead, wanted them for other prisoners. The next order addressed to the ten condemned men was: “Left turn”, and they were marched off to the “hunger bunker”. It was underground and those who were condemned to die were imprisoned there in darkness without food or water.

Four injections of phenic acid

A guard pushed them inside and before he closed and locked the heavy door, he said laughingly: “You will wither away like so many tulips”.

Bruno Borgowiec was a Polish interpreter who had to go down every day with the German guards to check the state of the dying. He said later: “Previously those condemned men had always been in a state of despair; this time even the German warders were amazed by what they saw. The condemned men were gathered around Father Kolbe, and at intervals sang Polish hymns to the Madonna. More than once the guards had to tell them to be quiet because condemned people in other cells were joining ini”.

The voices became weaker day by day. As a man died he was carted away. Father Maximilian comforted them in their last moments, and closed their eyes in death. With an amazing show of will power, he remained either standing or on his knees. His face remained calm and his blue eyes amazingly serene. One of the warders was quite disturbed one day and yelled at him: “Don’t look at me like that, you priest of the devil”.

After two weeks Father Kolbe was still alive, along with three other prisoners. The cell was needed for other victims and Fritsch ordered that “they be finished off”.

It was August 14, the vigil of the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. At mid-day Bock, a German nursing orderly, entered the cell. He went to the four prisoners in turn and into the arm of each he injected deadly phenic acid. Father Kolbe was leaning against the wall praying. As Bock approached he extended his arm.

Maximilian Kolbe’s body was thrown into the furnace along with those of his companions. His ashes, mixed with those of three million other victims, were scattered over the countryside near Auschwitz. Every spring it is covered with white flowers and red flowers. [End]

Source: Fr. Teresio Bosco SDB, SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, Melbourne: A.C.T.S. PUBLICATIONS, 1982, pages 22-29.

August 14, 2012

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Reading 1 Ez 2:8-3:4

Responsorial Psalm Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

Gospel Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

St. Maximilian Kolbe

Daily Readings for: August 14, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

LIBRARY

Memorial of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr

Meditation: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

Saint Maximilian Kolbe

One Bread, One Body

FATHER-FOCUS

August 14, 2012

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Reading 1 Ez 2:8-3:4

Responsorial Psalm Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

Gospel Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

St. Maximilian Kolbe

Daily Readings for: August 14, 2012(Readings on USCCB website)

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

LIBRARY

Memorial of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr

Meditation: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

Saint Maximilian Kolbe

One Bread, One Body

FATHER-FOCUS

Daily Readings for: August 14, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)